Eating when drunk
nenenaclaire
Posts: 2 Member
Eating when I’m drunk just messes up my diet every time but I just can’t figure out how to avoid it. I’ve tried not drinking at all in the past and it worked for a couple months but it’s a not a long term solution given that drinking is still clearly a part of my social life. I really need some tips or advice on this. I’m clearly eating enough throughout the day so that’s not the problem. And it happens even when I don’t drink too much i.e. just two small glasses of wine is enough to get me eating too much when I get home (I’m a lightweight).
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Replies
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I suggest checking in with the people in this thread:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10745795/less-alcohol-june-2019-one-day-at-a-time/p1
There are some member generated tips and researched links in the first post and many people there that can give you specific ideas for moderating and dealing with when you drink.2 -
You can't drink non alcoholic drinks while being social?
That aside, if you know you're gonna be drinking one night, why not pre-prepare some low calorie filling snacks you can safely munch when you get home? Check out the volume eaters thread, may be some ideas there.10 -
If you plan on getting drunk set your goals to gain 1lbs a week for JUST that day only. That will give you 500 calories above maintenance for the day for those deep fried appetizers, chips and dips, and if you switch back to a deficit the following day you'll not go into red.8
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I think you are setting yourself up with a false choice between being social and being drunk. You can still be social and either not drink at all, or nurse 1 or 2 light beers all night, even if others are drinking. I rarely drink anymore, and even rarer to excess, but I can still be with people who do without issue. It doesn't make the social experience any less enjoyable.
The truth is there's not a whole lot you can do when you're drunk if you have a tendency to overeating during those times, because lower inhibitions make it hard to responsibly plan. Last time I drank to excess, in addition to dinner, we continued with chocolate cake dessert and then because we kept drinking, nachos after that. That is what it is.13 -
I spent many, many years face down in Taco Bell after a few glasses (or bottle) of wine. Here’s a podcast you might want to give a listen to: Take a Break from Drinking, with Rachel Hart. Not only is it possible to not drink in social situations— really, no one gives a crap. True.18
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If you plan on getting drunk set your goals to gain 1lbs a week for JUST that day only. That will give you 500 calories above maintenance for the day for those deep fried appetizers, chips and dips, and if you switch back to a deficit the following day you'll not go into red.
What? You'll still be eating 500 calories above maintenance...from the sound of it OP drinks often enough for it to set them back. This isn't solving the problem at all, it's just ignoring it.
OP, try drinking less often, as it sounds like you do it pretty often. I go out for a dive bar karaoke sesh every other weekend (sometimes every weekend) and I get that if you're in that environment to drink and have fun. If you really feel like you want to drink, try nursing a couple light beers (that's what I do). Prepare some low calorie snacks like popcorn or veggies for when you get home, perferrably by way of Uber.6 -
Drunk munchies are exactly why I had to quit drinking.13
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There are various calorie banking stategies over the course of a week where you could “save” those calories for your night out. Or IF where you pretty much don’t eat all day and maybe even towards 4 o’clock saving your calories for the night.
If none of that works then In the end it comes to what you want more. I personally had to give it up except for a couple beers every couple months. My friends have changed and I have a new social life as a result and that’s just fine. People change.
f your not in a weekly calorie deficit you won’t lose weight and that’s really the bottom line10 -
Literally everyone, with the exception of my husband, that I socialize with on a daily basis really loves drinking. My employees usually stay after work for a beer or two. No one gives me grief about rarely drinking anymore, because I don't judge them for choosing to drink. When I do decide to drink, I own up to knowing I'll eat more, and I accept that.6
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This has been a struggle for me too. So I've been drinking only one or two beers and then switching to 0 calorie drink for the rest of the night. And sometimes packing a light snack.4
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MichelleMinn wrote: »Literally everyone, with the exception of my husband, that I socialize with on a daily basis really loves drinking. My employees usually stay after work for a beer or two. No one gives me grief about rarely drinking anymore, because I don't judge them for choosing to drink. When I do decide to drink, I own up to knowing I'll eat more, and I accept that.
This. As long as you don't become the judgy sober friend the vast majority of people don't care if you don't drink.12 -
I take one day a week where I’ll hit the gym for 2 hours instead of 1. Then save up those calories for dinner and drinks. So far I’ve lost almost 40 pounds. Seems to be working for me.7
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I found that drinking vodka ,club soda and lime really helps me stay in control. I have a nice buzz while being social and I don't have the urge to eat. And i dont wake up with a hangover the next day.
When I was drinking wine that made me drunk really fast and then all eating went out the window and then i'd wake up the next day hungover and still eating, usually ordering a pizza.2 -
I had to stop getting drunk away from home. I tried telling someone I was with "Don't let me eat later!!!" But they usually end up drunk too and then we convince each other it's fine
The only person I can trust to hold me to my word is my boyfriend, so I will occasionally drink a little more when I am out with him. Sometimes I have a couple drinks, sometimes I just ask for sparkling water with a lime or tell people i'm driving and they usually don't care. I really only have a couple friends who have made me feel guilty about it and guess what? I just don't go out with them anymore *shrug*
Otherwise, I'll just drink at home with friends over or while watching some rom coms. I don't keep "drunk munchy" food at home, I actually don't keep too much food at home in general. So if I get a little bit past tipsy and want to start eating, i'm typically met with an empty fridge.2 -
I'm in this scenario today. I've been mega consistent with cals etc. In the gym now, going to work my *kitten* off and just treat today as a 1 off.
