alcohol and diets

nicolletitman68
nicolletitman68 Posts: 7 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am a very healthy eater but I enjoy a glass or 2 of wine a night. Does it really help to cut all alcohol out completely? I still need to lose about 10 lbs. I track my food daily and even count in alcohol calories.....Any advise ?
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Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I lost weight while drinking regularly. I logged the calories. I don't know if I would have lost faster if I had cut out all alcohol, but since I met my goal anyway, I'm not too concerned about what might have been.

    Some people have reported that their progress sped up when they reduced or eliminated alcohol. In my experience though, it was the calories that counted, not the alcohol.
  • Redbeard333
    Redbeard333 Posts: 381 Member
    If you can fit it in your log, do it! Enjoy the fruits of life!! I've cut back to a degree, and have actually taken a liking to whisky/vodka since you can get the same buzz for fewer calories than a beer. The again, you can just budget out your calories or go for a walk after having that wine.
  • eliza8897
    eliza8897 Posts: 35 Member
    I'm s wine drinker. I do not log it but it's usually on my weekend where I eat freely and only log exercise and breakfast
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    I'm a big drinker and I was so happy that I could still drink while doing MFP. If you can fit it in then you can drink.
  • jennarandhayes
    jennarandhayes Posts: 456 Member
    Girl, I lost over 50lbs in college when I was partying like a mad woman. I would eat a bag of popcorn for dinner and use the rest of my calories on wine. You can adjust your calories to meet your needs.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,338 Member
    edited January 2016
    I've lost just over 80 lbs over the last two years, while having drinks almost every weekend with hubby...I'm sure I could have lost more, faster...but...LIFE. <3
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    I have never been able to drink just one glass of wine. How does anyone do this?
  • robertfhub
    robertfhub Posts: 8 Member
    JanetYellen wrote: »
    I have never been able to drink just one glass of wine. How does anyone do this?

    LOL
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    JanetYellen wrote: »
    I have never been able to drink just one glass of wine. How does anyone do this?

    Right there with ya', JanetYellen.
  • nicolletitman68
    nicolletitman68 Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks for all the tips. I really appreciate it! I feel like not a lot of people talk about alcohol on these boards. I can give up just about anything. But, as a single working full time woman, wine helps me decompress.....and yes I do workout daily :)
  • lulalacroix
    lulalacroix Posts: 1,082 Member
    I enjoy my wine on a few nights a week. It has not affected my loss. I actually did a text one month last year to see if my weight loss improved if I gave up wine. It just so happens that I only lost 2 pounds that entire month. So, I think I will stick with the wine. :smiley:
  • gumby101ca
    gumby101ca Posts: 539 Member
    nicolletitman68 wrote: »
    Thanks for all the tips. I really appreciate it! I feel like not a lot of people talk about alcohol on these boards. I can give up just about anything. But, as a single working full time woman, wine helps me decompress.....and yes I do workout daily :)

    Enjoy.. ;)
  • GsKiki
    GsKiki Posts: 392 Member
    A glass of red wine a day will not hurt you as long as you don't forget to count it with your calories. But you say you do, so I don't see anything bad in it :)
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    as long as you can make it fit in your calories, go ahead.

    i have alcohol all the time.
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,630 Member
    I drink, I log, I stay under.
  • lynnstrick01
    lynnstrick01 Posts: 181 Member
    Alcohol has A LOT of empty calories, so if you are cutting nutritional calories to add wine that may not be a good thing health wise.. HOWEVER I too am a wine lover, used to drink daily, I had to cut it back to just the week-ends .. I like the sweet wines like sangria, so I just pour 1/2 glass of wine and fill the rest of the way with V8 splash or a diet soda, I still get my wine but cut the Calories. If you don't care for the super sweet try cutting it with maybe club soda. I have heard that beer is DEFINITELY off limits due to the carb and fat content. not sure about that I have never been much of a beer drinker.
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,630 Member
    lynnstrick01 wrote: »
    Alcohol has A LOT of empty calories, so if you are cutting nutritional calories to add wine that may not be a good thing health wise.. HOWEVER I too am a wine lover, used to drink daily, I had to cut it back to just the week-ends .. I like the sweet wines like sangria, so I just pour 1/2 glass of wine and fill the rest of the way with V8 splash or a diet soda, I still get my wine but cut the Calories. If you don't care for the super sweet try cutting it with maybe club soda. I have heard that beer is DEFINITELY off limits due to the carb and fat content. not sure about that I have never been much of a beer drinker.

    Beer definitely isn't off limits. There was a beer thread just like this last week. Every few weeks I rotate between vodka, beer, and wine. It's all the same. If you can fit your calories in, then it's fine. The problem comes when you can't stick to the limits of 1-2 glasses/beers/shots/name your alcohol.
  • samgamgee
    samgamgee Posts: 398 Member
    If you're going to enjoy drinking alcohol for the foreseeable future, you should definitely factor it into your calories! If I stopped drinking to lose weight then reached my goal and started drinking again, I bet I'd put on weight again as I wouldn't have learnt how to include alcohol calories in my day to day life.
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,630 Member
    samgamgee wrote: »
    If you're going to enjoy drinking alcohol for the foreseeable future, you should definitely factor it into your calories! If I stopped drinking to lose weight then reached my goal and started drinking again, I bet I'd put on weight again as I wouldn't have learnt how to include alcohol calories in my day to day life.

