Cutting out alcohol?

blondieabroad

So, as a young (single) person, I often meet-up with friends or go to social events and while it is easy for me to say no to cookies and cake and a plate of nachos, I know that I'm wasting calories on alcohol. This is a really tough one to give up because I really enjoy the social aspects of drinking and I love a good glass of wine with a nice meal, or just to chill out at the end of the day.

I also know that this is a lot of useless calories...Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Is it possible to still enjoy it in moderation every once in a while or do I need to totally cut it out? My weight loss goals are moderate (10-15lbs), and I'm really trying to get back on track after a broken leg and a few months of inactivity paired with some unhealthy eating resulted in some weight gain.

Does anyone have advice on successfully cutting out alcohol, or ways they could still be social or relax at the end of the day without it? Like I said, eating healthy isn't that difficult for me if I focus, but I'd be sad if I can't enjoy a glass of wine every now and then.

BodyByBex

I've lost 54 pounds and have enjoyed a glass of wine almost EVERY DAY of it.
If you really want it, you find a way to fit it into your calories.
It's not wasting calories if you enjoy drinking/eating something in particular.
You can drink alcohol and still lose weight just make it fit into your daily calories.
Bear in mind that because you have so little to lose it will likely take longer to lose, this is definitely something I've noticed as I've gotten closer to my goal.

Note: I HAVE actually asked that they measure the portion out properly at restaurants. Most think it's weird but are content to do so.

watercross

You must account for the calories of the alcohol in your daily calories if you want to drink. The more alcohol you can cut it out the more weight you will lose - so it depends on how serious you want to lose weight. No alcohol is the same and the body treats a beer (liquid bread) differently than a shot of spirits. It also depends on what diet you are following in terms of how it may effect weight loss. Do not forget to include the mix if having a mixed drink. The mix can be more calories than the alcohol itself. So be smart and make good choices of the type of alcohol you choose as well as the mix. One other thought is a few drinks can make you eat something you might have not if you were not drinking.

Yi5hedr3

You can certainly lose weight while drinking alcohol, but it will be mostly muscle. Every time you drink, your Liver will be busy full time for the next 48-72 hours detoxifying your Liver. Until this is complete your body cannot burn fat! SO.......just what kind of weight do you want to lose??? Muscle, or fat???

spzjlb

I also have wine most evenings. I have learned to have less - smaller glasses help and usually just have one glass (or two little ones). That wine is such a nice part of my lifestyle that I've cut out other things to ensure I can include the wine in my calorie count (e.g. I cut out the generous splashes of milk in my coffee, switched to plain yogurt, smaller portion sizes). The most important thing for me is 30 min of pretty intense exercise daily, which ups my calorie expenditure sufficiently to permit the wine.

On days when I am feeling heavy or know that I need to cut back, it's pretty easy to just not have the wine.

Good luck!

PaytraB

With 10-15 lbs to lose, have your goals set to losing a half pound a week. On non-social days, either exercise a bit more & don't eat the calories back or eat a little bit under your daily calorie goal. This will give you a reserve for the nights when you socialize.
Instead of looking at each day as a separate entity in terms of calories, look at a weekly calorie goal to lose weight and adjust the daily intakes so that you have extra calories on the days when you socialize.
A glass of wine will enhance a nice dinner and evening. Enjoy.

rileysowner

Just fit in into your calories. Especially if you go with a conservative weight loss goal so you have more calories to work with, and if you exercise, again giving you more calories to work with, not everything you eat has to simply be for nutrition, some can be for enjoyment.

cmarangi

There's nothing wrong with a glass of wine. The key is budgeting out your calories. When I know I'm going to have something like that I log my day ahead of time so that I'm sure I can fit what I want in.

Rabidrunner

You can fit it in like others have said, or if you're like me, you might value the calories from food over those in alcohol. I am eating around 1400 calories a day and you can bet your bottom dollar I would choose a snack over a glass of wine on that calorie budget, so it just depends on which one is more appealing to you!

