Christmas Weight Loss / Sobriety Challenge

LouieShoe
LouieShoe Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone else have that one vice that constantly frustrates a diet?

For me it's alcohol. I don't usually eat lots of unhealthy food, and I like staying active and even enjoy exercising (I know - sounds improbable, but is actually true). But the one thing that crashes my weight loss is beer and wine - I love it!

But in addition to all the useless calories that comes with a big burly beer, it also tosses all inhibition out of the window when it comes to moderating how much I eat. When I have a few beers, I eat more than I normally would.

So I'm going to try and abstain from my diet crasher - booze - for the next four weeks. It seems impossible thinking about getting through the Christmas holiday without a drink; but I'm hoping that by putting the challenge out there, I'll be motivated to stay accountable.

If anyone else wants to have a go at abstaining from, or meeting an intake goal for their vice - whether it's ice cream, meat, junk food - whatever; I'd appreciate some company over the next four weeks.

I'll re-post here throughout the next four weeks, at least weekly, to log my (hopefully) progress, and to hold myself accountable to my goal.

I hope to see you all on the other side of December 30th with a smile!

Replies

  • joeneely71
    joeneely71 Posts: 49 Member
    Good luck. I had to stop drinking 3+ years ago and the holidays are difficult, that's for sure.
  • WendyLaubach
    WendyLaubach Posts: 518 Member
    I'm limiting calories, which means making choices about what to drop. Wine seemed like a good candidate, especially on those days when I'm feeling hungry and really would prefer another serving of soup or vegetables to fill up with, instead of a glass of wine. When I'm with other people who are enjoying a glass in the evening, I mix a little unsweetened sour cherry juice in some soda water in a wine glass. I like the taste, and it's convivial. A nice side-effect is that I'm sleeping MUCH better. I'm looking forward to finding out what our neighborhood's annual New Year's Eve gathering will be like stone cold sober. No hangover the next morning? I can play music and sing until 2am without starting to sound like a donkey? (I listened to a friend's smartphone recording after last year's bash: Yikes. Drunk people sing out of tune.)

    Also, I can save a ton of money on wine purchases. Instead of grocery-store wine every night, I can buy a really nice bottle for very occasional indulgence.
  • timetochange52
    timetochange52 Posts: 66 Member
    I just got back into the weight loss community after gaining back 25 pounds over the last three years - and I blame 24 of them on beer and wine. So I agree - at least trying to cut back during the week - no more after work cocktails. I always say that I'd probably lose more weight if I joined AA than Weight Watchers
  • 13bbird13
    13bbird13 Posts: 425 Member
    My personal Step One every time I start losing weight is to severely limit, if not eliminate, alcohol. It's not just the calories in the booze, it's the fact that after a couple glasses of wine I want half a pizza, or other inappropriate food items. I did pretty well in November... I recommend Thanksgiving dinner with Baptists for cutting alcohol consumption!... and I have strategies for handling the three Christmas parties I know I have to go to. One of the rules I've stuck to over the past 15+ years is "no drinking anyplace you don't intend to sleep", so that cuts out office parties, etc. Was that a hard decision to make? Nope... my friend's husband got pulled over for DUI and I saw first-hand the problems it caused him, so I swore off away-from-home drinking on the spot. Good luck to all who are cutting way back on the vino this holiday season; I'm with you all the way!
  • anl90
    anl90 Posts: 928 Member
    The holidays are awful on me, personally. Not only is work super hectic (I work in retail), but the time of the year in general just makes me lose momentum. It's cold out, it's dark by the time I am out of work, and I lack energy because of the constant dreary weather. I'm trying to not let myself slack, though! Other than actual Christmas, and when I celebrate the holidays with my extended family, I refuse to let myself fall back into unhealthy habits.
  • Alidecker
    Alidecker Posts: 1,262 Member
    I having been cutting my drinking down a lot lately, but I do truly enjoy having a cocktail with friends and/or family. That being said, I have multiple events each week through Christmas and I am planning on picking one each week to drink at instead of all of them. Seems like good compromise. I was just discussing this with a co-worker this morning, so the plan is in place. Now I just need to follow it.
  • wideturn
    wideturn Posts: 108 Member
    I don't drink enough to make much of a difference, but I'll join in for support!!

    FYI if anyone is having trouble with drinking or staying sober, AA meetings are the way to go. Treatment is essential!
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    Buy some sparkling juice for yourself. I have a pear one that comes in a wine type bottle. If you plan for just one, it won't make you want a bunch more like wine would plus it still looks like you're having something.
  • lippicker3000
    lippicker3000 Posts: 12 Member
    timetochange52 wrote: »
    I just got back into the weight loss community after gaining back 25 pounds over the last three years - and I blame 24 of them on beer and wine. So I agree - at least trying to cut back during the week - no more after work cocktails. I always say that I'd probably lose more weight if I joined AA than Weight Watchers

    I was just thinking about this same thing (AA vs WW) the other day! I live in wine country and Im a big foodie, so the struggle is real. I also agree my 24 out of 25 LBS that need to come off are alcohol related. Im committing to cutting way back, but not altogether. SO far 5 days of no after work drinks, and that is big for me. Would love support from others!

