Anyone having trouble giving up that evening drink?

24

Replies

  • mark18q
    mark18q Posts: 6 Member
    Skipping food for wine calories? Yep, guilty as charged. Seriously trying to cut it out though - its not the alcohol that's the problem, its the snacking and grazing that comes along after a couple of glasses.

    Mind you, I've said I'm trying to cut it out for, oh, maybe 10 years lol
  • FitnessTim
    FitnessTim Posts: 234 Member
    Alcohol is a terrible drug. It messes with the brain and can have other negative effects on the body. I know people swear by the occasional drink but needing to have a drink everyday is a bit much.

    I quit drinking years ago and I don't miss it anymore. I don't know for sure what the effects of having the occasional drink but if the body doesn't need it why deal with the risks.

    I do believe the risks of being overweight far outweigh the risks of having the occasional drink. It sounds like your problem is more serious though.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    edited July 2015
    FitnessTim wrote: »
    Alcohol is a terrible drug. It messes with the brain and can have other negative effects on the body. I know people swear by the occasional drink but needing to have a drink everyday is a bit much.

    I quit drinking years ago and I don't miss it anymore. I don't know for sure what the effects of having the occasional drink but if the body doesn't need it why deal with the risks.

    I do believe the risks of being overweight far outweigh the risks of having the occasional drink. It sounds like your problem is more serious though.

    Wow, that's scary. I didn't think one glass every evening made me a problem drinker. I usually have it with dinner, not by itself, for those folks who say alcohol makes them snack. I tend to eat a late dinner, 7:30 or 8:00 and then don't eat anything afterward because by that time, it's 9:00 PM, time for TV and bed. By the way, I'm not "overweight" at this point, normal BMI, but I had a goal on the low end of normal, which I gave up because I decided I wanted to continue enjoy life (a week-end meal out for instance, a glass of wine or occasional dessert) rather than attain a number.
  • Altrez74
    Altrez74 Posts: 72 Member
    So this is an issue I am struggling with. There is no way I am going to quit drinking every night so what I am doing is cutting back on everything else and upping my walking. I reserve 1500 calories for my evening drinks and yes I know it's unhealthy but so is being overweight! Once I drop 50 pounds I will start working my way down to six drinks or less a nite.

    How many of you out there are drinkers finding it hard to lose weight?
  • nineteentwenty
    nineteentwenty Posts: 469 Member
    There's no way in hell I'll give up wine. I just fit it into my calories and have it as dessert.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    jlutz193 wrote: »
    So this is an issue I am struggling with. There is no way I am going to quit drinking every night so what I am doing is cutting back on everything else and upping my walking. I reserve 1500 calories for my evening drinks and yes I know it's unhealthy but so is being overweight! Once I drop 50 pounds I will start working my way down to six drinks or less a nite.

    How many of you out there are drinkers finding it hard to lose weight?

    I think anybody who was drinking 1,500 calories of alcohol a day would find it a challenge to lose weight.
  • robynmoosehead
    robynmoosehead Posts: 66 Member
    tudric wrote: »
    Another tactic is to only let myself drink half my exercise calories. That one really motivates me! yes i know I'm an old soak & if it wasn't for alcohol I wouldn't be overweight in the first place.

    What a wonderful idea! If anything is going to motivate me to exercise it would be not being able to have a drink unless I did some!

    I don't know where everyone else in here is from but the idea that enjoying a glass of wine in the evening is an alcohol problem is laughable.
    Not being able to stop, or not being in control is a sign of a problem. If you've got the space for it, why not?
    I don't see any difference between your morning coffee to perk you up or your evening drink to relax you.

  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    I don't see any difference between your morning coffee to perk you up or your evening drink to relax you.

    Coffee, even if loaded with cream and sugar, has a LOT less calories than alcohol.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    I don't see any difference between your morning coffee to perk you up or your evening drink to relax you.

    Coffee, even if loaded with cream and sugar, has a LOT less calories than alcohol.

