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Alcohol

Anyone stopped drinking alcohol and lost some weight?

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Replies

  • Posts: 4,548 Member
    Starting at 285lbs, not drinking alcohol, adding slow ramp up modest exercise and eating within some reasonable limits, I lost from 285 lbs to around 230 lbs in 18 months. Part of that was just dumping the empty calories, part was dumping the attitude of not caring.

    If it’s on your mind, try it. It was a big relief. I just filled in drinking after work with exercise.
    It felt odd for a week or two but that passed.
  • Posts: 1,072 Member
    I have never been a "BIG" alcohol drinker. I still do drink on occasion while losing, however. I just have to account for the calories.
  • Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks for the replies. My drinking has increased due to personal issues over last 3 years and i have gained weight. I'm going to give it ago and stop the daily wine.
  • Posts: 4,548 Member
    Prior to giving it up, any resolve I had to eat within limits disappeared after a couple of drinks.
  • Posts: 3,545 Member
    I have never lost any weight if I drink much at all. I can get away with a beer or two on the weekend if I've had a lot of exercise that day.
  • Posts: 27 Member
    I definitely put all my weight on with pints, I lost weight over lockdown due to not drinking but since bars have reopened I can see myself putting on weight again, stopping today!
  • Posts: 7 Member
    Well I'm going to fully stop for 6 months and watch the diet. Let's see if I get results.
  • Posts: 9 Member
    22 days alcohol free. That is 700-1000 empty calories a day. Started 30-45 minutes on the treadmill each day and slowly lifting weights. So far, down 7.2 pounds. After many years of wasting my live, I am finally living my life again. This is the longest in years that I have not had a drink. I think this time it is going to stick.
  • Posts: 711 Member
    I stopped drinking a while back for health and ‘sober curious’ lifestyle reasons and it has definitely helped with weight loss. I have lost almost 50 lbs in the past year (obviously not all from not drinking!!) But drinking really adds calories, made me lazy, keeps you from burning fat consumed because your body has to burn off the alcohol first, increases triglycerides especially, makes you inattentive to what you are eating, forgetful about what you are eating, uninhibited about what you are eating, and thus erodes your will to make good nutritional choices. Also when you start seriously tracking calorie and nutritional choices you see how bad the choices you make are if you want to build in room for a drink calorie wise.

    Finally, unrelated to weight loss, the studies that used to suggest some small incremental heart benefits might accrue from moderate wine consumption are being revised and drs are saying that any amount of drinking is dangerous for your heart, brain and overall health including various cancer risks.

    I have found decent replacements for adult drinks even including wine (and I used to help European wine importers organize tasting dinners for distributors etc. so am fairly snobbish about wine) for the times when I don’t want to be sipping seltzer at a party and the calorie load of those tend to be between 20-45kcal/glass.
  • Posts: 448 Member
    I stopped drinking because many mornings I would regret having drank. Even a couple glasses of wine would cause my sleep to be bad, and it was a lot of extra calories. I don't know if I would have lost weight by only not drinking, but I do know it would be hard to fit those calories from liquid into my calorie goal daily. I prefer food!

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