I need the sobering truth about alcohol

mayaellie1994

Here's the deal. I'm 23. I went to a party school. I like my beer. In fact I like my shot + beer. I've lost some weight in 2018 but its so slooooow. My gut tells me its because I haven't completely cut out alcohol. I went from 3-4 drinks a night to 1-2 drinks 3-4 nights a week. I want the blunt truth, is it probably hindering my success? I count calories in the app up until night time when i have a drink, however there's always room left in my caloric intake for the alcohol. My frustration could just be psychological. 2.5 months eating clean and I swear its not sugar that beckons me, its not salt, its not that juicy cheeseburger. It's alcohol.
Anyone go through this? Happy Friday!!

TavistockToad

Log the alcohol, log anything you eat while drinking... if you're hitting your goal and are in a calorie deficit you'll lose weight

suerlewis2

I go through this every waking day. I would be a size "O" if it were not for alcohol. I can control (weigh, measure etc) my food and exercise, but cannot stop the urge for a drink. It's HUGELY calorific. Wish I could be more helpful, but wanted to let you know you are not alone. x

janejellyroll

How slow is your weight loss? I drank just about every night while I was losing weight and I lost as expected. That said, I was meticulous with my measuring (of alcohol and everything else).

collectingblues

You need to log *everything* -- including the alcohol. Because alcohol can pack a big calorie punch, and if you're not keeping track of it, as well as anything that you're snacking on while you drink, you could be blowing that deficit.

I was *shocked* to see what the cosmos I made and poured at home were twice what I thought they were -- approaching 400 calories each. Beer? You're look at at least 150 if it's a standard ale (life is too short for lite beer), and closer to the 200s for an IPA or stout. Wine can also add up quick. White wine is 126 for a 6-ounce pour, which is just about what a small IKEA wine glass holds.

Eating clean doesn't matter. Eating less than you burn does.

gamerbabe14

It hinders me only bc I crave more food. But if you log it and it fits your calories for the day than no it won't hinder it. Although drinking frequently will probably impact your liver function more than your weight. It's always worth a shot to cut down to 2 nights a week or maybe even 1 night week just to see how it changes your loss. I stick to vodka/sodas or wine when I do drink to save on the calories.

Albeit, tomorrow will be a *kitten* show since it's St. Patty's in Chicago.

paperpudding

As long as you have counted the calories, shouldn't be a problem for losing weight.

Of course you shouldn't drink way above the recommended limits for health reasons - but that is another story

Grammytryingtogetfit

janejellyroll wrote: »

I drank just about every night while I was losing weight and I lost as expected. That said, I was meticulous with my measuring (of alcohol and everything else).

This right here. Just log it.

Tacklewasher

Does drinking lead to more eating that isn't getting logged? Some chips with the beer?

Log it all and see what the calorie hit is.

KANGOOJUMPS

I drink every weekend. but I work it all off, it works for me. I LOVE MY BOOZE.

KaleiAlanaSmith

Log it log it log it........... It was a big reality hit for me. I LOVE a good whiskey and coke sometimes, until i realized one ounce of whiskey is about 70 calories. It's easy to rack on the calories from alcohol if you don't track it.

I'm still in college and leave some room for calories when my friends want to go out for the evening.
Good luck!!:)

DX2JX2

mayaellie1994 wrote: »

Here's the deal. I'm 23. I went to a party school. I like my beer. In fact I like my shot + beer. I've lost some weight in 2018 but its so slooooow. My gut tells me its because I haven't completely cut out alcohol. I went from 3-4 drinks a night to 1-2 drinks 3-4 nights a week. I want the blunt truth, is it probably hindering my success? I count calories in the app up until night time when i have a drink, however there's always room left in my caloric intake for the alcohol. My frustration could just be psychological. 2.5 months eating clean and I swear its not sugar that beckons me, its not salt, its not that juicy cheeseburger. It's alcohol.
Anyone go through this? Happy Friday!!

What is your deficit target? How fast do you think you should be losing? Even with accurate logging, I'm guessing that if you have room in your targets for alcohol and aren't finding that you'd rather use those calories for food instead, then your target deficit is probably geared towards a slower weight loss. It is what it is. Just be honest with yourself and accept whatever course of action you choose.

The calories from alcohol themselves neither help nor hurt. They get counted just like any other calorie. Remember that a shot and a beer are about 300 calories combined (assuming a 1.5 oz shot of straight liquor and a 12 oz beer). Do that twice and you've just added the equivalent of an extra meal to your intake. I don't know many people who can sustain a rapid weight loss goal and who can afford to regularly leave room for alcohol calories.

I lost at a rate of about 2 pounds per week. This felt plenty fast but I will say that I had zero room for alcohol in my daily targets. I did allow myself to drink one night per week but for the most part I skipped the alcohol simply because I would rather use those calories for food instead.

