To Drink Or To Lose... (What's Your Answer)
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I have a minium of one or two cans of beer a day, and I have lost 30 kgs or 66 lbs so it can be done, just need to stay within your calorie guide lines and you will be fine!0
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i dont drink alcohol. so one less thing i have to worry about.0
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Will hula hoop for wine!
I share a bottle of wine (white or rose - red gives me a bad head!) with my partner most nights. Also at weekends (and sometimes random weekdays!) I will go out with friends and drink lovely big pints of real ale. I am doing that tonight in fact! I budget for it with exercise calories, and I'm losing steadily - one pound a week.
Wine and beer are my favourite things. I don't really do ice cream, or chocolate, or cookies, or any sweet stuff - but a lovely glass of boozy niceness at the end of the day is worth exercising for!0 -
I typically will have a glass of wine every night with dinner or after dinner. I think the trouble will drinking too much, whether it be wine beer or spirits is that the next day your body craves junk food. So as long as you can remain under calorie goals and resist the urge to eat junk the next day I see no issue with it.0
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I would never stick to a plan that required giving up red wine, vodka tonics or gin and tonics (or dark chocolate, strawberry rhubarb pie, etc. etc.). I fit them into my meal planning and try to do a workout either that day or the day after.
I'm on the "this isn't a diet, it is a lifestyle" bandwagon.
Hell, why on Earth would I work out this hard unless it was to be able to afford to eat the things I love to eat (and drink)?
This guy captured exactly my feelings on the whole matter:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/running
(down 15 pounds in 6 months and in maintenance, and dropped my body fat by 7% over the same time period)0 -
I drink every weekend. I have tried to make better choices on my drinks though. I have laid off the beer, and now drink Jack and Diets. I also limit myself to 3 drinks for the night. Space the drinks, have a drink of water in between each mixed drink, and you should be fine.
For me its not the drinking, but the craving to consume bad food after drinking that gets me.0 -
I've heard a small glass of wine a day is good for you.
I don't drink though.0 -
I don't drink but like anything else if you can fit them sensibly into your calorie goals I don't see the problem. I like popcorn so occasionally I'll have some within my goals. You like wine so I don't see any problem with you doing that.
In reality we're all adults and make are own decisions don't let people guilt trip you because you like a glass of wine on occasion. Just enjoy it. You'll not stick to any weight loss plan if you totally ban yourself from things you love.
Agree with this.0 -
If I am on track and I have eaten responsibly all week, I get "Unlimited Wine Saturday" where I count my food intake, but I don't count the wine. I don't think that it is any different than people that take a cheat day or even have a cheat meal.
Prior to the invention of "Unlimited Wine Saturday" I did drink a glass of wine almost every night, counted the calories in it, and lost weight. If I drink a glass of wine on any day other than Saturday, I continue to do this. I still have a lot of weight to lose, so when I get down to those last 10 pounds, this may not work, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it and determine which I want more (it will probably be the wine).0 -
I have managed to have decent success and still throw back a few. I used to LOVE thick and heavy beer. I would have a few a couple times a week. I have made the compromise to light (ugh) and now that I can palate it, I work it into my numbers. My diary shows what I consume...Having said that, I am not sure how different my results would be if I never touched any, but consumed the same calories in non-alcohol items. I think not much. FYI about 2 months into MFP and down about 20.
Look at my pic...Me judge??? lol
Yuengling light isn't bad for a beer that actually still tastes good. It's about 100 calories per bottle. I have one every now and then
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"Go Sober October".... HA! Sounds intriguing... but NO! Its my Birthday and Halloween month... That would NEVER be do-able (or I have No balls. LOL) A week or 7.5 days is long enough... :noway: :drinker:
Mine too kinda! (November 1)... also I drink a lot and it never once hurt my progress... I heart margaritas!! :drinker: :drinker:0 -
I'm losing weight and I drink once or twice a week. I believe in making this a lifestyle change instead of just a quick fix, and if I can't have alcohol once in a while I'm not going to stick with it. I don't believe in depriving myself of the things I love.
