No more wine time for this little drunk duck
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vanessaaorth717 wrote: »@Packerjohn I used to drink large volumes of wine at night, since going without or cutting back, I just can't get to sleep. I have a script for a Z class drug (not addictive like a benzodiazepine is) It's just hard lying awake until 2 in the morning and then trying to function! I'm Not the greatest sleeper at the best of times. Hopefully heavy exercise helps. Why do you ask anyway?
Your original post made it sound like you though you had or were close to having a drinking problem. Then you say you're going to hit up sleeping pills (before you mentioned under a doctor's care)
Trading one possible addiction for another isn't the healthiest thing2 -
I stopped drinking altogether because my husband is on probation and one of the conditions is that he cannot have alcohol. So we can't go to bars or clubs and we can't purchase alcohol and keep it at home. I find I don't miss it. It has all these empty calories. Every 2 or 3 months I make an exception and go out with girlfriends, and purchase 2 or 3 individual drinks. Then I switch to no cal Red Bull and water.0
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Packerjohn wrote: »vanessaaorth717 wrote: »@Packerjohn I used to drink large volumes of wine at night, since going without or cutting back, I just can't get to sleep. I have a script for a Z class drug (not addictive like a benzodiazepine is) It's just hard lying awake until 2 in the morning and then trying to function! I'm Not the greatest sleeper at the best of times. Hopefully heavy exercise helps. Why do you ask anyway?
Your original post made it sound like you though you had or were close to having a drinking problem. Then you say you're going to hit up sleeping pills (before you mentioned under a doctor's care)
Trading one possible addiction for another isn't the healthiest thing
Making a transition to normal sleeping habits via RX is okay. The doctor will generally authorize it for three months then wean you off.1 -
Packerjohn wrote: »vanessaaorth717 wrote: »@Packerjohn I used to drink large volumes of wine at night, since going without or cutting back, I just can't get to sleep. I have a script for a Z class drug (not addictive like a benzodiazepine is) It's just hard lying awake until 2 in the morning and then trying to function! I'm Not the greatest sleeper at the best of times. Hopefully heavy exercise helps. Why do you ask anyway?
Your original post made it sound like you though you had or were close to having a drinking problem. Then you say you're going to hit up sleeping pills (before you mentioned under a doctor's care)
Trading one possible addiction for another isn't the healthiest thing
Making a transition to normal sleeping habits via RX is okay. The doctor will generally authorize it for three months then wean you off.
Yep as I mentioned the original post didn't mention any doctor involvement..0 -
We made our minds up Saturday to stop drinking for a month, because hubby was hungover and it ruined the whole day. Sunday? He was offered a beer at a party, and said yes. Twas a quick month.
We only drink on weekends, and usually only with each other as part of our "date" nites..but...my father was an alcoholic...his father was an alcoholic....
That said, I've lost 80 lbs while continuing to drink most weekends at least one night.0 -
In the U.S., the OTC sleep aids include diphenhydramine, doxylamine, valerian, melatonin, certain amino acids, and magnesium that I can think of. As far as I know, none of those are addicting. Reading @Packerjohn's post made me curious if there are OTC sleep aids available in other countries (I'm sure there must be) that are addicting?0
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Someone on these forums posted a link to this website http://tiredofthinkingaboutdrinking.com/. I have been reading the blogs and committed to the 100 day no drinking challenge. Her blog is awesome and it really hits home for me. I'm not sure if this is the kind of support or option you may be looking for but wanted to throw it out there for you.1
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vanessaaorth717 wrote: »Soooo after a gain in pure lard of about 25kgs over a few years and many bottles of white wine, my journey to sobriety is beginning. So far I've cut back to weekends but Peter, Paul and Mary, if there's a bottle in my house, no drop will go unfinished. How do you 'control' your alcohol intake? What's your poison and do you think there's ANY chance of losing weight, exercising, calorie controlling AND drinking plenty?! Help!
I can't control myself around a bottle of wine. Literally, I don't care about beer, liquor, or anything else but put a bottle (or box) of white zinfandel in front of me, and there's no turning back lol. I've been trying to only drink on Saturday nights. Usually it goes something like this: I'll go to a restaurant for dinner and look at the menu and say, hmmm....a glass of wine would go really well with this. Then it's a second glass, and a third, and by that point when my friends say "lets pick up a bottle and continue this at the house" I'm too tipsy to remember I'm about to consume over 1200 calories in wine. Needless to say, we usually finish the bottle and end up at Mcdonald's at 2am for chicken nuggets...lol, hence why I limit it to once a week.
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Simply put - I don't control my alcohol intake. I just control my food more strictly when I drink. I'd rather have alcohol for dinner some nights than food, so that's what I do. lol2
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As a recovering addict, clean 6+ years, I can tell you that insomnia after stopping alcohol or drugs is an issue. It took me about a year to really get back to a presubstance sleep pattern. That is not the case for everyone and I can only tell you my experience. Taking sleeping medications can cause issues in the future if you have any inclination towards addiction. Prescriptions sleeping medications can be an issue even under a doctors care. They are for short term use but realistically, in 3 months if you still have troubles sleeping, is your doctor going to tell you "no"? You may not be physically addicted but can be mentally addicted and feel like you have to have the med to sleep.
