Should I quit drinking?
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MFP certainly opened my eyes to how many calories were in alcohol!!
I've always been a social drinker, so not drinking at home or mid-week was no real hardship (and I love my food too much so I would much rather eat my calories than drink them). On occasions where I do drink I generally just make sure it's within my calories. I also have quite a lot of fitness goals that drinking too much would get in the way of so that makes me drink less when out.
But there are always times to let my hair down and not worry too. Life is not ALL about diet. :drinker:0 -
I would love to stop, but love a glass of wine. I do think it hinders my weight loss, and is the reason for my weight gain sometimes. I'm fine from Monday to Thursday, but as soon a Friday comes my diet goes out of the window. I'm starting to hate week-ends. HELP!0
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For me the danger is not the calories in alcohol, its how hungry alcohol makes me. After 4 drinks I really don't care if I go over budget or not. bad. It destroys any type of impulse control I may have, where food is concerned.0
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i really appreciate every ones feed back, thank you0
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I would love to stop, but love a glass of wine. I do think it hinders my weight loss, and is the reason for my weight gain sometimes. I'm fine from Monday to Thursday, but as soon a Friday comes my diet goes out of the window. I'm starting to hate week-ends. HELP!
This is my problem too. If i would just have one or two it would probably be no big deal but i like to get wild and will drink 5+ drinks when i go out. I dont drink sugary foofoo drinks, i drink shots of fire ball and IPA's. Then i have a 3day hang over and i think that sends my metabolism all out of whack. I know this all sounds bad but i dont do it every weekend, sometimes ill go a couple of months without drinking but when i do i dont mess around.0 -
i work in the wine industry and can't stand the sutff lol or beer, the only alchohol's that ever took my fancy were Scotch, Bourbon and Southern Comfort, i rarely drink, i don't think it's necessarily bad in moderation it can get expensive which is not good and it only has limited benefits and alot of not good stuff attached to it.
Guess i'm lucky in the respect i never have a craving for it, it just puts me too sleep before i get drunk and i've never had a hangover which btw is easily avoidable by drinking water aswell, you can be just as happy and outgoing without partaking and water is better for you anyway.
You wil certainly benefit money wise and health wise from cutting back and quitting would be even better0 -
If you are giving up drink forever... this could work
It might help with weight loss (depending on how much you drink now and what you replace it with!)
If you are just giving up drink for the duration of a 'diet' and then intend to go back to it, it would probably be better to learn how to include a reasonable amount now. (Experience suggests that 'Fasting and Feasting' tends to keep you at the same weight or it leaves you on a steady increase)0 -
I love wine and some beer from time to time, but I found out that every drink of any kind make me want to eat more and I'm more able to quit all of healthy lifestyle. So I decided to drink as little as possible for me You need to found out how alkohol is working on you0
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I don't drink a lot these days and my tolerance has dropped significantly since losing weight. I like the occasional beer,/cider rum and cocktail but after 2 i need water as I hate the feeling of being drunk.
when i was younger i enjoyed it but now it just makes me feel queasy and want to lie down. I will still go out and have a few with my friends but I'm all about moderation nowadays and I can ( and frequently do) have a great time with the same people when we're all sat around drinking tea.
OP, I agree with many of the previous posters here in saying that unless it's a permanent change to omit alcohol from your life, then I would allow some room in your chosen days calories to enjoy as much as you want.0 -
I've cut back a lot. And I can easily 'earn' enough calories for a good bottle of red should the fancy take me. And I make different drink choices. And I accept that sometimes when I have my drink on I am going to eat a load of crap that I wouldn't normally eat.
And you know what? That's ok. I don't want to give up alcohol for the rest of my life in the same way I don't want to be on a diet for the rest of my life. I want to find a way I can live long term so that this is maintainable. I'm off to a mate's divorce party tonight and I know I will go WAY over on my calories and that's ok because I've made peace with it in my head. So if I don't show a loss on the next weigh day that is perfectly ok - I'm getting there long term and permanently, not short term and unsustainably.
Good luck0 -
Life's (way) too short to cut out things that you enjoy ....