In the grand scheme of it all, 1 day in hundreds isn't going to hurt.0 -
I just drink diet Pepsi in social situations now a days, with the occasional Bud Select 55. It helps keep me from eating some chicken wings or loaded tater tots after a few too many drinks, and it has the added side effect of no hangover the next day!1
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Drink does stimulate the appetite. (A friend who is a doctor always wanted to be allowed to prescribe a pre-dinner sherry for those on his geriatric ward who weren't eating enough and were too thin!) It has many calories in too.
-Plan and prepare a satisfying and very easily available meal for directly after drinking.
-Drink a LOT of (fizzy) water alongside your wine. (I avoid 'diet' drinks - they make me hungry later too.)
-Don't drink to satisfy others.
-Plan to make your drinking days occasional and save calories for them during the previous week (but not on the drinking day).4 -
Many on the thread seem to be missing the point...
This isn't a "help me not drink while out with friends so I don't get the munchies" thread. This is "what can I do to not *kitten* up my week of work because I decided to have a few" thread.
Some people like to drink and like it even more when around others. The unfortunate downside is lack of self-control when it comes to the food during/afterward.
OP:
Generally speaking, you will know the days where you are going to have a few drinks, and then likely eat those french fries or pizza. On days like that, I like to get in some extra cardio or cut out more of my calorie intake from earlier in the day. Now, not having a good base of calories before going into a drink fest can lead to much faster drunkitude, so need to be wary of that. (side benefit...it takes less booze to get ya buzzed! Woohoo for me!)
There are other ways of doing it as well. Such as banking calories all week long, or kicking your *kitten* the following day in the gym.
It all depends on how you want to do it. For me, the count the calories ahead of time and earn them through exercise/restriction works. For you, maybe something else will. You don't need to stop drinking/munching, you just need to "earn" them.
All that being said, it is far easier on the waistline to just say no, but where's the fun in that?7 -
For me, I save my long runs for Saturdays, when I'm most likely to be going out. I'll leave a nice chunk of calories free at the end of the day for beer and snacks (I love fancy beers). Depending on my mood, I may try to roughly track the calories I'm taking in, but if it's a party, I'm not going to bother. I know I've got margin, and worst case, I'll go a little over and work out the difference over the next week's workouts. It's not something I do too terribly often, so it's not much of an impediment to losing. I don't worry about my weight the day after since I know I'm going to be retaining extra water and biomass from the night before, and it'll go away in a day or two. Planning and prelogging are my saviors for being free to be social.1
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Just a disclaimer - banking exercise calories is one thing, but purging with exercise is not mentally healthy or sustainable for a lot of people.4
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I'm the WORST eater when I drink. THE WORST!0
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nenenaclaire wrote: »Eating when I’m drunk just messes up my diet every time but I just can’t figure out how to avoid it. I’ve tried not drinking at all in the past and it worked for a couple months but it’s a not a long term solution given that drinking is still clearly a part of my social life. I really need some tips or advice on this. I’m clearly eating enough throughout the day so that’s not the problem. And it happens even when I don’t drink too much i.e. just two small glasses of wine is enough to get me eating too much when I get home (I’m a lightweight).
Veggies and dip! Big hit at parties I have at my house. Filling, low calorie, nutritious!0 -
sammidelvecchio wrote: »Just a disclaimer - banking exercise calories is one thing, but purging with exercise is not mentally healthy or sustainable for a lot of people.
Oh, completely agree. I've been down that road before, and it's a bad, bad road.0 -
Keep in mind that if you eat lightly to save calories for drinking/eating later in the day, you may be so hungry by then that you binge.0
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OP, you mentioned that you have trouble not over-eating specifically at home after drinking. I like to keep those 100-calorie mini bags of popcorn handy. It takes a while to eat so I'm less likely to be raiding the fridge/pantry for one snack after another, and it makes me feel like I ate more than I actually did.1
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I eat about 300 calories for breakfast, 500 for lunch and have about 3 glasses of wine with my dinner. It comes out to about 2,000 calories a day. I've been losing weight doing that.
Plus drink wine or vodka and stay away from beer. XD1 -
All these responses that focus on drinking less, that is obviously the best route but you probably already know that. I grew up as a social drinker too and I totally understand the craving for tasty food and the care-free attitude that goes with it.
I found it to be enough of a concern for me that I would always try to set myself up for some type of success if it were at my house.. like preparing a big veggie tray with hummus for everyone beforehand, something there would be leftovers of and that would be the most accessible later on out of everything else laying around.
After drinking, you will probably be a lot more lenient and appreciative of things that are usually not so much. So don't leave chips, nuts or leftover pizza sitting around. Plain popcorn is great, or celery.
If I am out somewhere else and can't just set myself up ahead of time, then I'll drink as slow, and as late as I can, so the alcohol munchies don't kick in until I'm home again or at least not at a club, bar or friend's bbq where bad food is readily available.
If you are caught somewhere and totally screwed, just do what I do.. remind yourself that eating anything after drinking means it's time to start feeling blah, sluggish, red eyes, and ugh. It is usually a good failsafe for when I can't plan ahead.0
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