I do some damage control and try to eat less and exercise more the day of and after drinking.0 -
I have a drink most evenings, I've lost 28 lbs since the end of May. I just make sure I stay under my calories, I don't really eat crisps or cake or sweets much so the alcohol isn't difficult to fit in. :drinker:0
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I drink and I haven't had a hard time with weight loss or exercise. Like you I work out even if I am not feeling the greatest the next day. It actually makes me feel better to do something besides just nursing a hangover.0
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There's a fun brand of wine & cocktails called "Skinny Girl" and its low calorie! Its admittedly not *amazing* but it does the trick!
http://skinnygirlcocktails.com/lpa0 -
I drink far more than a glass or two of wine a few times a month, and it hasn't been an issue.0
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I am a wine lover as well. Being good to your body should be equal with being good to your head and soul. Unlike many people, I hate running. I still do it for exercise- for my body. To de-stress, I treat my self to a glass or two of wine 3-5 days a week. I am not dieting. I have made a change to my nutritional health because it feels good to find what nourishes you. The weight loss is just a perk. Turns out my body craves fresh crunching fruits and veggies, delicious cheeses, and dark chocolate. My soul craves wine. I listen to both and the weight melts off, I don't feel like I am depriving myself, and I feel great.0
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I didn't read all the responses...but I usually have a drink every day. Lots of days I have two. There have been days when I've just had that high from exercise and never made my cocktail. But a part of my day I enjoy very much is sitting down in the evenings before dinner and having a drink with my guy. I have a drink then, make my dinner, and if I want another, I have another. Nothing is off limits. You just have to pay for everything you do. 1.5oz of vodka is 104 calories. It is absolutely worth it to me to walk for 15 extra minutes so I can have that option if I want it.
As with everything else, we are going for a lifestyle change, not a "diet". This is a part of my life. If I take that away, but still want it, I'm not going to stick with this. The "bad carbs" and the cookies and cake? I can recognize that those things are bad for me, and that even moderation will not allow me to eat those things on a daily basis if I want to stay at a healthy weight. I have found other, healthier options to satisfy my sweet tooth...But the alcohol is healthy in moderation. I sleep better and have a relaxed evening. I work from home, and it's hard sometimes to "get away" from the work I didn't finish at the end of the day. Sitting down with him is the way I decompress and mentally transfer from the stresses of the day to the calm of evening. For me, "happy hour" is here to stay - for now at least. : )
OP - If you want your wine, make room in your diet for your wine. The problems arise when you don't plan for indulgences. Exercise a little more if you're not able to get your deficit and have your booze. You can have ANYTHING you want and still lose weight - the calorie deficit makes the weight go away, not what you're consuming.0 -
Ok... from reading the subject please try to refrain from judging me. I want HONEST answers from people who still have a love of wine (in my case) or alcohol. On my weight loss journey I found that I can quit cookies. I can quit cake. I can quit "Bad" Carbs. I can quit pop. I can quit all the "BAD" things out there.. besides my Love of Wine!! :drinker: I just want to know if anyone has been able to keep up with exercise and good eating habits and still enjoy the glass or 2 (or in my case bottle or 2) of wine a few times a month? PLEASE don't start judging me and calling me an "alcoholic" like I've seen on threads in the past. I don't "drink" every night. I might drink once, twice or 3 times a month, but when I do... It's a good time. :happy: I'm still faithful to my workouts (hungover or not) and my daily "diet". Like I said, I don't want the feed back that I'm a BAD bad person. I want feed back from people like me that had results. And if you didn't, I would like to hear that too. Is this something I should quit? Or can i make it work? And again... Honest yet non judgmental feedback would be nice. I'm the most judgmental person in my life... I don't need 100 more. I can't be the only one who wants answers for this. Input??
