No Alcohol on a weekday!

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  • elizabethymartin
    elizabethymartin Posts: 198 Member
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    skinnymar52 wrote: »
    I'm so glad I found this community! My sister & I recently restarted MFP and we decided to stop drinking so we can lose weight more effectively. Well I stopped my nightly glasses of red wine every night and she is trying to cut out the wine & beer during the week. Anyone else get a crazy sweet tooth from not drinking alcohol?
    YES!!! And I've never had a sweet tooth! Not even as a kid! Just goes to show I how addicted we were to those booze carbs!!

  • biodigit
    biodigit Posts: 145 Member
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    It is so awesome to see everyone making great progress. Believe me I know how hard it is to get rid off this age old habit of drinking. More than anything, it's a habit. We become used to it, we become accustomed to drinking, because, we just do. People who do feel the urge, should not feel ashamed for doing so. Alcohol does that to you.

    I was always just a weekend drinker, so every time Thu would roll around I would feel this tingly sensation - this desire to start thinking about gulping down a few ones. So it was always hard to even stop thinking about quitting or cutting down on drinking.

    It wasn't until I started thinking about my overall fitness goals and losing the weight/building muscle. So I tried going through this journey while still trying to stick with the drinking, because I thought, hey I only drink on the weekends, so it should not be that bad. Well, after I started logging everything including alcohol, I realized how many empty calories were being added with no nutritional value! When you're weight training, its important to consume sufficient amount of food broken down by their macro-nutritional value. But when you add alcohol to the mix, you never seemed to have any room left for additional calories!

    That's when I realized I needed to make a decision. What takes a priority? Is it my fitness goals? or it is the feeling of being buzzed/drunk (which I might add feels good :P) after consuming a few ones. So I had to make my fitness goals the priority. I went for almost a year without having a single drink. What made it easier for me was instead of telling myself that I'm "quitting", I told myself I'm just taking a "break" And it's true, I did take a break, but it was a break that lasted for almost a year! After a year when I did have a drink, I couldn't consume more than 2 or 3 beers at the most. My body would just tell me that I need to stop. Somehow it's now has a built-in threshold for the amount of drinks it can consume. Addition to that, the physical/mental sensation I used to get on Thursdays are completely gone. Now I only drink on very special occasions - but when I do, it would be just couple of drinks and I'm done.

    tl;dr

    What worked for me: Make fitness goals my priority. Take a long break from drinking. But don't tell yourself you're quitting. Your body will automatically adjust overtime due to non consumption. The urges will then go away :)
  • summerhol15
    summerhol15 Posts: 5 Member
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    Loving this thread. I was drinking a bottle of wine every evening. Easy to do when I was having a glass while I cooked tea, then 1 with tea, then rest of the bottle with my feet up on the sofa. 31 days later at an average 600 cals per bottle I've saved 18600 cals. At an average of £6 per bottle I've saved £186. 1 stone down (with some healthy eating thrown in) & a fabulous new handbag, a pair of the softest leather gloves ever, an amazing new scalf as a well done treat to myself & a big smile on my face as I try & decide what to spend the next £186 on! :)
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
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    I am happy to have found this Thread. I cut alcohol for Weight loss end of July. It had been a huge difference for me losing 20 pounds. But I miss my wine desperately but if I have a glass I tend not to lose weight that week.

    Tonight will be a cheat day and I plan to have a couple glasses of wine. I'm nervous what will happen to my Weight tomorrow and this upcoming week. But sometimes a girls got to do what a girls got to do
  • sunnyd77
    sunnyd77 Posts: 15 Member
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    I'd love to join! I had a baby in July and cannot shake the baby weight. I've been drinking a glass or two of wine every evening - celebrating, family visiting, stress relief, making up for 9 months of wine cravings;)!
  • AJMB704
    AJMB704 Posts: 590 Member
    edited October 2015
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    Alcohol free today again - the cold is getting worse. I can't taste my food and it is awful! Hoping I'll turn the corner tomorrow or Saturday. I want to partake in the open bar at the wedding! :p
  • runningforthetrain
    runningforthetrain Posts: 1,037 Member
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    Thanks for sharing your story biodigit. It always helps to hear how different people tackle the drinking challenge , especially most of us on here. I went to a friends birthday party tonight. I abstained from the wine or cocktails mostly because I felt myself on the verge of a migraine in the late afternoon. Tonight was a real turning point for me-- I had such a great time and I didn't miss the alcohol. It was also a little awkward that my friend really wanted to drink and I didn't want to disappoint her on her birthday. But, after the awkward no, everything just partied on and it was not even noticed I wasn't drinking. Never thought I would say I was grateful for a migraine!!! I took excedrin at the first sign. And I had soda water and bitters at the party.