Runagain_4

I don't find it's the glass of wine that's the problem; it's more that i seem to make less smart food choices when I have one or a few. So even though I've not eliminated having drinks, I now have them on special nights (usually if we're going out). That's just me personally; but dropping the nightly glass of wine has definitely helped keep me on track.

lorrpb

Having alcohol fit within your calorie goals, not be hungry with the loss of food calories, and meet your weight loss goals is a luxury indeed. It's not that easy for everyone, so if you can do it, enjoy it for the rest of us.

treebek

You can have wine. Just be aware that 5 oz is the typical serving of wine and most glasses of wine are way more than 5 oz. Also, your body is going to burn alcohol before it burns fat. As long as you log and account for the calories though, there is no reason it should affect your weight loss.

One thing I found by giving up drinking wine every day is that I lost a lot of bloat. Which, while I love me some wine, this totally did it for me.

rosebarnalice

I budget for alcohol, and avoid bread and sweets on the days that I drink to keep from "piling on" the starchy sugary empty calories.

When out with friends, I order a glass of water with every drink both to ensure I stay hydrated, but also to slow down my alcohol consumption.

And while I rarely drink mixed drinks because of the extra calories in the mixers, when I do have the occasional margarita, I order an extra shot of tequila on the side and the pour it in the drink. Two drinks with half the mixer calories!

thatdesertgirl777

Runagain_4 wrote: »

I don't find it's the glass of wine that's the problem; it's more that i seem to make less smart food choices when I have one or a few. So even though I've not eliminated having drinks, I now have them on special nights (usually if we're going out). That's just me personally; but dropping the nightly glass of wine has definitely helped keep me on track.

This is my sentiments as well. Not saying that its easy though.

kshama2001

blondieabroad wrote: »

So, as a young (single) person, I often meet-up with friends or go to social events and while it is easy for me to say no to cookies and cake and a plate of nachos, I know that I'm wasting calories on alcohol. This is a really tough one to give up because I really enjoy the social aspects of drinking and I love a good glass of wine with a nice meal, or just to chill out at the end of the day.

I also know that this is a lot of useless calories...Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Is it possible to still enjoy it in moderation every once in a while or do I need to totally cut it out? My weight loss goals are moderate (10-15lbs), and I'm really trying to get back on track after a broken leg and a few months of inactivity paired with some unhealthy eating resulted in some weight gain.

Does anyone have advice on successfully cutting out alcohol, or ways they could still be social or relax at the end of the day without it? Like I said, eating healthy isn't that difficult for me if I focus, but I'd be sad if I can't enjoy a glass of wine every now and then.

I'm a little confused. I think if you were truly referring to "a glass of wine every now and then," you wouldn't be asking this question.

What specifically would moderation look like to you - how many ounces, how many times per week? Weekly total?

How many calories are you eating per day? The system says 3.5 ounces of white wine is 70 calories. I think many people could fit one glass of wine into their day if they so desired. However, if you have a sparse amount of calories to work with and are talking about more than a 3.5 ounce serving, that's a different story.

NotGnarly

I cut out alcohol after falling into the binge drinking which then leads to binge eating habit. I think I stopped on 12/2/15 but I've been known to go a year or months without drinking but I never set a goal on complete abstinence. I tend to hang out with mostly my husband and kiddos so I don't have much of a social life but in the past I was DD a lot. It turns out I'm one of those people who don't mind getting on the dance floor while sober, so it worked out lol.

I'm sure you can guess that binge drinking and then binge eating has easily piled on the pounds for me so me ever having a healthy relationship with alcohol isn't that likely. Once I start drinking I can't stop until I'm drunk. If you can control the amount that you take in, then that's awesome. If you find yourself like me it's best that you greatly cut back or abstain. The only way for me to lose weight is to avoid alcohol completely. I've tried the whole moderation approach and it didn't work for me at all. When I don't drink alcohol, I don't binge eat. To me it was pretty straight forward on why I've struggled to lose weight and kept gaining. Good Luck

HippySkoppy

You could try different alcoholic beverages that would be lower in calories.....someone else will have to chime in on this one as I'm pretty clueless on what the lowest would be....I have seen Vodka mentioned quite a lot with Soda and and lime wedge as a lower calorie option....

You say you get enjoyment from your glass of wine and would be sad without it in your life, so from that point of view they really aren't wasted calories.

Everything about losing and then successfully maintaining weight has to be attainable and sustainable for the long haul....if you can't see yourself having as much fun at these events without alcohol then keep on drinking as the moderate rates of which you speak.

