WAYY too much alcohol

onematch

Check in! No alcohol since Thursday. Thank you everyone, the sympathetic and the hard truth people. I'm going to keep this up, and MFP is going to help me!!

Sounds like you're on your way! Good luck!

memedandy1

1

DAM5412

Stopping for a little while and seeing how you feel and function is a smart thing to do. I know I was in the same boat as you earlier this year. My weight had crept up, I was binge drinking with occasional blackouts and I felt like crap in general. In April I decided I needed to do something to get my health back on track and joined a C25K group and started back on MFP and counting calories.

I am not perfect, but for the weeks where I limit or just do not drink, I feel better and stronger. My weight and diet are much more consistent.

But it is hard. What do you do instead of drinking after work to wind down? How do you celebrate or socialize when booze is all you really know? I'm still struggling with it. And I've had my days where I've said eff it and done shots (at a wedding) or drank pretty much all day during vacation. You'll have those moments, just be sure to log them and watch how you feel and what your weight does during that time.

I do think if you are a runner or interested in running, signing up for a 5k will help motivate you to watch your nutrition and stick with a training plan. It worked for me at least. Or another type of health/strength goal which you can set up a schedule and monitor your progress.

For me, most of the time, the alcohol is NOT worth the calories wasted. And even when I do drink now I very often find it unsatisfying. My body is learning to like being healthy and working hard, which is hard to do hung over.

Good luck and please feel free to add me as a friend if you need support!

lizzybathory

I don't think I'm drinking close to as much as you are, but I've recently done the math as well, and seen that it's time to find a way to cut back. I don't even get drunk most days, but I love having a couple drinks after dinner, during the evening when I'm watching TV or reading a book. When I did the math on how much I drank during my first week tracking at MFP, I figured out I could lose almost a pound a week just by cutting out drinks and not changing anything else.

I always figured that since I'm not getting drunk all the time and it's not otherwise interfering with my life, it couldn't be having a huge impact on my weight. But I know I have been drinking more since I got married (got into the habit of it when I could relax after work, finally, instead of thinking about wedding planning things and to-do lists) and have been slowly but steadily gaining weight.

I also think moderation is so hard with drinking... I've previously tried to "cut back" without quitting, but have found that once I have one, my inhibitions are lowered far enough that I don't think twice about a second one. I've tried moderation, and I suck at it. If it's affecting your life, staying off of it entirely, at least for a while, is probably the best approach.

DM01234

I have pretty much been a beer or two a day person for the last 7 years. To state the obvious - this has added to the waist line.

I don't drink enough to even get "buzzed". I get full before that happens. But I'm drinking beer - not J.D, so the amount required is much different in my opinion.

I won't give it up but I will no longer be a bottle or two per day person. It's completely counterproductive to my "get fit" goal. My hope and desire is I will shrink it to 2 bottles per week. Again, giving it up altogether isn't going to work. I enjoy it too much.

Best wishes on your personal journey and making this all work.

nogreenthumb

I cut down quite a bit due to the potential for weight gain. Now I treat myself to craft beers and have one after work, as opposed to getting a cheaper brand and having half a dozen.

jim_just_jim

Im in the same boat but I find the calories come not only from the alcohol ( whiskey on ice baby ) but the snacking when I get buzzed. Just cant resist a couple crackers and cheese or finishing some leftovers. I'd like to cut back on all those bad habits but it's hard unless you have support. Not nagging support, but understanding support.
Friend me if you're in the same boat and want to paddle along

Rosie_McA

I stopped with alcohol when it just became a habit to open a beer or bottle of wine most evenings. Now I have the occasional drink when it's birthdays and weddings. Honestly I don't miss it any longer and when I was tempted in the recent past I would just remind myself of the other treats I could have in its place e.g cheesecake or pastries.

Lesa_Sass

Hi, my name is Lesa and I am an alcoholic. I lost my first 20 lbs when I got sober almost 7 years ago. Then I continued to lose after I incorporated fitness and a more nutrient rich diet into my life.

I never ever would have thought that I could honestly say that I would enjoy life with out a drink. I mean, what do people do for fun? Doesnt everyone go on vacation and sit in the bar all night then lay around the pool all day? Why would anyone NOT want to drink was beyond my scope of understanding. After all, I was only hurting myself. One day I woke up and realized that it was not okay for anyone else to hurt me, why was it okay for me to hurt me.

I am now coming upon my sobriety date and can not fathom how I lived my life with alcohol in it. My profile pic is of my husband and I taking a ride on an elephant through the jungle of Thailand. Something I never EVER would have done had I been drinking. EVER. I have been all over the world climbing mountains, wading through streams and riding bikes in the most beautiful places on the planet, and it is all due to the fact that I released my obsession with alcohol and started living my life.

Alcohol is not necessary to have a good life. If you are interested in learning how I did it, please feel free to PM me (not selling anything, just here to share my experience, strength and hope).

Alcohol is a lover to many people and they are very defensive about it, you will get many replies about how you should be able to moderate it or keep it in your life and lose weight. Well, thats fine and dandy for them, but you and I both know that if that worked, we both would be doing it right now.

I am here for you or anyone else that is struggling with this issue, please feel free to reach out and talk to me any time.

Lesa

laurie04427

Yeah I pretty much have to keep booze out of the house or I'll drink it every night until it's gone. Or until I've gotten fed up with myself and pour the booze out to "start over". I go through cycles where I don't drink and cycles where I do, no real happy medium yet.