    It depends what you're drinking. A 5 oz. glass of white wine (which is my nightly pour) is around 100 calories. A 12 ounce Dunkin Donuts coffee with cream and sugar is 120 calories, and don't get me started on those Starbucks coffees that are 300+. 12 ounces of beer is also around 120. If you're drinking cocktails or more than one drink, it's a different story, especially if it's a cocktail that's mixing fruit juice or other high calorie beverages with the alcohol. I would prefer to drink my coffee with skim and splenda and have that glass of wine.
  • ap_marie
    ap_marie Posts: 1 Member
    What about vodka and lemon juice??? Hey less carbs than wine :D
  • aimelee
    aimelee Posts: 216 Member
    Me! i refuse to give it up. If i have to give up all of the things I enjoy during this process, what is the point? I need my wine, lol.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    edited July 2015
    I'm not on a low-carb diet. I started having the wine because it's supposed to be good for heart health, and of course, I enjoy it. My mom's 86 and has a glass of red wine every night. Also, hard alcohol makes me feel ill unless I have a big meal with it, or it's mixed with something higher calorie like juice. I've actually thrown up on a strong "hard alcohol" drink (it was a cosmo). More than two hard liquor drinks always make me throw up. Guess I'm not one to "hold my liquor", so I generally avoid that stuff.
  • cdahl383
    cdahl383 Posts: 726 Member
    I wouldn't worry about it, if you're losing weight and staying fit/healthy then why cut it out? Rigid diets suck, have to have room for some fun. I
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    rosebette wrote: »
    I don't see any difference between your morning coffee to perk you up or your evening drink to relax you.

    Coffee, even if loaded with cream and sugar, has a LOT less calories than alcohol.

    It depends what you're drinking. A 5 oz. glass of white wine (which is my nightly pour) is around 100 calories. A 12 ounce Dunkin Donuts coffee with cream and sugar is 120 calories, and don't get me started on those Starbucks coffees that are 300+. 12 ounces of beer is also around 120. If you're drinking cocktails or more than one drink, it's a different story, especially if it's a cocktail that's mixing fruit juice or other high calorie beverages with the alcohol. I would prefer to drink my coffee with skim and splenda and have that glass of wine.

    Comparing a twelve-ounce cup of DD coffee with cream and sugar, or ANYTHING from Starbucks, is not the same as a five-ounce glass of wine. White wine has about 25 calories an ounce, so five ounces is actually more than the 12-ounce DD coffee with cream and sugar.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    Then MFP's numbers must be off because most have it as around 100. So 5 ounces of wine is 125 calories....OK, I'll have the extra 5 calories and skip the DD coffee.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,396 Member
    jlutz193 wrote: »
    So this is an issue I am struggling with. There is no way I am going to quit drinking every night so what I am doing is cutting back on everything else and upping my walking. I reserve 1500 calories for my evening drinks and yes I know it's unhealthy but so is being overweight! Once I drop 50 pounds I will start working my way down to six drinks or less a nite.

    How many of you out there are drinkers finding it hard to lose weight?

    My maintenance calories are just barely over 1500 calories. There's no way you're "upping your walking" enough to create a deficit large enough to cover 1500 calories of alcohol per day, to lose weight. Maybe if you started walking to AA meetings?
  • amudd645
    amudd645 Posts: 27 Member
    I run for wine. I could never give up a glass or two of red, but I only feel right about drinking it after a morning of exercising.

    Now going out for dinner with the girls and everybody having a margarita (or two or three or a few pitchers), this is when I struggle. I have to say no and then usually sulk a bit in my water.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    edited July 2015
    jlutz193 wrote: »
    So this is an issue I am struggling with. There is no way I am going to quit drinking every night so what I am doing is cutting back on everything else and upping my walking. I reserve 1500 calories for my evening drinks and yes I know it's unhealthy but so is being overweight! Once I drop 50 pounds I will start working my way down to six drinks or less a nite.

    How many of you out there are drinkers finding it hard to lose weight?

    My maintenance calories are just barely over 1500 calories. There's no way you're "upping your walking" enough to create a deficit large enough to cover 1500 calories of alcohol per day, to lose weight. Maybe if you started walking to AA meetings?

    Really. 1500 calories? Two or three bottles of wine? Over half a case of beer? Wow.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    rosebette wrote: »
    I don't see any difference between your morning coffee to perk you up or your evening drink to relax you.