I will be the first to tell you that alcohol is my "thing" & I couldn't care less who judges me for it. Before starting to lose weight, I drank (cocktail or wine) at least 4-5 nights/wk. I've always felt as if one should keep something "bad" as a regular part of their diet when they are trying to lose weight...just to break up the monotony and feeling of restriction. For me, it works! Now that I've gotten serious about losing weight, I only drink about once or twice a week. (if I go out to eat at a restaurant or out w/friends on the wknd), as I am a margarita FANATIC! I count the calories of those drinks too. So, on those days my calorie intake is WAYYY over, but I just don't worry about it and I STILL lose the weight. Otherwise, I've scaled my alcohol intake back to the point where I very rarely buy any alcohol except for wine to drink at home, and I rarely drink it even if I do buy the wine. However, I've put myself on a personal weight loss challenge this month to drink ONLY wine, to see if I notice any changes.
Bottom line, a drink or two a week is not going to kill your weight loss. It's the 4-5 cocktails/bottles of wine at a time (lol) that does that. Enjoy your wine and don't let anyone make you feel bad about it!0 -
i agree with many others, everything allowed in moderation. right now, i am not counting calories. i am intuitive/mindful eating. so, i pay attention to what my body tells me it wants and needs. i love wine, and some beers. so, i enjoy it a couple nights a week (unless i am eating out). i will and would never tell anyone they can't have something (since i am not them and i don't live their life) or tell them they are bad. eat and drink what you want. as far as weight loss, i am short and fat, so it's going to take a lot of effort and time for me to lose anything. i am okay with that. as long as i am living a healthy life, that's what's most important to me......................and not gaining any more weight. LOL0
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I work alcohol into my weekly calorie goals, so I'm not "drinking my dinner" one day and missing out on nutrients. So if I know I'm going out on Saturday, I will say okay, I'm going to have 6 drinks - that's approximately 12oz of alcohol, 800ish calories if I mix it with diet soda. Spread that out over a few days and voila - a night of boozing without guilt, hampering my weight loss, or depriving myself of food. It's much easier on the body to cut out 200 cals/day in anticipation of a binge night than cut out 800 calories in one day and get sick from drinking on an empty stomach.
The Skinny Girl drinks are crap. I'd rather budget the calories for a real drink than suffer through those. Same deal with light beer. Ugh.0 -
Ok... from reading the subject please try to refrain from judging me. I want HONEST answers from people who still have a love of wine (in my case) or alcohol. On my weight loss journey I found that I can quit cookies. I can quit cake. I can quit "Bad" Carbs. I can quit pop. I can quit all the "BAD" things out there.. besides my Love of Wine!! :drinker: I just want to know if anyone has been able to keep up with exercise and good eating habits and still enjoy the glass or 2 (or in my case bottle or 2) of wine a few times a month? PLEASE don't start judging me and calling me an "alcoholic" like I've seen on threads in the past. I don't "drink" every night. I might drink once, twice or 3 times a month, but when I do... It's a good time. :happy: I'm still faithful to my workouts (hungover or not) and my daily "diet". Like I said, I don't want the feed back that I'm a BAD bad person. I want feed back from people like me that had results. And if you didn't, I would like to hear that too. Is this something I should quit? Or can i make it work? And again... Honest yet non judgmental feedback would be nice. I'm the most judgmental person in my life... I don't need 100 more. I can't be the only one who wants answers for this. Input??
:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: (okay that's supposed to be a wine glass). fellow wine lover here and i just fit it into my calories. i usually have a glass of red wine 2 to 3 times a week. that's a glass. i was having 2 glasses but did cut down. i will not give up my wine sorry no not gonna happen. on the weekends (not every weekend) sometimes i will over indulge but again it is not every weekend and i too am committed to my workouts. i have gone out running after a night of celebrating with a few bottles of wine (no i didn't drink them by myself - hubby helps) and do i feel like i want to vomit on the side of the road yes, did i do it to myself yes, did i have fun the night before yes, am i out running yes. however i did learn my lesson and in all honesty when i know i'm going for a nice run on the weekends i drink a glass or two but no more. this never would have happened years ago - i would have just skipped the run) also i do not drink the night before a race.