I will say this though as someone who used to think just like you ie. Parties etc aren't the same without booze was the the time I started to re-evaluate my relationship with alcohol.....I quickly realized that I was giving the alcohol a little teeny bit more power than was healthy so I stopped drinking for over a year and surprise, surprise didn't miss it at all.

It took longer for friends to accept the change and there were a few awkward moments but they passed.....I do drink now occasionally but not EVERY single event. I have just subbed in mineral, soda water with bitters etc and no one blinks an eye....plus I'm the most popular one at the end of the night when they all need to roll on home and I'm the designated driver.....

VykkDraygoVPR

HippySkoppy wrote: »

You could try different alcoholic beverages that would be lower in calories.....someone else will have to chime in on this one as I'm pretty clueless on what the lowest would be....I have seen Vodka mentioned quite a lot with Soda and and lime wedge as a lower calorie option....

Hard liquors are pretty much the same. At 40% ABV, you are looking at about 64 calories per ounce. For a rough estimate, I use 1.6 x ABV x ounces. Liqueurs are all over the place.

HippySkoppy

@VykkDraygoVPR well there you go much more relevant info than I can can provide.....Thanks

totaldetermination

I have some wine once or twice a week.
As others have said, everything in moderation !

cindytw

There is nothing wrong with living you life. Try to track ahead for the day so you know what you can have, so if it is a big drinking day, have a lot of salad and lean protein for meals like fish and chicken. Easier said than done, but that is the ideal answer.

toe1226

I am a young single girl myself and I will say this:

1) It is easy for every day to be a special occasion - someones birthday, they left their job, having a baby, had a tough day...I can find a reason to drink EVERY DAY if I wanted to.

2) i have trouble both with the calories of alcohol and the calories I consume after the alcohol.

3) When I want to LOSE, like, really lose (looking to lose 10-15 after the new year) - I cut out alcohol completely for at least 6 weeks. Not only does this speed my weight loss, but it also reminds me of how great I feel when I am not drinking, and shows my friends that there is no gray area where I MIGHT drink.

4) Depending on where I'm at after 6 weeks, I will add alcohol in as necessary. (Once I ended up going 4 months, another time, I dived right back in but more carefully) - I just find the removal for a little bit helpful in reevaluating.

But we're all different!

amatisse

The problem with wine is that portion control is difficult and I could easily have another. However, 1 jigger of Vodka, slice lime and 6-7 oz of diet tonic over ice is only 90 calories and can be nursed along for an hour when dining with friends or at the end of the work day..I can fit that into my calorie track and not feel deprived.

monkeygirl32

I fit it into my daily calories. I enjoy a glass of wine. Actually it's more like 2!! I count 2 of the 4oz glasses. It's not every day and it's in the evenings so at that point of the day, I can see if my calories for the day will allow it as I don't eat later in the evening. I've been managing to stay under every day except for one and I only went 100 over. I've lost 5.4lbs so far and I've been able to fit wine in.

blondieabroad

Thanks guys- some really helpful things to think about! I was thinking about just doing a few weeks off to kind of kick start the weight loss and get out of the habit, and then adding it back in so that I account for it better. It is nice to know that other people have had success and still enjoy some drinks in moderation

emaybe

If you're drinking at home, find yourself a special glass, measure out exactly 5 oz of liquid ("standard" wine pour), and mark off a line where it lands. Makes it easy to keep track of how much you're drinking and log it accurately. If you're out for a cocktail, you can definitely ask a bartender to measure a shot for you. Most standard shot glasses or jiggers are 1.5oz. Log as you go and don't stop. And as someone above mentioned, space out your cocktails with a glass of water if you're out drinking. Not only will it keep hangovers at bay, it will keep you from "nervous" over-drinking (which a lot of social--or socially anxious--drinkers do, myself included). Better yet, go for a glass of seltzer water with a squeeze of lemon or lime... your mouth might forget it's not alcoholic!

WinoGelato

I had a glass of wine almost every day when I was losing weight and I have one or two (sometimes more!) now that I'm maintaining. A 5 oz pour is about 125 calories so it's not that hard to work into a calorie allotment, even at a big deficit it can be worked in with a little exercise.

So yes, it is possible to drink in moderation and continue to achieve your goals but it is important to track the calories and that includes the ones that may come as a result of spontaneous consumption due to lowered inhibitions...

Asher_Ethan

I'm drinking wine right now! I always account for it in my calories.