    Can't say you'll gain weight because you automatically gain at least 250-300 calories by going to maintenance. Sounds like a good drink to me. However, you are right. You do have to learn hot to fit it in especially if you know that's a part of your life.
  • kirsteeeeenxo
    kirsteeeeenxo Posts: 17 Member
    I'm a student and drink A LOT, but I like to think the healthy eating and exercise kind of cancel it out. The only bad thing food/drink wise I'm putting into my body is vodka. I'd probably be a lot fitter if I didn't drink but I'd probably be more boring.
  • lynnstrick01
    lynnstrick01 Posts: 181 Member
    Beer definitely isn't off limits. There was a beer thread just like this last week. Every few weeks I rotate between vodka, beer, and wine. It's all the same. If you can fit your calories in, then it's fine. The problem comes when you can't stick to the limits of 1-2 glasses/beers/shots/name your alcohol.

    OK, sorry, I had just heard that the carbs and fat in beer were higher.. i stand corrected
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,630 Member
    lynnstrick01 wrote: »
    Beer definitely isn't off limits. There was a beer thread just like this last week. Every few weeks I rotate between vodka, beer, and wine. It's all the same. If you can fit your calories in, then it's fine. The problem comes when you can't stick to the limits of 1-2 glasses/beers/shots/name your alcohol.

    OK, sorry, I had just heard that the carbs and fat in beer were higher.. i stand corrected

    You are not wrong in terms of beer content at all. Mine has 1g of carbs per ounce basically. It's just that carbs or not the enemy. If too many carbs sends you over your calorie limit, then that's a different problem.
  • samgamgee
    samgamgee Posts: 398 Member
    20yearsyounger wrote: »
    samgamgee wrote: »
    If you're going to enjoy drinking alcohol for the foreseeable future, you should definitely factor it into your calories! If I stopped drinking to lose weight then reached my goal and started drinking again, I bet I'd put on weight again as I wouldn't have learnt how to include alcohol calories in my day to day life.

    Can't say you'll gain weight because you automatically gain at least 250-300 calories by going to maintenance. Sounds like a good drink to me. However, you are right. You do have to learn hot to fit it in especially if you know that's a part of your life.

    A decent bottle of red is about 600 which is what I'm potentially factoring in ;)
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,630 Member
    lynnstrick01 wrote: »
    Beer definitely isn't off limits. There was a beer thread just like this last week. Every few weeks I rotate between vodka, beer, and wine. It's all the same. If you can fit your calories in, then it's fine. The problem comes when you can't stick to the limits of 1-2 glasses/beers/shots/name your alcohol.

    OK, sorry, I had just heard that the carbs and fat in beer were higher.. i stand corrected
    You are not wrong. The beer I drink has 1g of carbs per ounce. Carbs is not the enemy. You need carbs. Too many carbs sending you over you calorie limit is a different problem.
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,630 Member
    samgamgee wrote: »
    20yearsyounger wrote: »
    samgamgee wrote: »
    If you're going to enjoy drinking alcohol for the foreseeable future, you should definitely factor it into your calories! If I stopped drinking to lose weight then reached my goal and started drinking again, I bet I'd put on weight again as I wouldn't have learnt how to include alcohol calories in my day to day life.

    Can't say you'll gain weight because you automatically gain at least 250-300 calories by going to maintenance. Sounds like a good drink to me. However, you are right. You do have to learn hot to fit it in especially if you know that's a part of your life.

    A decent bottle of red is about 600 which is what I'm potentially factoring in ;)

    1 bottle every other night otherwise you have to work for those extra calories
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,630 Member
    I think I am having problems with my post bur I wanted to add that I truly don't mind putting in some extra work for my drinking calories
  • andrewbadera
    andrewbadera Posts: 14 Member
    Last year I walked my dog over 400 miles, ran 4 5Ks, did some biking. I didn't count my calories, and I drank a crapload of Scotch. My cardiovascular fitness improved immensely, but I gained ~10 pounds, mostly not muscle.

    I started counting calories again last month. I started crosstraining with resistance workouts late last month. I'm still killing WAAAAY too much Scotch, but I'm down 12 pounds from my recent peak, 8 of that in the past 3 weeks.

    Could I lose more by not drinking? Probably, but as long as I'm getting enough/balance my macros while counting calories, and I'm active 4-6 days a week, I'm losing enough weight, I don't see a reason to cut it out.

    Would it help you lose more weight if you cut it out entirely? Of course, but only if you don't replace those calories with something else.
  • samgamgee
    samgamgee Posts: 398 Member
    20yearsyounger wrote: »
    I think I am having problems with my post bur I wanted to add that I truly don't mind putting in some extra work for my drinking calories

    Oh for sure! I'll happily spend an extra couple of hours walking on the treadmill if I need to free up some booze calories!
  • MommyMeggo
    MommyMeggo Posts: 1,222 Member
    edited January 2016
    I make sure I eat just enough for my 8 oz of vino nightly. If I drink a bit over my goal I just scale back the cals the next day or go hard in the paint and up my cardio. Wine is mommy's happy juice and therefore it will always have a place in my food diary.

    ETA: typo shmypo
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,630 Member
    samgamgee wrote: »
    20yearsyounger wrote: »
    I think I am having problems with my post bur I wanted to add that I truly don't mind putting in some extra work for my drinking calories

    Oh for sure! I'll happily spend an extra couple of hours walking on the treadmill if I need to free up some booze calories!

    Haha, I can't wait that long. I crank that incline up and shoot for 30 mins:) I nurse the drink longer :)

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