I don't drink any more .............. but then again I don't drink and less :-p0 -
I only drink on nights where I'm under my calorie goal and have already done sufficient exercise for the day. I find that alcohol loosens my inhibitions around food too so this way if I'm tempted to have a snack after drinking, I can log it and still be accountable. I generally stick to variations of vodka martinis when I'm out and just log them. No reason for me not to get a buzz on if I'm out on a date or with some friends.0
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I quit because of the calories. I'd always been a wine drinker and it was difficult at first but it has helped with weight loss. I don't drink calories at all now.0
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I think one question to ask is , why do you drink? Is it just to be social? If it is wouldn't any beverage work? Or is it the buzz you are after? That was my reason. For me the only reason to drink alcohol is for the buzz. Over time (long time) I realized that the buzz was not worth it. I was smoking then and when I smoked and drank I smoked twice as much. Also before going to bed after drinking I ate to ward off the hangover. I still like to get a little buzz on but instead of weekly it's is once or twice a year and then I keep it in moderation.
My vote for you is either quit or only once or twice a month. The calories only hurt, yet that can be said about all over indulgences. I plan for my favorite foods and not more than once or twice a month and only for one meal. I may or may not include alcohol .
Well as usual I ran on at the fingers. I do hope there is a bite or two of food for thought here. lol
Good luck, Tricia0 -
No.
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I didn't actually "quit", I just couldn't find a way to fit it in to my calories. Now, I may have a drink or two during special dinners or when I am out but I don't drink at home any more and I don't go out to drink, I go out for dinner or to a party and the drinking is secondary to the company. I do enjoy wine and an occasional beer and I suspect that when I start maintenance those will be the first things I will add in. On the other hand, I really don't care if I have alcohol one way or the other.
YOU have to decide if cutting it out or severely restricting it is the best path for you to reach your goals. If alcohol is causing you to go above your calories regularly, either psychologically because of the loss of inhibition or physically because of the extra calories, it might not be a bad idea to cut back. Only you can prioritize for yourself.0 -
Im not an alcoholic but i do drink pretty regularly and ive been thinking about quitting drinking until i reach my goal weight. I feel like alcohol is hindering my weight loss. i was just wondering if anyone else felt this way? Has anyone quit drinking to loss weight?
What were your results?
I just want to chip in that drunks are more fun!
[/quote
I've never been around a drunk that was fun. Grabby, stupid, incoherent, falling down unbalanced, incapable of rational thought, mean, annoyingly clingy and affectionate, stinky, dangerous behind the wheel ,embarrassing to be around, prone to commit serious social errors, any or all of that, but not fun. Maybe I've never met the right sort of drunk]
That said, I enjoy ONE mixed drink such as a margarita once every year or two. .0 -
I don't drink any alcohol myself, largely because I don't tend to feel good after drinking even small amounts of it, and as a distant second I would rather spend the calories elsewhere.
Having said that, as it pertains to YOUR situation:
1) Is your alcohol consumption actively preventing you from reaching your goals?
2) Do you feel bad about your alcohol consumption or is it damaging relationships in your life, or causing you problems with your lifestyle?
If the answer is yes to the above then you probably should consider quitting, or reducing the frequency or amount until the above answers are both no.
And if you answered a genuine no to the above, then enjoy your alcohol.Which is more important to you? getting to goal weight or drinking? but don't kid yourself. you won't stay at goal with empty calories sneaking in (says the woman who had a skinny margarita tonight... yeah but i don't drink anymore, truly. why today? idk, but figured wth).
the thing is.. it's not just empty calories. it's how your body converts that that also takes it usually out of wanting to be an option for me.
I disagree with this. First of all it's not necessarily an either/or. In almost all scenarios one can enjoy some amount of alcohol and still meet goal weight or make progress in body composition.
And the claim about empty calories is only true if the quantity of those empty calories causes someone to not be able to adhere to a deficit and that would require a fair amount of drinking. You're making it sound like any empty calories are arbitrarily bad and that's certainly not true. Just about everyone has room for SOME amount of discretionary (empty) calories. Creating an all-or-nothing mentality isn't a good way to go about things for most people.0 -
I quit drinking because alcohol put a lot of weight on me... the empty calories weren't doing me any good. If you think it's hindering your weight loss definitely try giving it up and see if that helps.0
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Yes! You should completely stop drinking if you want to loose. Only drink you can allow yourself, once in a while, can be vodka with ice and lemon/lime and/or gin.0
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