How do YOU combine weight loss with (heavy) drinking?

ndj1979

I want to sustain my student lifestyle with getting drunk (so not just a few beers/wines) once every 1-2 weeks. I suppose it could be possible (I know it's not healthy) and I was just wondering how other people do it, if people do this at all?

if you need to sustain anything through heavy drinking, me thinks you might have an issue with said drinking habit….

as for your question …log the alcohol and build it into your intake for the day….

but first, I would suggest examining your relationship with alcohol...

julesyb1982

I'm a drinker and I can't and won't pass judgment. Clearly I'm aware that not drinking will help weight loss. I'd say limit your alcohol intake to once a week (or every other week). Look for lower calorie drinks - rum and diet coke, low calorie beers, some wines... etc. Try to still eat healthy while drinking - it's so easy to binge after drinking. Be careful! If you must have a pizza - get light cheese and veggies only. Drink plenty of water too.

ndj1979

for the record I drink too..I just don't use it to "sustain" my lifestyle….

evivahealth

I try to drink gin/vodka and soda water (seltzer, whatever you want to call it) - does the job and I don't mind the taste of it. Best to look for lower calorie drinks and mixers and try to balance out a big night on the tiles throughout the week. In an ideal world, if I know I'm going out on a Saturday I'll "save up" 70-100 calories each day that week.

My main advice though is to watch your food intake around drinking. I used to have a big night out, then have half a pizza or a kebab or something in the taxi line on the way home, then the next day I'd need a trip to MacDonalds or KFC or [insert name of favourite take away here] to cancel out my hangover. A big night out would end us costing me thousands and thousands of calories and it really slowed my weight loss riiiiight down.

NotGnarly

If you are anything like me then binge drinking leads to binge eating. When I did drink regularly I drank to get drunk and then I would binge eat. Needless to say I've only had one drink since Thanksgiving 2015 and my bingeing has stopped. If you don't lose all control while drinking, then go for it. Like the others have stated its best to count your calories. Good luck

Mentali

Guys this thread is 2.5 years old I think they've figured it out or given up.

size102b

Fathers an alcoholic Died 54

Brothers a chronic alcoholic lost everything aged 40

Ex husbands an alcoholic lost everything aged 42

Hairdresser was an alcoholic died aged 43 as alcoholic effects she died after getting her body drained of fluid in hospital

Best friends an alcoholic she's been ill

I nearly died last year as I got sepsis at 5
months pregnant no fault if my own we lost if baby girl seems some people simply need to see binge drinking is not worth it

ColossusCain

Hi I want to lose weight but I don't want to make the actual commitment to do it, can you guys help me? Seriously, that's what you just said

I_Will_End_You

ColossusCain wrote: »

Hi I want to lose weight but I don't want to make the actual commitment to do it, can you guys help me? Seriously, that's what you just said

No she didn't. She said she wants to lose weight and go out on the weekends. Plenty of people on this site are able to do both just fine. It's all about balance.

ryry_

emmamaybear wrote: »

Hey! So I'm losing weight, and thus far it's going quite good.. However I've quit drinking until now, but I plan on starting again soon. I want to sustain my student lifestyle with getting drunk (so not just a few beers/wines) once every 1-2 weeks. I suppose it could be possible (I know it's not healthy) and I was just wondering how other people do it, if people do this at all?

Okay. So here is what I have been doing for the past 6 weeks and I'm down about 7 lbs over that timeframe.

I'm focusing on weekly net calories. I go into the app and set my week to start on Friday. Then in the nutrients view it defaults to day view but set it to week view. If I'm staying in then I just stay within range, but if I'm going out Friday and/or Saturday I enjoy myself. My only two rules are I log everything (food and booze) and I be reasonable about food intake.

Then Sunday comes and I evaluate the damage and I have the rest of the week to make it up. Typically Sunday I'm not very hungry so its a low calorie day and I'll throw in a good cardio workout. I just chip away throughout the week with the goal by the end of the day thursday my weekly net calories balance out.

ryry_

Mentali wrote: »

Guys this thread is 2.5 years old I think they've figured it out or given up.

