College & drinking?

BinaryPulsar

I also agree with dancing. Also, you will be having fun and enjoying the night and then you will drink less and burn calories.

ktaylor1188

i agree with the dancing...i only drink when i know i can burn off some calories in the process...i have always been a vodka girl and thats a little lighter on the calories...however i normally mix it with diet sprite which bars never have! so i found diet coke and rum work...plus i dont like the taste quite as much so i drink it slower...only have 2-4 instead of 6-8 like i was with the vodka lol! i feel your pain...no we dont "have " to drink but at this time in your life, for most people, it is going to happen and finding the best way to enjoy it/have fun without racking up the cals is important! good luck! dont forget to bust a move :P

jackieomara

If you are really planning to drink a lot then I suggest that you do not over restrict your eating. You still need the same amount of food and nutrition. And you will have a more fun time if you do not drink on an empty stomach. I understand that you want to get buzzed or drunk. Maintaining a slow and steady buzz is really what most people are looking for. Too much, too fast, is never actually fun. At least not for me. I guess I do have an extremely low tolerance for alcohol. If you do drink on an empty stomach you will be more likely to binge on food that night and have a hangover the next morning. Maybe set a weekly goal, so you can compensate for the drinking during the whole week and not just in one day.

You could plan in advance how many drinks you are going to have and then stick to that.

oh definitely! yeah i know how it is when you drink on an empty stomach, not fun. i definitely plan on eating normally throughout the day. thank you!!

jackieomara

thank you to everyone who replied!!

montoyarenee

I agree! Alcohol is not my problem, but I like to eat everything except the kitchen sink afterwards. I just can't drink while I'm trying to lose weight or else it turns into a pizza delivered or some cheese-sticks at the restaurant!

But to answer the original post: wine, light beers (or Guinness), and liquor + club/diet/sugar-free mixers (or shots) will be your best bet. Some of the sweeter wines have more calories, so just be aware.

Good luck!

RonnieLodge

What is the healthiest way to go about this while also sticking to my plan? We usually pre game at our place and then go to the bars, so any drink suggestions for either would be great! And yes, I want to get buzzed/drunk doing so and no, I'm not going to completely cut out drinking, that will be after graduation haha.

I never bothered to develop a taste for beer - too low in alcohol to give a decent buzz and seeing how some people get beer bellies, I am glad I didn't!

It took me a while to wean myself off the 1am kebab and next morning full fried breakfast hangover cure too.

I pre-load with vodka or white rum with diet soft drink.
Then I switch to diet soft drink or vodka shots with diet soft drinks in the biggest serving they have at the bar.
I have also been known to take hipflasks or water bottles of vodka with me.

When I go to house parties I take a bottle of champagne and a bottle of diet soft drink that looks exactly like champagne (yellow, bubbly, 15 cals in 1.5ltrs) and when I have drunk both bottles I stop drinking.

:drinker:

skytoads

I didn't get a chance to read all of the comments so this might have been suggested and I apologize if it was.. but I always drink a full glass of water between drinks. It definitely slows down your drinking and doesn't give you as bad of a hangover the next day!

Cortelli

As far as drink suggestions, stay away from "girly drinks" that have tons of sugar in them. Besides that, there's not that big of a difference between hard alcohol and beer. It's the actual alcohol that contains the calories.

Good advice generally in your post, but this is really, really wrong. Beer (particularly "crafty," "richer," or "colorful" beer), has a lot more calories per gram of alcohol compared to liquor. A double shot (in the US approx. 3 fl oz) of straight spirits like whiskey, vodka, rum, tequila, etc. will generally run about 200 cals; that's about the same cals as a pint of many beers - less than some and more than others. But the alcohol content of a double shot of spirits and a pint is pretty radically different, no?

OP - lots of good info and advice here already. Spirits are less cals but some folks don't like them. Spirits with low or no cal mixers good too. Wine has higher alcohol content than beer per calorie. Beer is perhaps the least alcohol-calories effective (other than the aforementioned mixed drinks with all sorts of sugar and calorie-rich mixers) but also so, so rewarding and tasty.

Pick out what works for you. Tracking and controlling calorie intake is important - or else you wouldn't be here on MFP, I guess. But it is not the end-all, be-all. Do what you can but don't forget to enjoy yourself.

Cortelli

I never bothered to develop a taste for beer - too low in alcohol to give a decent buzz and seeing how some people get beer bellies, I am glad I didn't!

It took me a while to wean myself off the 1am kebab and next morning full fried breakfast hangover cure too.

I pre-load with vodka or white rum with diet soft drink.
Then I switch to diet soft drink or vodka shots with diet soft drinks in the biggest serving they have at the bar.
I have also been known to take hipflasks or water bottles of vodka with me.

When I go to house parties I take a bottle of champagne and a bottle of diet soft drink that looks exactly like champagne (yellow, bubbly, 15 cals in 1.5ltrs) and when I have drunk both bottles I stop drinking.

:drinker:

I think I love you, RonnieLodge. :drinker: So rational and realistic, and honest. Cheers to you!

Sbrn_

In my opinion, what's most important is to have something decent (at least calorie-wise) lined up to eat after or during your drinking session. I think the food that people tend to eat whilst or after drinking is what really blows the calories and contributes to weight gain over time. You know, the lack of thinking about your choices and the (often calorie-dense) takeaway food, etc.

I go out drinking every Saturday and it hasn't affected my 'quest' negatively at all. I just stick to spirits and diet mixers, mostly vodka and diet coke, keep a note of every drink on my mobile to log later, and don't eat until I get home. I always have a ready meal waiting in the freezer. I admit they're not the most nutritious of foods but they come to around only 500-600 calories, which is handy. I'm in Ireland, but I'm sure there's similar low-cal ready meals in the US. A generic 25ml of vodka and diet coke only comes to about 60 calories, and seeing as I'm (gladly!) such a lightweight I only need about six or seven of those before I can't take anymore. So a night out for me only adds about an extra 440 calories, which is easy to fit into your day. Just limit the drinking to about once or twice a week and you're good to go! :glasses:

Rachelc1992

If you go out, dance to burn off some calories.

Alcohol was the cause of my weight gain! And I'm a bit worried what will happen when I'm travelling again (drinking is just the norm)!
However!! I went out lady Friday and only had 2 drinks!! I was sober as (I can drink ALOT) and I still pulled and had a great time!!

jackieomara

you're all awesome, thank you for the replies!!

1shauna1

Stick with bar shots with low cal mixers or light beers. And dance a ton!

mschicagocubs

My drink of choice has already been said (Vodka/Soda with lime) It really does the trick.

You're young! Enjoy it! :drinker:

I will never give up drinking. I'm 26. I don't drink every weekend, but when I do I just make sure to burn a good amount before I go out (500) and then the next day I just am a little more strict with any extra calories I went over.

qb63

Diet coke and vanilla vodka, if the bar has vanilla vodka. Tastes like a cream soda. MMMMmmmmm! :drinker:

jackieomara

Diet coke and vanilla vodka, if the bar has vanilla vodka. Tastes like a cream soda. MMMMmmmmm! :drinker:

this sounds delicious, i might even pick up some diet coke and vanilla vodka for beforehand!

RonnieLodge

I think I love you, RonnieLodge. :drinker: So rational and realistic, and honest. Cheers to you!

Oh you. :blushing:

Cheers!

:drinker:

BinaryPulsar

I like a beer once or twice a month (a good beer). Since it's just one I can fit it into my calories, like as if it's a dessert. So, if you do that you won't get a beer belly.