HarveysBud

mayaellie1994 wrote: »

Here's the deal. I'm 23. I went to a party school. I like my beer. In fact I like my shot + beer. I've lost some weight in 2018 but its so slooooow. My gut tells me its because I haven't completely cut out alcohol. I went from 3-4 drinks a night to 1-2 drinks 3-4 nights a week. I want the blunt truth, is it probably hindering my success? I count calories in the app up until night time when i have a drink, however there's always room left in my caloric intake for the alcohol. My frustration could just be psychological. 2.5 months eating clean and I swear its not sugar that beckons me, its not salt, its not that juicy cheeseburger. It's alcohol.
Anyone go through this? Happy Friday!!

I feel you. Same boat, exactly. Hit up the light beer, and make sure you log it. Now, my turning point was paying attention to my workouts. The nights I drank, I was sluggish but got through. Those nights I cut it out or 1-2, I killed it the next day. That satisfaction started to trump the excessive drinking at night. Not easy by any means, but decide how bad you want to kill it at the gym, and go from there. Fri and Sat are still a *kitten* show....! Good luck.

thetoughequus

I'm a big fan of vodka and triple sec but DANG are the calories ridiculous... 4 shots (25ml x 4) is 280 and 450 calories respectively and that usually isn't even enough for a night out so I really had to choose if it was even worth it for me

valutz

Not a big drinker myself, but when I do, I like cider. I was shocked when I saw that one bottle of Old Mout has 200 calories. Not to mention that the only beer I like is an Irish creamy ale that also has something like 180 or 190 calories.

speaktothequeen1

First of all, you have reduced your alcohol consumption from 21-28 a week, an alarming amount for any woman, to 4-8 drinks a week. That is a huge accomplishment. Experts recently issued new guidelines for at risk drinking, another words setting yourself up for increased likelihood of alcoholism. Women are not supposed to have more than 7 drinks a week and no more than 3 in one day. So you did yourself an enormous service cutting back as much as you did. I put a link at the bottom if you want to read about it. The most difficult part of this process is logging EVERY calorie. It SUCKS. I'm 55 and at my age my metabolism is so much slower than yours I basically have found I have to exercise or I will not be able to eat enough calories to not feel hungry all the time. If I were you, I would log every calorie for a week, including the alcohol, then look at it. (Don't forget to measure wine- a serving is only 5 oz.!) Then you have a choice between adding enough exercise to accommodate the extra calories in the drinks, or cutting the drinks back yet again. If you reach your calorie goal most days and still are not losing weight after a month or 6 weeks, you might want to see your doctor and check that you don't have a slow metabolism for a medical reason. I have been on this only 16 days, and I have had two 5 ounce glasses of red wine and one Michelob light during that whole time. I was a light drinker to begin with- 1-3 drinks a week, but I really like a local brewed beer with a giant slice of pizza (yum) and had 2-4 margaritas a month, which I loved. Not having any now because margaritas have a staggering 500 calories each. The other issue with drinking, although I find it social and relaxing, is there is zero nutrition in it. I did a cleanse class once with a guy who liked to go to bars with his buddies, and he would bring a mason jar of filtered water to "go drinking". If it the social piece that you love, you might try having one drink and then switching to Perrier or soda water with a twist of lime. If you need it to relax, you could try yoga, meditation, a long hot bath or relaxation CD's. The upside for me, although my weight loss has been small, is I have already lost 3" of fat of my waist! Muscle is heavier than fat. I'll take it. https://www.rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/How-much-is-too-much/Is-your-drinking-pattern-risky/Whats-At-Risk-Or-Heavy-Drinking.aspx

gamerbabe14

speaktothequeen1 wrote: »

