Do you add alcohol to your food diary
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I do. A night out can cost me 1000 calories in alcohol alone (usually consumed over many hours, but still). Not to mention the mindless snacking that usually goes with these events. If I didn't track it and try my best to make up for it on other non-drinking days I would have never lost weight.0
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janejellyroll wrote: »I drink almost every day and I did so while I was losing weight. I absolutely logged it -- you have to count the calories or it isn't going to work.
I imagine you're not seeing it in many diaries because many people prefer to eat food rather than have a drink. And that's understandable. But for me, having a glass of wine or a cocktail before dinner is a pleasure in life, a pleasure that I didn't really want to forgo. So I made room for it most days.
How does it make me feel? I guess I feel pretty neutral about it. At the very beginning it was a shock to see how quickly some types of alcohol added to my calorie count (and mixers too). I know the first time I measured out five ounces of wine, I was shocked to see how "little" it was (now it is second nature).
Me too. Most of the time it is one glass of wine in the evening except Mondays when I go out to a local sports bar for their trivia night, then I have two 16 oz light beers. Both get logged. My wine gets measured in a measuring cup and logged per ounce.
I went about a year only drinking on a rare occasion like holidays because I just did not want to spend the calories. Now I can usually work them in. If I can't, I don't drink. I have had several trivia nights with diet soda only.
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So glad I asked. Finding huge support here and realised that I do not have anything to be ashamed about. I just wondered if people who were trying to lose weight were generally anti-alcohol. Delighted to see this is not the case.
Must say I love the MFP support and shared experiences!0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »I drink almost every day and I did so while I was losing weight. I absolutely logged it -- you have to count the calories or it isn't going to work.
I imagine you're not seeing it in many diaries because many people prefer to eat food rather than have a drink. And that's understandable. But for me, having a glass of wine or a cocktail before dinner is a pleasure in life, a pleasure that I didn't really want to forgo. So I made room for it most days.
How does it make me feel? I guess I feel pretty neutral about it. At the very beginning it was a shock to see how quickly some types of alcohol added to my calorie count (and mixers too). I know the first time I measured out five ounces of wine, I was shocked to see how "little" it was (now it is second nature).
Me too. Most of the time it is one glass of wine in the evening except Mondays when I go out to a local sports bar for their trivia night, then I have two 16 oz light beers. Both get logged. My wine gets measured in a measuring cup and logged per ounce.
I went about a year only drinking on a rare occasion like holidays because I just did not want to spend the calories. Now I can usually work them in. If I can't, I don't drink. I have had several trivia nights with diet soda only.
The measuring was and is very important to me. I'm terrible at eyeballing. I use a measuring cup for every single glass.
The other night my husband was teasing me, saying I must surely be able to pour five ounces without help. So we tested it. I poured what looked like five ounces to me and then we measured it. It was seven ounces.
Two ounces might not seem like a big deal, but when you're having one or two glasses of wine a night? That adds up fast.
It also confirmed that nobody should ever hire me as a bartender!0 -
I add mine, it helped to look at mixers or other drinks that aren't as high in calories or sugar.0
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So glad I asked. Finding huge support here and realised that I do not have anything to be ashamed about. I just wondered if people who were trying to lose weight were generally anti-alcohol. Delighted to see this is not the case.
Must say I love the MFP support and shared experiences!
Regarding alcohol, it really is all about what you can work in to your daily calorie targets. It is an easy thing to cut out when you are trying to cut down on calories so I think that is why you don't see a lot of it in people's diaries. They are not anti-alcohol, they are just trying to get their food macros in first.
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I drink a craft beer nearly every day I have the calories for it.0
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janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »I drink almost every day and I did so while I was losing weight. I absolutely logged it -- you have to count the calories or it isn't going to work.
I imagine you're not seeing it in many diaries because many people prefer to eat food rather than have a drink. And that's understandable. But for me, having a glass of wine or a cocktail before dinner is a pleasure in life, a pleasure that I didn't really want to forgo. So I made room for it most days.
How does it make me feel? I guess I feel pretty neutral about it. At the very beginning it was a shock to see how quickly some types of alcohol added to my calorie count (and mixers too). I know the first time I measured out five ounces of wine, I was shocked to see how "little" it was (now it is second nature).
Me too. Most of the time it is one glass of wine in the evening except Mondays when I go out to a local sports bar for their trivia night, then I have two 16 oz light beers. Both get logged. My wine gets measured in a measuring cup and logged per ounce.