  • MacRec48
    MacRec48 Posts: 27 Member
    Great idea - I would love to join you and give up all alcohol beverages for the rest of this year. I have 50 pounds to lose and just like I didn't realize how much I was eating (portion size), I bet my alcohol portions are larger than I think also. My goal is to lose 12 pounds by January 1. If I meet that goal I will keep doing the same until I lose all of the weight. Good luck everyone.
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    I will try... but I may forget as it's habit to have a few. Wine is no issue, neither is liquor as I'm allergic to wine and can't hold liquor. It's the beer. Ugh. In these cold months I'm moving way less and much more depressed with the cold and shorter days, so I have been going way over (still in a deficit but a very small one) the last 3 weeks.
  • tonielcock1983
    tonielcock1983 Posts: 25 Member
    I have not had alcohol for 5 weeks now and intend to keep it that way. My weight has stabilised and no more eating the entire contents of kitchen after a few drinks :) even had a night out on the town and put myself as designated driver just to make sure I wasn't tempted. Christmas will be hard as all my family drink but it feels good not to... x
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    who would want to be sober through Christmas????????

    hell, i don't want to be sober through a weekend ;)

    y'all have fun with that. Jack and I are tight ;)


    (and yes im playing but no not really, you can lose and still drink - 75 pounds down and I am proof positive of that. So don't think you have to abstain to drink. Like with any indulgence... You just have to plan for it)
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    Ummm okay I'll start tomorrow. Had a horrifying experience at work today. Cannot unsee what has been seen. Not enough eye bleach, cannot cut out my heart.
  • timetochange52
    timetochange52 Posts: 66 Member
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    who would want to be sober through Christmas????????

    hell, i don't want to be sober through a weekend ;)

    y'all have fun with that. Jack and I are tight ;)


    (and yes im playing but no not really, you can lose and still drink - 75 pounds down and I am proof positive of that. So don't think you have to abstain to drink. Like with any indulgence... You just have to plan for it)

    I agree that it isn't necessary to abstain completely. I'm just cutting out the workweek drinks, and trying not to go overboard on the weekends. And I will suck it up and log in what I have on the weekends.
  • NotPhyllis
    NotPhyllis Posts: 23 Member
    Not me, but a very close buddy.

    He has wrestled with weight for almost as long as I have known him (16-17 years). Much of that time he has also wrestled with alcohol and , from a variety of sources, I know that alcohol has been an issue for him sporadically for many many years. This last summer he was diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2, so things have gotten more objective and urgent.This is what seems to work for him.

    I make him talk to me about the strategy he ( emphasis, he, not someone else) has thought up about how he is going to handle food or alcohol in a given situation. For him, articulating, out loud and exploring the details in advance seems to work.

    For him, open bars at a party are a lure. Sometimes he gets someone else to get him drinks so he doesn't get near the bar, sometimes he abstains, sometimes he sticks only to one type of drink and religiously alternates it with something non alcoholic like club soda with a lime etc.

    He and his wife often go on cruises. You can buy packages of booze, wine, champagne, soft drinks, etc . This year he has bought the soft drink package. He intends to only spend accumulated "frequent cruiser" points and no cash for alcohol and will limit it to a specific type. He's cheap that way; he will do that.

    With the DM, he is good about his blood sugar numbers and has been experimenting how alcohol affects the numbers. What he has found is that a tolerable amount of gin requires mixers etc that make it an unacceptable item. Also, he said it was too much work for the pleasure. So, no more gin even though he has been a double martini guy with extra olives for as long as I have known him.

    However, the same volume of scotch is more satisfying to him, doesn't need the mixers ( or work) and doesn't mess with his sugar numbers. Thus his cocktail will be Scotch, probably single malt on the theory that a lesser amount of something real good is better than a large amount of ordinary booze.


    My point is that he is approaching this coolly, not in the heat of the moment, knows what his self imposed limit will be and what behavior he needs to do to accomplish it. All this is haooening long before he get near a party or a bar.

    All of these are strategies he has thought up himself. Not me. Not his wife. Not his doc. My role as friend is to cheerlead. (Go, Go, Louie Shoe!!)

    Your mileage not only may, but will, vary. No big deal.

    Oh yeah, at the end of June he was 240. Yesterday he was 195. He is 69.

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