    Coffee, even if loaded with cream and sugar, has a LOT less calories than alcohol.

    It depends what you're drinking. A 5 oz. glass of white wine (which is my nightly pour) is around 100 calories. A 12 ounce Dunkin Donuts coffee with cream and sugar is 120 calories, and don't get me started on those Starbucks coffees that are 300+. 12 ounces of beer is also around 120. If you're drinking cocktails or more than one drink, it's a different story, especially if it's a cocktail that's mixing fruit juice or other high calorie beverages with the alcohol. I would prefer to drink my coffee with skim and splenda and have that glass of wine.

    Comparing a twelve-ounce cup of DD coffee with cream and sugar, or ANYTHING from Starbucks, is not the same as a five-ounce glass of wine. White wine has about 25 calories an ounce, so five ounces is actually more than the 12-ounce DD coffee with cream and sugar.

    You said that coffee, even if it was loaded with cream and sugar, had a lot less calories than alcohol. But depending on how much cream and sugar is put in (like if you "load" it), it could be more than a glass of wine (which is 5 ounces).

    Portion size matters.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    rosebette wrote: »
    I don't see any difference between your morning coffee to perk you up or your evening drink to relax you.

    Coffee, even if loaded with cream and sugar, has a LOT less calories than alcohol.

    It depends what you're drinking. A 5 oz. glass of white wine (which is my nightly pour) is around 100 calories. A 12 ounce Dunkin Donuts coffee with cream and sugar is 120 calories, and don't get me started on those Starbucks coffees that are 300+. 12 ounces of beer is also around 120. If you're drinking cocktails or more than one drink, it's a different story, especially if it's a cocktail that's mixing fruit juice or other high calorie beverages with the alcohol. I would prefer to drink my coffee with skim and splenda and have that glass of wine.

    Comparing a twelve-ounce cup of DD coffee with cream and sugar, or ANYTHING from Starbucks, is not the same as a five-ounce glass of wine. White wine has about 25 calories an ounce, so five ounces is actually more than the 12-ounce DD coffee with cream and sugar.

    You said that coffee, even if it was loaded with cream and sugar, had a lot less calories than alcohol. But depending on how much cream and sugar is put in (like if you "load" it), it could be more than a glass of wine (which is 5 ounces).

    Portion size matters.

    A teaspoon of sugar is 15 calories. A teaspoon of half-and-half is 20 calories. I'm not in the mood to calculate, but it appears that most of a five-ounce cup of coffee with more than 125 calories would be sugar and cream. Coffee in its purest form has about one calorie a mug.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    FitnessTim wrote: »
    Alcohol is a terrible drug. It messes with the brain and can have other negative effects on the body. I know people swear by the occasional drink but needing to have a drink everyday is a bit much.

    I quit drinking years ago and I don't miss it anymore. I don't know for sure what the effects of having the occasional drink but if the body doesn't need it why deal with the risks.

    I do believe the risks of being overweight far outweigh the risks of having the occasional drink. It sounds like your problem is more serious though.

    ksbp.gif
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    rosebette wrote: »
    I don't see any difference between your morning coffee to perk you up or your evening drink to relax you.

    Coffee, even if loaded with cream and sugar, has a LOT less calories than alcohol.

    It depends what you're drinking. A 5 oz. glass of white wine (which is my nightly pour) is around 100 calories. A 12 ounce Dunkin Donuts coffee with cream and sugar is 120 calories, and don't get me started on those Starbucks coffees that are 300+. 12 ounces of beer is also around 120. If you're drinking cocktails or more than one drink, it's a different story, especially if it's a cocktail that's mixing fruit juice or other high calorie beverages with the alcohol. I would prefer to drink my coffee with skim and splenda and have that glass of wine.

    Comparing a twelve-ounce cup of DD coffee with cream and sugar, or ANYTHING from Starbucks, is not the same as a five-ounce glass of wine. White wine has about 25 calories an ounce, so five ounces is actually more than the 12-ounce DD coffee with cream and sugar.

    You said that coffee, even if it was loaded with cream and sugar, had a lot less calories than alcohol. But depending on how much cream and sugar is put in (like if you "load" it), it could be more than a glass of wine (which is 5 ounces).