    I hope your cold gets better Anna.
  • runningforthetrain
    runningforthetrain Posts: 1,037 Member
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    Welcome lorz1977-- love your kitty cat pic! Wine for stress - I get it. That seems to be a little tougher of a challenge for me to say no to too.
  • babybear760
    babybear760 Posts: 7 Member
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    PMed you
  • GETU1N
    GETU1N Posts: 1,811 Member
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    Yeah... I work 10 to 13 hour shifts, and a 6 of ice cold New Castle after a 4 hour drive and staying in hotel all week... AWSOME! I don't drink during the week tho my job is to dangerous I need to be focused.
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
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    Ok I am committing to NOT drink this weekend! I will let everyone know how it went! :#
  • saladcrunchy
    saladcrunchy Posts: 899 Member
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    Sad fact: Even a limited amount of alcohol can undermine a diet even as part of a calorie controlled diet. This is because alcohol slows down and changes the way that the body burns and stores fat.
    http://www.builtlean.com/2012/11/26/alcohol-weight-loss/

    When I first started to diet, no probs until I hit a wall even though I was still cutting calories. Turned out to be the alcohol, a real heart sink moment and had no choice but to restrict it and did so bit by bit until the weight started to shift again.

    How much you have to cut out will be different for everyone but for me, this meant none all week and had to limit set at two bottles at the week end only. Misery making in the long term but I enjoyed it more.

    Here are a few useful facts and very good luck cutting back:


    Alcohol: Recommended Daily Allowance: Women = 2-3 units + 1 for men. The calculation for RDA is complicated by differences in the alcohol % (strength or volume) in each type of drink.

    https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/what-is-alcohol/what-is-an-alcohol-unit

    Wine Measure Units kcals Carbs
    1 bottle at 12% vol 750mls (75cls) 9.8 564 6
    Half bottle 375 mls 4.9 282 3
    1/3 bottle 250mls = large glass 3.3 188 2
    ¼ bottle 187mls 2.45 141 1.5
    Standard small glass 175mls 2. 132 1.25
    1/6 bottle 125 ml 1.6 94 1

    A moderate amount of red wine (also pure cranberry juice) may help thin blood, raise levels of good cholesterol and dissolve ‘young’ artery plaques. Pinot noir has the highest anti-oxidant rate and other beneficial properties.

    • Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Pinot Noir
    • Waitrose Romanian
    • Cono Sur - Bicicleta Pinot Noir or Chapel Hill Pinot Noir

    Isoflavones also inhibit the growth of cells that form artery clogging plaque.
    http://www.isoflavones.info/

    • Soya Milk
    http://www.happyjuicer.com/Dairy-Free/soy-milk-benefits.aspx


  • elizabethymartin
    elizabethymartin Posts: 198 Member
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    Thanks for the info crunchy
    HAPPY WEEKEND ALL!! CHEERS!! >:)
  • lizwooshy
    lizwooshy Posts: 110 Member
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    How did everyone do? Last night I had literally 1 sip of the Old Fashion that my SO made to taste it. Nothing besides that all week. Even abstained from opening the huge bottle of wine I bought for this weekend for my family who will be visiting.
  • runningforthetrain
    runningforthetrain Posts: 1,037 Member
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    Thanks so much crunchy for this info- I know a lot of my friends will split a whole bottle of wine easily in one setting. I can do a third of a bottle but, looks like that should be even only occasionally.

    Wow dbanks80 -- you are brave. I wish you luck. I am thinking the alcohol is making me fatigued the following day- keep this in mind as perhaps a little motivation :)

    lizwooshy- I had one vodka soda water on Monday night. I am cutting my weekly total not, necessarily the weekend only- I think I'm doing pretty good...
  • lizwooshy
    lizwooshy Posts: 110 Member
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    runningforthetrain wrote: »
    Thanks so much crunchy for this info- I know a lot of my friends will split a whole bottle of wine easily in one setting. I can do a third of a bottle but, looks like that should be even only occasionally.

    Wow dbanks80 -- you are brave. I wish you luck. I am thinking the alcohol is making me fatigued the following day- keep this in mind as perhaps a little motivation :)

    lizwooshy- I had one vodka soda water on Monday night. I am cutting my weekly total not, necessarily the weekend only- I think I'm doing pretty good...

    Good Job :) even slight cutbacks are helpful for weight loss and more importantly over all health. My SO only had two cocktails this week at my encouragement, which is much better than 2-3 beers a night which he was doing.
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
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    runningforthetrain wrote: »
    Thanks so much crunchy for this info- I know a lot of my friends will split a whole bottle of wine easily in one setting. I can do a third of a bottle but, looks like that should be even only occasionally.

    Wow dbanks80 -- you are brave. I wish you luck. I am thinking the alcohol is making me fatigued the following day- keep this in mind as perhaps a little motivation :)

    lizwooshy- I had one vodka soda water on Monday night. I am cutting my weekly total not, necessarily the weekend only- I think I'm doing pretty good...

    I totally agree with the fatigue issue that is why I can never get up to go to Bootcamp on Mondays! :D

  • starwhisperer6
    starwhisperer6 Posts: 402 Member
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    I think I will just not have anything to drink for the rest of October. Seems like a much safer bet for me :) Glad some of you are trying it as well.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    No alcohol ANYDAY, even better!
  • saladcrunchy
    saladcrunchy Posts: 899 Member
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    Yi5hedr3 wrote: »
    No alcohol ANYDAY, even better!

    Well the jury's still out on that. The following documentary has given rise to new research, yet to be concluded

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=g0JL3Q-lpVY

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