I am in no way saying you have an addiction problem. I am just saying, as a recovering addict, be careful of sleeping pills. Sleeping meds, even OTC made me tired during the day and affected my motivation to get out there and workout.4 -
I just workout harder, bourbon is my devilish desire! Probably not a good thing to volunteer at a distillery that makes my particular taste.....2
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Hi Vanessa, like the other posters said only you can decide if it is a problem for you or not. We are not qualified to do that. I am an alcoholic and attend AA meetings myself. The AA Big Book states that if you are not sure if you have a problem to go out, drink, and try to stop abruptly. Try it a few times. Or like you said, try to lay off for a month. You should be able to tell if you are honest with yourself. Hopefully, you don't have a problem and it is just a bad habit. Some people are able to quit with ample motivation. I sincerely hope you are one of them because alcoholism is no joke. The only reason I made mention of this is the concern that you said if it is in the house, it is gone and that your genetics may predispose you to it. Just be careful!
I am a chronic relapser and have found that it greatly hinders my weight loss not just because of the binges but because of the amount/type of food I will eat during those binges. I think there is only a small possibility of losing weight while drinking large amounts of alcohol.
Best of luck to you on your journey!5 -
i make room in my day for 8 oz of red wine most nights, and also, 1-2 pieces of chocolate. if i had to choose the wine would stay and the chocolate could go most days. i wait until dinner is cooked and measure out my 8 oz and some nights i don't finish it but most i do. i enjoy it and so i fit it into my day.
going out and really binge drinking i've cut way back on. i used to go out 2-3 times a week and could take down 2,000 calories in alcohol without batting an eye (craft beers are killer). since i've been tracking though i don't want to blow a week of hard work more often than not, so i pick my battles and usually just opt for brunch splurges.
this weekend i knew i was going to a beer festival and then bar hopping so i worked out and ate a nutritious and filling meal in the middle of the day and then i figured with over 1,000 banked calories from the week i could afford it. with all the walking i didn't even go over my daily budget, but sunday i wanted to literally die. i learned that i changed more than my calorie intake, i changed the whole way my body reacts to alcohol. something i'll have to be more mindful of in the future.0 -
Oh, la. I love wine too. Previously red. Then I moved from North America to Europe in 2013 and have discovered Moselle whites... wait... this thread is about losing weight... let me start again...
When I started with MFP on 1 Nov last year one thing that struck a chord was that you have to log EVERYTHING! So I thought. "Ok. I will log my wine." I bet if I looked back at my food diary I drank at least one glass of red every day. Sometimes more. Sometimes less. But on average mostly one glass of wine at least five days a week. And I included it in my calorie deficit - I was eating 1200 cals rigidly for the first three months at least. The lbs were dropping as a result of the overall calorie deficit, of course.
I also started researching and learned that, in general, non-sweet white wines have fewer calories than red. So I started drinking white wine. Meant I could have a teeny bit more - not much more, mind you.
Then Christmas rolled around and it was New Year's Resolution time and I always make (and mostly keep) NY Resolutions. So in 2016 I resolved to:
1. Log faithfully for one year
2. Exercise more
3. Drink more Champagne - lo and behold non sweet champagne (or Cremant here in Luxembourg) can be relatively low in calories - even lower than many white wines!
That worked for me. I effectively switched to bubbly white of some sort. It was my 'therapy' as I dropped about 45 lbs. I have to mention also that although I have a horrendous sweet tooth I was somehow able to live with out desserts for weeks at a time - that 'glass of wine' at the end of the day helped the days go by.
I still log darn near every drop.
Also now on days I don't drink a glass of wine I have mint tea.
You can do it, too. Just take it day by day.
Edited to add "Cheers!"
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Wine is my downfall too. While intellectually I understand portion control, there is part of me that seems to think 1 portion of wine = 1 bottle not a 5 - 6 oz glass.
What I did to cut down:- got it out of the house; granted we drank what was there but when it was gone did not replace it
- have a full glass of water between every drink
- offer to be the designated driver; after learning my lesson the hard way I won't even have 1 if I have to drive. Part of my problem has always been that while I can eat 1 potato chip, I can't have 1 drink. The inhibition I lose first is the ability to say "no thank you I don't want a 2nd drink." I can go out & not drink but I can't do 1 so I just don't start.
If calories are your concern, wine is one of the better choices at around 120 calories per glass but you will consume less calories with light beer (some have as few as 64) or vodka & club or run & diet coke, even gin & diet tonic (regular tonic alone is 130 calories, for what I don't know)1 - got it out of the house; granted we drank what was there but when it was gone did not replace it
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As a recovering addict, clean 6+ years, I can tell you that insomnia after stopping alcohol or drugs is an issue.