    Portion size matters.

    A teaspoon of sugar is 15 calories. A teaspoon of half-and-half is 20 calories. I'm not in the mood to calculate, but it appears that most of a five-ounce cup of coffee with more than 125 calories would be sugar and cream. Coffee in its purest form has about one calorie a mug.

    Most people don't have a 5 ounce cup of coffee in the morning. The smallest size takeout coffee is 10 ounces. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but my mug at home holds at least 8 ounces. Hubby has 2-3 10 ounce cups and then stops at Dunkins on the way to work. If someone is drinking that coffee with cream and sugar, it really adds up. When he started dieting, the first thing he did was switch to Splenda and skim.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    rosebette wrote: »
    rosebette wrote: »
    I don't see any difference between your morning coffee to perk you up or your evening drink to relax you.

    Coffee, even if loaded with cream and sugar, has a LOT less calories than alcohol.

    It depends what you're drinking. A 5 oz. glass of white wine (which is my nightly pour) is around 100 calories. A 12 ounce Dunkin Donuts coffee with cream and sugar is 120 calories, and don't get me started on those Starbucks coffees that are 300+. 12 ounces of beer is also around 120. If you're drinking cocktails or more than one drink, it's a different story, especially if it's a cocktail that's mixing fruit juice or other high calorie beverages with the alcohol. I would prefer to drink my coffee with skim and splenda and have that glass of wine.

    Comparing a twelve-ounce cup of DD coffee with cream and sugar, or ANYTHING from Starbucks, is not the same as a five-ounce glass of wine. White wine has about 25 calories an ounce, so five ounces is actually more than the 12-ounce DD coffee with cream and sugar.

    You said that coffee, even if it was loaded with cream and sugar, had a lot less calories than alcohol. But depending on how much cream and sugar is put in (like if you "load" it), it could be more than a glass of wine (which is 5 ounces).

    Portion size matters.

    A teaspoon of sugar is 15 calories. A teaspoon of half-and-half is 20 calories. I'm not in the mood to calculate, but it appears that most of a five-ounce cup of coffee with more than 125 calories would be sugar and cream. Coffee in its purest form has about one calorie a mug.

    Most people don't have a 5 ounce cup of coffee in the morning. The smallest size takeout coffee is 10 ounces. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but my mug at home holds at least 8 ounces. Hubby has 2-3 10 ounce cups and then stops at Dunkins on the way to work. If someone is drinking that coffee with cream and sugar, it really adds up. When he started dieting, the first thing he did was switch to Splenda and skim.

    Most people don't only have one five-ounce glass of wine in the evening.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    5 ounces is a "standard" serving of wine. 5 ounces is not a standard serving of coffee, unless you're drinking an espresso in a European cafe. Anyway, I mustn't be "most people" because 5 ounces is all I have. It's actually all I can really tolerate, as I'm a petite person.
  • Altrez74
    Altrez74 Posts: 72 Member
    jlutz193 wrote: »
    So this is an issue I am struggling with. There is no way I am going to quit drinking every night so what I am doing is cutting back on everything else and upping my walking. I reserve 1500 calories for my evening drinks and yes I know it's unhealthy but so is being overweight! Once I drop 50 pounds I will start working my way down to six drinks or less a nite.

    How many of you out there are drinkers finding it hard to lose weight?

    My maintenance calories are just barely over 1500 calories. There's no way you're "upping your walking" enough to create a deficit large enough to cover 1500 calories of alcohol per day, to lose weight. Maybe if you started walking to AA meetings?

    Hello,

    Not sure why I would walk to AA meetings there's no alcohol there. Now if we change your last sentence to this:

    Maybe if you started walking to AA meetings the Bar?

    It becomes more helpful :)

    Thank you for the post.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    jlutz193 wrote: »
    So this is an issue I am struggling with. There is no way I am going to quit drinking every night so what I am doing is cutting back on everything else and upping my walking. I reserve 1500 calories for my evening drinks and yes I know it's unhealthy but so is being overweight! Once I drop 50 pounds I will start working my way down to six drinks or less a nite.