Nards!

dolliesdaughter

TigerBite wrote: »

Vodka clubs will be your friend ... 69 kcals per drink ... Also, getting *kitten*-FACE-wasted, is so passé ... get buzzed, have fun, and actually REMEBER your night ... And hoard your exercise calories for the weekends/drinking nights ...

Also bad things sometimes happen to *kitten*-FACE drunk girls, even in the company of "friends".

eeejer

Alcohol cannot turn to fat, it is the calories in the drinks or what you eat that day that does. Eat only lean protein the entire day you are going to drink. Never eat after you start drinking. Drink drinks with no carbs (ie vodka). You cannot put on fat no matter how much you drink if you do this, but your life will suck.

evivahealth

Mentali wrote: »

Guys this thread is 2.5 years old I think they've figured it out or given up.

I totally noticed this like 5 seconds after I replied and was like oh man, where is the delete post option!!

ketorach

emmamaybear wrote: »

Thanks for the quick responses! I was definitely expecting more judgy posts..
I will definitely be tracking my alcohol intakes and also drinking more strong mixers (vodka diet coke coming my way!). bever had whiskey and soda, but I want to start drinking whiskey and this sounds like a good start.. However most of the time beer/wine is the only alcohol at hand.
Dancing to burn at least some of it off is a good idea! I mean, I'm dancing obviously, but I could take it up a notch.

About the calories in - out: I know this, but a night of drinking often ends in 2000-2500 kcal from only te drinks. Seeing as my goal is 1500 and maintenance 2100, I really don't know how to work this out!

As a 40+ year old former college binge drinker, you may start out tracking your alcohol intake but after a few drinks, I think you'll begin to underestimate your drinking or "forget" how many you had. No judgment here.

Here's a suggestion for parties or staying in with friends: Mix up a Nalgene or Lifefactory bottle with how much vodka/diet you're willing to drink and *pre-log* it. You can get a 22oz Lifefactory bottle. Let's say it's 1/3 vodka and 2/3 diet Coke. That's ~7oz of vodka, or 455 calories. That's pretty strong and a lot of vodka, so maybe 1/4 vodka and 3/4 diet Coke for 357 calories.

Obviously, if you go out to a bar/club, it's impossible to do this. But, if you pre-game before going out, you could do this and then just drink water while you're out.

Just some ideas. Ah, college.

Edit: Goddammit. Old thread. I hate you all.

blues4miles

drpsamin

brb_2013

emmamaybear wrote: »

Thanks for the quick responses! I was definitely expecting more judgy posts..
I will definitely be tracking my alcohol intakes and also drinking more strong mixers (vodka diet coke coming my way!). bever had whiskey and soda, but I want to start drinking whiskey and this sounds like a good start.. However most of the time beer/wine is the only alcohol at hand.
Dancing to burn at least some of it off is a good idea! I mean, I'm dancing obviously, but I could take it up a notch.

About the calories in - out: I know this, but a night of drinking often ends in 2000-2500 kcal from only te drinks. Seeing as my goal is 1500 and maintenance 2100, I really don't know how to work this out!

Well I guess this is where you get to the nitty gritty. If you want 2000cal of alcohol, and that puts you at maintenance then any food you eat is putting you over (since you're prioritizing the alcohol). You'll gain weight doing that.

So your choices are:
A. Less (well, "no") food
B. Less alcohol to have a good time
C. Lower your calories enough on all other days that 2000 alcohol calories+1500 food calories= the proper number over all 7 days of the week. I don't want to do the math for you but it would likely mean something more like 1200 versus 1500. You'd basically subtract the amount you plan to go over evenly from the other days.

kshama2001

dolliesdaughter wrote: »

TigerBite wrote: »

Vodka clubs will be your friend ... 69 kcals per drink ... Also, getting *kitten*-FACE-wasted, is so passé ... get buzzed, have fun, and actually REMEBER your night ... And hoard your exercise calories for the weekends/drinking nights ...

Also bad things sometimes happen to *kitten*-FACE drunk girls, even in the company of "friends".

Good point. Alas, we do not live in a perfectly safe world.