I went about a year only drinking on a rare occasion like holidays because I just did not want to spend the calories. Now I can usually work them in. If I can't, I don't drink. I have had several trivia nights with diet soda only.
The measuring was and is very important to me. I'm terrible at eyeballing. I use a measuring cup for every single glass.
The other night my husband was teasing me, saying I must surely be able to pour five ounces without help. So we tested it. I poured what looked like five ounces to me and then we measured it. It was seven ounces.
Two ounces might not seem like a big deal, but when you're having one or two glasses of wine a night? That adds up fast.
It also confirmed that nobody should ever hire me as a bartender!
I'm bad that way too. I think it is the shape of the wine glasses that makes it more difficult. Even many restaurants and bars (especially wine bars) have those little carafes that they use in order to measure out a standard pour. Too easy to pour out the profit or underpour and make the patron upset.
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Yes, and it feels crappy when I haven't accommodated it calorie wise in advance. I think I almost hit 3000 on two days last weekend (mostly from food, but a bunch of pints helped
) But it's got to go in!
The reason it has to go in isn't just to document your shame etc. It's for LATER, when you need to figure out what your TDEE really is based on your intake compared to your scale weight. (and if you're losing your TDEE is always changing). It might be higher than you think, for example. That way you can choose appropriate and realistic goals.
But did I love seeing my diary last weekend? Um nope.0 -
sure I log it... HIC...
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When I log, I log my wine. Like winogelato I have 1-2 glasses most nights. It's my dessert.0
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Nothing at all to be ashamed about!! I calculate it in my day. I love to socialize and love my beer and wine. I walk alot and/or exercise to 'earn' my drink!0
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@earlnabby that's a very good point.0
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Alcohol is tricky. The more you drink, the less efficient your body becomes using it as fuel. I always log one or two drinks. If I drink a few more, I log them and still stay within my calorie goals. If I have several more, I stop logging the alcohol and eat my calorie allotment. I'll sometimes backlog them the next day, but I'm not OCD enough to care. But if I leave them in there, I won't eat enough.
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janejellyroll wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »I drink almost every day and I did so while I was losing weight. I absolutely logged it -- you have to count the calories or it isn't going to work.
I imagine you're not seeing it in many diaries because many people prefer to eat food rather than have a drink. And that's understandable. But for me, having a glass of wine or a cocktail before dinner is a pleasure in life, a pleasure that I didn't really want to forgo. So I made room for it most days.
How does it make me feel? I guess I feel pretty neutral about it. At the very beginning it was a shock to see how quickly some types of alcohol added to my calorie count (and mixers too). I know the first time I measured out five ounces of wine, I was shocked to see how "little" it was (now it is second nature).
+1 on all of this. I usually wait till I get my kids in bed and I finally sit down for the evening and have one, sometimes two, glasses of wine almost every night.
It fits in my day. If I'm hungrier that day, I may have half a glass and some hummus but if you find a day in my diary without alcohol it's probably because I was ill that day...
Love the user name!
LOL thanks! It pretty much fits my two favorite indulgences...
Which reminds me. OP I almost always log my wine, or other treats like gelato, as snacks, regardless of when I consume them. I should change the name of that section of my diary but keeping it separate makes it easy for me to see if things are getting a little too heavy on the indulgences and outweighing some of my meals which should be more nutrient dense.
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Stressedby8 wrote: »Nothing at all to be ashamed about!! I calculate it in my day. I love to socialize and love my beer and wine. I walk alot and/or exercise to 'earn' my drink!
Only here 6 days and already I'm learning how to work for it! So yeah I get that.0 -
log it!!!0
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www.GetDrunkNotFat.com
ALWAYS log. Everything. Religiously. I had a Skinnygirl Margarita with a kicker of patron and citronge a couple nights ago, and it was FANTASTIC. My go-to drink is gin on the rocks. It's the fastest way, calorie-wise, to get where you're going.0 -
Does it have calories? Yes? Then add it.0
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HappyCampr1 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »I drink almost every day and I did so while I was losing weight. I absolutely logged it -- you have to count the calories or it isn't going to work.
I imagine you're not seeing it in many diaries because many people prefer to eat food rather than have a drink. And that's understandable. But for me, having a glass of wine or a cocktail before dinner is a pleasure in life, a pleasure that I didn't really want to forgo. So I made room for it most days.