First of all, you have reduced your alcohol consumption from 21-28 a week, an alarming amount for any woman, to 4-8 drinks a week. That is a huge accomplishment. Experts recently issued new guidelines for at risk drinking, another words setting yourself up for increased likelihood of alcoholism. Women are not supposed to have more than 7 drinks a week and no more than 3 in one day. So you did yourself an enormous service cutting back as much as you did. I put a link at the bottom if you want to read about it. The most difficult part of this process is logging EVERY calorie. It SUCKS. I'm 55 and at my age my metabolism is so much slower than yours I basically have found I have to exercise or I will not be able to eat enough calories to not feel hungry all the time. If I were you, I would log every calorie for a week, including the alcohol, then look at it. (Don't forget to measure wine- a serving is only 5 oz.!) Then you have a choice between adding enough exercise to accommodate the extra calories in the drinks, or cutting the drinks back yet again. If you reach your calorie goal most days and still are not losing weight after a month or 6 weeks, you might want to see your doctor and check that you don't have a slow metabolism for a medical reason. I have been on this only 16 days, and I have had two 5 ounce glasses of red wine and one Michelob light during that whole time. I was a light drinker to begin with- 1-3 drinks a week, but I really like a local brewed beer with a giant slice of pizza (yum) and had 2-4 margaritas a month, which I loved. Not having any now because margaritas have a staggering 500 calories each. The other issue with drinking, although I find it social and relaxing, is there is zero nutrition in it. I did a cleanse class once with a guy who liked to go to bars with his buddies, and he would bring a mason jar of filtered water to "go drinking". If it the social piece that you love, you might try having one drink and then switching to Perrier or soda water with a twist of lime. If you need it to relax, you could try yoga, meditation, a long hot bath or relaxation CD's. The upside for me, although my weight loss has been small, is I have already lost 3" of fat of my waist! Muscle is heavier than fat. I'll take it. https://www.rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/How-much-is-too-much/Is-your-drinking-pattern-risky/Whats-At-Risk-Or-Heavy-Drinking.aspx

Looks like a dude to me.

janejellyroll

gamerbabe14 wrote: »

speaktothequeen1 wrote: »

First of all, you have reduced your alcohol consumption from 21-28 a week, an alarming amount for any woman, to 4-8 drinks a week. That is a huge accomplishment. Experts recently issued new guidelines for at risk drinking, another words setting yourself up for increased likelihood of alcoholism. Women are not supposed to have more than 7 drinks a week and no more than 3 in one day. So you did yourself an enormous service cutting back as much as you did. I put a link at the bottom if you want to read about it. The most difficult part of this process is logging EVERY calorie. It SUCKS. I'm 55 and at my age my metabolism is so much slower than yours I basically have found I have to exercise or I will not be able to eat enough calories to not feel hungry all the time. If I were you, I would log every calorie for a week, including the alcohol, then look at it. (Don't forget to measure wine- a serving is only 5 oz.!) Then you have a choice between adding enough exercise to accommodate the extra calories in the drinks, or cutting the drinks back yet again. If you reach your calorie goal most days and still are not losing weight after a month or 6 weeks, you might want to see your doctor and check that you don't have a slow metabolism for a medical reason. I have been on this only 16 days, and I have had two 5 ounce glasses of red wine and one Michelob light during that whole time. I was a light drinker to begin with- 1-3 drinks a week, but I really like a local brewed beer with a giant slice of pizza (yum) and had 2-4 margaritas a month, which I loved. Not having any now because margaritas have a staggering 500 calories each. The other issue with drinking, although I find it social and relaxing, is there is zero nutrition in it. I did a cleanse class once with a guy who liked to go to bars with his buddies, and he would bring a mason jar of filtered water to "go drinking". If it the social piece that you love, you might try having one drink and then switching to Perrier or soda water with a twist of lime. If you need it to relax, you could try yoga, meditation, a long hot bath or relaxation CD's. The upside for me, although my weight loss has been small, is I have already lost 3" of fat of my waist! Muscle is heavier than fat. I'll take it. https://www.rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/How-much-is-too-much/Is-your-drinking-pattern-risky/Whats-At-Risk-Or-Heavy-Drinking.aspx

Looks like a dude to me.

OP's profile indicates they're female.

gamerbabe14

janejellyroll wrote: »

gamerbabe14 wrote: »

speaktothequeen1 wrote: »

First of all, you have reduced your alcohol consumption from 21-28 a week, an alarming amount for any woman, to 4-8 drinks a week. That is a huge accomplishment. Experts recently issued new guidelines for at risk drinking, another words setting yourself up for increased likelihood of alcoholism. Women are not supposed to have more than 7 drinks a week and no more than 3 in one day. So you did yourself an enormous service cutting back as much as you did. I put a link at the bottom if you want to read about it. The most difficult part of this process is logging EVERY calorie. It SUCKS. I'm 55 and at my age my metabolism is so much slower than yours I basically have found I have to exercise or I will not be able to eat enough calories to not feel hungry all the time. If I were you, I would log every calorie for a week, including the alcohol, then look at it. (Don't forget to measure wine- a serving is only 5 oz.!) Then you have a choice between adding enough exercise to accommodate the extra calories in the drinks, or cutting the drinks back yet again. If you reach your calorie goal most days and still are not losing weight after a month or 6 weeks, you might want to see your doctor and check that you don't have a slow metabolism for a medical reason. I have been on this only 16 days, and I have had two 5 ounce glasses of red wine and one Michelob light during that whole time. I was a light drinker to begin with- 1-3 drinks a week, but I really like a local brewed beer with a giant slice of pizza (yum) and had 2-4 margaritas a month, which I loved. Not having any now because margaritas have a staggering 500 calories each. The other issue with drinking, although I find it social and relaxing, is there is zero nutrition in it. I did a cleanse class once with a guy who liked to go to bars with his buddies, and he would bring a mason jar of filtered water to "go drinking". If it the social piece that you love, you might try having one drink and then switching to Perrier or soda water with a twist of lime. If you need it to relax, you could try yoga, meditation, a long hot bath or relaxation CD's. The upside for me, although my weight loss has been small, is I have already lost 3" of fat of my waist! Muscle is heavier than fat. I'll take it. https://www.rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/How-much-is-too-much/Is-your-drinking-pattern-risky/Whats-At-Risk-Or-Heavy-Drinking.aspx

Looks like a dude to me.