Yes, although I was lucky enough that my sleep seemed reasonably normal after a month or two (and for many it is less). I was scared of sleeping medication (bizarrely, I've always been scared of sleeping medication even back when I thought it was normal to drink myself to sleep nightly -- no, I wouldn't have mixed them), and didn't want to risk messing up my sleep more, so I didn't take anything. I've since read a decent amount about the issue and how it can mess with recovery -- some people can't take not sleeping for days or barely sleeping and the desperation to sleep results in a relapse, so I'd probably advise anyone worried about the issue to seek help from a doctor or try something like melatonin, maybe.0 -
vanessaaorth717 wrote: »@WinoGelato Thank you! So appreciate hearing your story. I have been on MFP for 45 days now and have logged everything faithfully. I'm only on 1200 cal a day but it's working for me at this point in my 'journey'. Alcoholism runs in my family too and I believe it to be a genetic predisposition. I think I have made up my mind to at least try a month with no booze and evaluate from there. If I can be trusted to just drink one or two glasses after that, then great, but it's not worth it otherwise. Cheers!
Vanessa
Seems like a good idea with the fatty liver issue especially (isn't that a medical reason to avoid alcohol?).
I think it's quite possible to lose when drinking (I've done it, not healthfully and not in a way I'd recommend, but lots of people can include glass of wine or two on a regular basis), but I do think if you are worried about feeling out of control stopping for a while and then trying (if not medically contraindicated) truly moderate drinking isn't a bad idea. A good way to learn if you can moderate and were just falling into bad habits or if that's not going to work for you.0 -
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are my favorite.. I'm certainly not an alcoholic and can stop anytime.. However, I like WINE! some people like soda, and ice cream.. I like WINE. The only problem.. just like anything else it's the devil if I have any intention of losing weight and keeping it off. I just have to make sure I have in moderation .. maybe one night on the weekend.. If I drink wine every night well then I may as well eat ice cream and chocolate too. I hear you!!!!
The bottom line.. 80% food/calorie intake... 20% exercise.. Both must be controlled so In order to eat/drink calories.. you have to burn the calories too. It's a total nightmare.0 -
Like a number of comments above, mine is a glass of ice topped off with Chardonnay (only way I can drink it lol) and on a warm sunny weekend I can easily enjoy a frozen Mikes Hard black cherry... so yummy
O'Darby's (again ice cubed down) use to round off my top three, but I lost interest about a year ago.
Despite an evening habit of enjoying a glass with hubby (a rum/coke - beer drinker) and having a very active lifestyle my weight was on the low end for my 5'3' frame. I could easily attend a 2 hour Tae Kwon Do class and arrive home to have that glass of wine and even a smoke before heading off to bed - sad I know
Anyway, about 5 months into recovery from a serious injury I found MFP (joined beginning of March) while searching for rehabilitation ideas to gain muscle back and be Mobil again... Simply put, I already had a head start having gone all that time with no booze (rule follower on drinking and meds) and aware menopause was around the corner, I figured why not take advantage of the situation and start logging everything and I mean everything Having never counted calories etc before, this was all foreign to me.
Now I concentrate more on tracking my Macros along with strength training ~ back to jogging/biking etc, along with up to 20,000+ steps a day (not to shabby for someone told they wouldn't walk without crutches by years end
) I may still have a glass during the week, but really just wait for the weekend, and although it's been a beautiful warm summer I have seriously limited Mikes frozen evil goodness to one pouch (291 cal).
So, I'm in agreement with lemurcat12 and a few others... yes, if you want to continue it may be possible to lose ~ I can't really comment on the lack of sleep since I've always been a poor sleeper...
P.S. Anyone looking for an active buddy feel free to add me...
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I agree with WinoGelato. Your initial comment/question leaves it in doubt as to your goal. Ultimately, only you know if alcohol is problem for you but the fact you stated that no drop goes unfinished if in the house should tell you something. As to the weight and alcohol perspective, I can speak from experience in this department. The only way to lose weight is to under consume (calorically) your TDEE. If you do that you will lose weight regardless of where those calories came from, so in theory if your calories came only from wine so long as you under consumed your TDEE you would lose weight but that's more theory than reality. The problem with wine or a lot of alcohol is really multi fold depending on how you view it. We know that calories from any liquid beverage (including protein shakes for example) do not satiate appetite like real food does. This creates a situation regardless of what type of caloric drink we are talking about where you are intaking calories but not satisfying your appetite. Make that drink of an alcoholic nature and not only is this typically a higher caloric drink (per volume) but often it is high in sugar/carbs creating a situation where you will be more hungry hormonally and when you have the least amount of willpower (due to your buzz) to make good decisions. I too like to drink occasionally but I found in my weight loss journey limiting the days and type of alcohol (dry red wines or Bacardi and diet no beer). In my experience it really wasn't the calories from the alcohol that caused the problem it was dietary behavior due to the alcohol consumption. The same thing can be said of cookies too (a personal weakness of mine) the calories from them are relatively negligible but the subsequent hunger and ultimately more consumption of food is what did me in. In the end, if you can't under consume your caloric allotment because of the wine it will have to go if you want to lose weight but what works best for me was planning on partaking certain days and accepting that weight loss won't occur but doing the right thing 5 days a week. This really is the two steps forward one back approach but over time you will reach your goal.
Certainly agree. The wine is one thing but the mindless grazing and over consumption is probably even worse!!0
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