How does it make me feel? I guess I feel pretty neutral about it. At the very beginning it was a shock to see how quickly some types of alcohol added to my calorie count (and mixers too). I know the first time I measured out five ounces of wine, I was shocked to see how "little" it was (now it is second nature).
Me too. Most of the time it is one glass of wine in the evening except Mondays when I go out to a local sports bar for their trivia night, then I have two 16 oz light beers. Both get logged. My wine gets measured in a measuring cup and logged per ounce.
I went about a year only drinking on a rare occasion like holidays because I just did not want to spend the calories. Now I can usually work them in. If I can't, I don't drink. I have had several trivia nights with diet soda only.
The measuring was and is very important to me. I'm terrible at eyeballing. I use a measuring cup for every single glass.
The other night my husband was teasing me, saying I must surely be able to pour five ounces without help. So we tested it. I poured what looked like five ounces to me and then we measured it. It was seven ounces.
Two ounces might not seem like a big deal, but when you're having one or two glasses of wine a night? That adds up fast.
It also confirmed that nobody should ever hire me as a bartender!
I'm bad that way too. I think it is the shape of the wine glasses that makes it more difficult. Even many restaurants and bars (especially wine bars) have those little carafes that they use in order to measure out a standard pour. Too easy to pour out the profit or underpour and make the patron upset.
I ordered 8.5 oz wine glasses because it's much easier for me to accurately pour five ounces in a smaller glass than to try to pour 5 ounces in a 12 or 14 ounce glass. I was able to instantly spot the mistake a waitress made when I ordered a 9-oz glass. She brought me a 6-oz pour by mistake and all I had to do was look at it and I knew it wasn't right. I felt proud of my measuring skills then, lol.
To the OP, I always pre-log my glass of wine to make sure it fits. The only time I have had problems fitting drinks in is during football season. Luckily, I've never been a huge drinker, but I do enjoy the few I have.
LOL. My red wine glasses are 26 oz. My SIL is a level 2 sommelier so I tend to go with the fancier stuff under her influence.
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I'm meeting a friend for drinks tonight which is what got me thinking about this. I guess I'll just drink mindfully!0
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Of course...except when I drink too much.
In such cases, I just log in all booze swilled to excess as "organic green tea with honey".
It makes me feel more saintly!
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Absolutely. If I drink it, I track it. I save calories when I know it's going to happen. I also know that beer makes me retain water and weigh more the next morning. Liquor usually doesn't.
Pay attention when someone is serving you because a bartender's pour isn't usually a serving size. If I'm having a craft beer, I look for a comparable style at a bigger brewery - for a local pale ale, I'll use Sierra Nevada's calorie count. Also, I don't drink a lot . . . moderation keeps the calories down.0 -
If I drink it? Yes. But my last drink was May 2013. Usually only a couple a year.0
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Yes my Friday night diaries often consist of Prosseco- 1bottle.
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Yes, I log it. my husband and I like to go out on occasion and during the fall and winter we play darts on Thursdays so I have to budget in my liquor lol. I do drink less now that I'm logging. it was a shocker when I measured out an ounce and a half of liquor at how little it was cuz evidently i overpoured a lot. I've recently tried the 55 calorie beer, it's ok but I'm not much of a beer drinker. As far as how I feel I can say when I do go over my limit due to liquor I am embarrassed to log it, I do though. last Friday for instance I went over; 2,500 calories because of the liquor lol but I had fun & danced a lot so I know I burned some of that off and started back on track the next day.. Occasional mess ups I don't worry about. I'm on a mission to lose weight (down 28 lbs since May) but gonna enjoy life too.0
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Yes I drink and yes I log it. My wine is my dessert like others have said. I eat the way I plan to once I reach my goal. You will never take my wine or alcohol. I enjoy the taste far too much. Has it slowed down my weight loss? Maybe. Do I care though? Not really. I am in this for the long haul not some quick fix. If you like to drink just be conscious about it. Especially if you are a snacked, lucky for me I'm not so it doesn't hurt me as much as it may for some.0
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I don't drink very often for a variety of reasons, but when I do, I count the calories. Liquid calories add up fast; liquid calories which are also alcohol calories not only add up fast but can also impair your judgment and decision making (sure! I'll have the nachos!" "Hey! Dessert sounds great!"). I may go over my goal on calories (and sometimes choose to), but I'm honest with myself about it.0
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