OP's profile indicates they're female.

I take it back. Sorry OP and PP.

vmlabute

yup, it's the alcohol. I cut out alcohol (beer, wine, shots, mixed drinks) after coming back from vacation in January. It has made a tremendous difference!!

af240

Considering a shot of liquor, can/bottle of beer, and a glass of wine are somewhere in the ballpark of 70-130 calories per serving of each, you could easily be wiping out your deficit with only a couple drinks. It's the alcohol for sure.

I know how you feel, I would loooove 2-3 glasses of wine 4-5 nights a week to wind down, but you can't just stop logging the calories because it somehow doesn't count. It still counts and I knew I had to cut it out because losing the weight feels better. If I wanted some wine I would plan my day to have enough calories for a glass or 2 that night, but now after a few months I don't even think about having it anymore.

Good luck!

Alidecker

I lost over 100 pounds without giving up alcohol. Like you, I cut back and keep it to 1-2 nights a week. There are times when I have more. I also started making sure there were no late night snacks after drinking. That proved easier than I thought it would be for me and I am sure helped quite a bit. Like others have mentioned, just make sure you log the calories.

laur357

I don't do more than 3-4 drinks per week, usually less. I just can't fit it in. I also have a very hard time controlling the food side of things when I'm tipsy. I haven't cut alcohol completely, but I did have to learn some tricks to cut back. Pre-logging before parties and happy hours - the food and the drinks - has helped a lot. Having a go-to lighter calorie drink helps as well, and saving fancy cocktails or high-alcohol beers for special occasions keeps the calories in check too.

idabest777

It's totally doable while drinking alcohol. I went from 160lbs to 120lbs without changing my drinking at all (it was definitely food that was my main issue) Although my drinking is usually contained to just Friday and Saturday nights (often quite a bit on saturdays). As long as you can stay within your calories, or not go over too much, everything should still go as planned.

There was one month where I decided not to drink to see if it made a difference and I lost a couple pounds extra, but i think that was mostly because it also cut out my hungover eating habits. I almost always went over maintenance on Sundays

Fitnessmom82

So I love my wine and it has definitely hindered me at points. I cut it out of my diet with the exception of parties, nice dinners ect...so just once a week or less. My problem with alcohol (and probably lots of people's issue) is that I'll do great and measure one serving at home and then eyeball the rest, or not measure at all when I am out. One glass becomes two, then two becomes three or four (losing count at this point because I'm having fun)! Then I need to eat so I'm not falling over. Then I don't care about logging or I'm too buzzed to focus haha.
I don't drink or socialize enough for one of these nights to add up, so it's ok for me. If it were a regular occurrence it would totally impact my goals. And worth noting that I usually know when I'm gonna drink and plan ahead. Bank calories, extra work out, low calorie foods that day.

Lisa_Ookoo

It's harder to accurately measure your calories when drinking in a bar. Bar glasses are not consistent sizes, and you may be consuming more than you think.

saintor1

Fitnessmom82 wrote: »

My problem with alcohol (and probably lots of people's issue) is that I'll do great and measure one serving at home and then eyeball the rest, or not measure at all when I am out.

Easy to fix; just take the whole damn bottle. lol.

Spliner1969

TavistockToad wrote: »

Log the alcohol, log anything you eat while drinking... if you're hitting your goal and are in a calorie deficit you'll lose weight

I'll second this. If you like the alcohol simply log it, stay under your calorie goal and live your life and lose weight while doing it. Calories matter, nothing else, unless of course it helps you meet your calorie goal, matters.

Tacklewasher

But, to be fair, we need to point out that you can't fill your diet with alcohol calories. We are talking about having a balanced diet overall that has room for some drinks.

I was waiting for someone to come in and spout how having nothing but alcohol is bad for you.

Lean59man

A shot of whiskey is about 70 calories.

Not too much.

However, drinking too often and liking it too much can make you an alcoholic. So there's that.

Francl27

You didn't lose as much weight as you wanted because you consumed too many calories, that's all. My guess is that you're eating more than you think and need to adjust your calorie intake down (which may or may not leave room for alcohol afterwards).