    How many of you out there are drinkers finding it hard to lose weight?

    You drink 1500 calories worth of alcohol every night? Please go to an AA meeting.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    rosebette wrote: »
    I don't see any difference between your morning coffee to perk you up or your evening drink to relax you.

    Coffee, even if loaded with cream and sugar, has a LOT less calories than alcohol.

    It depends what you're drinking. A 5 oz. glass of white wine (which is my nightly pour) is around 100 calories. A 12 ounce Dunkin Donuts coffee with cream and sugar is 120 calories, and don't get me started on those Starbucks coffees that are 300+. 12 ounces of beer is also around 120. If you're drinking cocktails or more than one drink, it's a different story, especially if it's a cocktail that's mixing fruit juice or other high calorie beverages with the alcohol. I would prefer to drink my coffee with skim and splenda and have that glass of wine.

    Comparing a twelve-ounce cup of DD coffee with cream and sugar, or ANYTHING from Starbucks, is not the same as a five-ounce glass of wine. White wine has about 25 calories an ounce, so five ounces is actually more than the 12-ounce DD coffee with cream and sugar.

    You said that coffee, even if it was loaded with cream and sugar, had a lot less calories than alcohol. But depending on how much cream and sugar is put in (like if you "load" it), it could be more than a glass of wine (which is 5 ounces).

    Portion size matters.

    A teaspoon of sugar is 15 calories. A teaspoon of half-and-half is 20 calories. I'm not in the mood to calculate, but it appears that most of a five-ounce cup of coffee with more than 125 calories would be sugar and cream. Coffee in its purest form has about one calorie a mug.

    Which is why it doesn't make sense to say that a cup of coffee, even if LOADED with cream and sugar, will always have less calories than alcohol.

    It depends on how much cream and sugar is in the coffee. It depends on the type of alcohol and the portion size.
  • DuckReconMajor
    DuckReconMajor Posts: 434 Member
    jlutz193 wrote: »
    So this is an issue I am struggling with. There is no way I am going to quit drinking every night so what I am doing is cutting back on everything else and upping my walking. I reserve 1500 calories for my evening drinks and yes I know it's unhealthy but so is being overweight! Once I drop 50 pounds I will start working my way down to six drinks or less a nite.

    How many of you out there are drinkers finding it hard to lose weight?

    My maintenance calories are just barely over 1500 calories. There's no way you're "upping your walking" enough to create a deficit large enough to cover 1500 calories of alcohol per day, to lose weight. Maybe if you started walking to AA meetings?

    Really. 1500 calories? Two or three bottles of wine? Over half a case of beer? Wow.

    If you're not drinking 8oz of everclear a day you've got a serious not-drinking-enough problem.
  • Altrez74
    Altrez74 Posts: 72 Member
    jlutz193 wrote: »
    So this is an issue I am struggling with. There is no way I am going to quit drinking every night so what I am doing is cutting back on everything else and upping my walking. I reserve 1500 calories for my evening drinks and yes I know it's unhealthy but so is being overweight! Once I drop 50 pounds I will start working my way down to six drinks or less a nite.

    How many of you out there are drinkers finding it hard to lose weight?

    You drink 1500 calories worth of alcohol every night? Please go to an AA meeting.

    Why go to AA meetings? Do they have tips for helping me diet? I do thank you for posting but I did ask a question specifically to drinkers about weight loss.

    Have a good day!
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    jlutz193 wrote: »
    So this is an issue I am struggling with. There is no way I am going to quit drinking every night so what I am doing is cutting back on everything else and upping my walking. I reserve 1500 calories for my evening drinks and yes I know it's unhealthy but so is being overweight! Once I drop 50 pounds I will start working my way down to six drinks or less a nite.

    How many of you out there are drinkers finding it hard to lose weight?

    My maintenance calories are just barely over 1500 calories. There's no way you're "upping your walking" enough to create a deficit large enough to cover 1500 calories of alcohol per day, to lose weight. Maybe if you started walking to AA meetings?

    Really. 1500 calories? Two or three bottles of wine? Over half a case of beer? Wow.

    If you're not drinking 8oz of everclear a day you've got a serious not-drinking-enough problem.

    What is everclear?
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