this is not a diet to me. this is/was a lifestyle change. if it takes me a year to loose my last 15 pounds so be it. i'm not going to sacrifice anything this is a new me a new life nothing more.0 -
My Doctor has been telling me for years that I could lose weight easier if I gave up wine. He likened it to having an ice cream sundae each day (calorie wise). Unlike you, I do drink every day. My husband and I normally share a botttle of wine each dinner and on the weekends I like a pre dinner martini...so I was not even sure I could QUIT! Since I seemed to be progressively gaining weight, I decided to take the plunge and eliminate alcohol all together. Guess what? I didn't even miss it! And I started losing weight again. I too enjoy wine, so after 3 weeks, I decided to reintroduce a half glass (no more than 5oz.) back into my diet. Limiting wine to weekends or special events and I'm still losing! As long as it is figured into your calorie intake you should be ok. Keep in mind that the liver is one of the organs that deals with fat and processing impurities in your system. If it's too busy with alcohol,(detoxifying) it puts the fat processing on the back burner and thus fat is stored rather than processed.0
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"Go Sober October".... HA! Sounds intriguing... but NO! Its my Birthday and Halloween month... That would NEVER be do-able (or I have No balls. LOL) A week or 7.5 days is long enough... :noway: :drinker:
I'm with ya sista!! I --- very briefly --- thought about "Go Sober October", but I know it's NOT doable for me. I totally agree with all who just count it in w/your calories. I lost a significant amount of whilst having a glass (or two) of red wine every night.
My downfall has become BEER!! I cannot, do not, will not, drink 'light' beer, it's just not enjoyable at all to me. I've always been a bit of a drinker, usually wine or assorted cocktails, but rarely, if ever, beer -- then I was introduced to delicious, delightful, amazingly awesome hi-octane CRAFT BEER!
Up until 8-9 mos ago, it posed no real problem for me as far as my weight. However, for myriad reasons, I kinda fell off the fitness wagon last fall, but kept right on drinking that damn beer! Before long, instead of exercising every evening, I was rushing home to a few cold ones... yep you guessed it... bam... 20lb weight gain!!! ugh ugh ugh
Thankfully, I'm back up on that wagon, but it's slow going. I feel like if I cut out beer all together, I'd lose faster, but I just can't/won't/don't want to do that. But I have cut back to drinking on the weekends and the weight is starting to come down. All things in moderation (dammit), right?0 -
:drinker: well i lost (before) 15lbs WITH my wine, im restarting my journey, and i will not give up my wine, i have a 4 year old and a 30 year old (my boyfriend lol) . they drive me to drink lol0
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I'm with everyone - anything in moderation and if it fits in your calories (or macros, if that's your thing), have at it!
I have a down and dirty love affair with coffee, so you know darned well that I make sure it fits in my daily calories. :bigsmile:0 -
I'm a sucker for IPA craft beers. Of course, they're among the highest calorie brews out there. Not a boozer by any means, I go through a six pack a week. I've made them fit into the calorie counts previously, but have kind of plateaued. So I'm doing a no-booze October to see if cutting out the empty calories makes a difference. Will let you know how it goes.0
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I haven't read all the replies, but I love wine! My family loves wine. It's common for all of our family meals to have wine even if it's just me and my parents. Therefore, I was used to having wine with dinner as many as 4-5 nights a week. I am hoping to get pregnant and am cutting back to no more than 2 nights a week for wine (whether it's one glass or one bottle). And, in my family and with my friends, that's normal or below average consumption. Not that we would get drunk every day but wine is always included.
I previously lost 100 pounds and never gave up wine - but I did make sure it fit into my calories and understood it is empty calories. You get no nutritional benefit. Though, of course, red wine has good antioxidants (which is always my fall back reason for having it).
A HUGE problem with the drinking though, whether it's one or two glasses or bottles, is that your inhibitions are lowered and it throws your blood sugar out of whack. Watch the cravings. When I drink too much now it's important to have healthy delicious snacks on hand (laughing cow cheese and reduced fat crackers) instead of taco bell or grilled cheese!
Don't ever stop drinking wine! 0 -
As with anything, make sure it fits into your calories and you'll be fine.0
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DRINK!
DRINK!
DRINK!
and more drink!
drinkers,,,,, ADD ME!0
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