So yeah, something I struggle with a bit too. Good luck OP.

fasyle

Thanks everyone. It's so great to see the kind of support people with all kinds of questionable habits can get on MFP! I like the no alcohol in the house rule. It think that, at least, will help me see if cutting way back or quitting completely is an option for me, or if I find myself going crazy for a drink. At that point, I will know I need more help.

But as far as the weight loss part is concerned, I know that drinking that many calories has to mean I'm not eating enough to meet macro goals. OK--cold turkey until I'm at least half way there, then special occasions only! That's my new mini-goal......

Best of luck to you!!
Coming from someone who definitely isn't addicted and has never gone through any kind of alcohol withdrawal - I know that for me if I drink even just 1-2 beers that the next day my workout suffers. I can practically feel the alcohol weighing down my muscles. When you feel tempted by the booze think about how much better you've been feeling not having it! That helps me anyways.
Rooting for you

colors_fade

Have any of you MFP's seen alcohol as being a barrier to your weight loss? What did you do? When did you have to admit to family that it's a problem for you?

At times it's been a source of excess calories for me, and all excess calories hinder my weight loss. What has helped me has been tracking, and changing the way I think about food, and adding exercise. I no longer cut foods or beverages out of my diet, I just moderate. I definitely consume less alcohol than I did earlier this year.

I'm not always perfect with it, but I prefer moderation to elimination. Eliminating foods or beverages from my diet is something that has never worked for me. I don't like the restriction, and I don't like the way it messes with my mood and attitude. When I first joined this site, one of the things I read, which jived with my own thinking about weight loss, was: Don't give up anything you're not willing to give up for the rest of your life.

I often have days where I don't drink, and those are days that really help maintain my calorie deficit for the week. However, my wife and I love to have drinks with dinner, or after dinner when we're winding down for the evening watching a show on TV. So I quite often partake. Sometimes I can moderate nicely - one beer after dinner, or one glass of wine, or one Fireball, sticking within my calorie budget.

Social occasions are something completely different. My wife and I have a philosophy: someone invites you to their place to break bread, you break bread with them. We eat the food and drink the drinks. No guilt. Social events are to be enjoyed, so we enjoy them. I never get drunk at such events, but I do enjoy myself.

I'm never perfect, and I don't expect myself to be. Last night was a prime example. I worked out hard yesterday and had a couple walks to get my 10K steps, and earned a lot of excess calories for the day. We're big fans of "Hell on Wheels" and I just realized season 4 had already started. We downloaded the first episodes off Amazon and started watching. Well hell, gotta have some Fireball if we're watching "Hell on Wheels", right? I went a little overboard, but it was fun. And I still had a (small) deficit when all the tracking was done. I would have had a really awesome deficit without the Fireballs, but I'm not going to feel guilt over that, or beat myself up about it. This is life. I enjoyed every sip.

Bottom line is that you have to figure out what works for you. Moderation works for me. If I couldn't maintain a calorie deficit and continue to lose weight each week, I'd cut back on it more. The weight loss is more important to me. But right now I feel like I have a pretty good balance going. I enjoy my foods and drinks, and am losing. Win-Win.

gelendestrasse

The one way to check your ability to stop with alcohol is to do just that - stop. If you can. If you can't then get help from your group of choice.

I cut my beer back to one or two a week and lost 10 more pounds. It will definitely help your weight because you loose the carbs and the munchies.

It's probably your best path right now. I'd go for it.

Oh, and the one thing is that this is like squeezing a balloon. You give up the Jack's and start on the ice cream. Be careful and get support. Add me as a friend if you want to.

lisahenneberry83

I agree:)

horseswinelife

You are speaking to my heart! I also have the same issue but with wine and am working very hard to stop! I wish you all the luck!!!

holly_wendelin

I have similar issues. I don't drink every night, and generally only on the weekend, but when I do, it is 4-6 drinks. 4 drinks really puts me into that drunk place where I'm going to have a hangover.

So this is what I did to help myself:

Get all of the booze out of your house. Do not buy any more, and do not allow your husband or other family members to bring it home.

Don't drink ANY alcohol for 30 days. Just 30 days. If people ask about it, tell them it is a health and fitness plan you are on.

If you are unable to remain sober for 30 days, then you do need to find help. Not everybody who drinks this much has a problem with quitting, but a lot of people do.

After the 30 days, don't go back to your old ways. Still do not allow alcohol in the house but have a drink if you go out to dinner or to a party or whatever.

I hope this helps, I did 30 days and was surprised by how easy it was (I thought I was going to need help).

Mistapholeezkat

Can you update us with your success or failures? I am interested to see how well you do.

farfromthetree

Boy, this was so me a year ago. I could not lose weight and always kind of knew alcohol was to blame. Our neighborhood is big on the happy hours and this would carry over to my weekdays. I began a diabetic medication a year ago which made alcohol repulsive to me. The weight came off finally.( I also ate less) But, it really showed me how much I was drinking on a daily basis. I often wondered if in fact I had a drinking problem. Looking back I know it was a really bad habit. I still drink but limit how much in a sitting. I try and not drink during the week and do not keep alcohol in the house.
When I was drinking on a daily basis, I would also wake with a bit of a headache. I was basically functioning every day with a hangover. Just wait until you see how great you feel when you stop waking up this way. I jump out of bed now with energy, and I feel well rested. Many of my friends are going through what you are talking about. Life is busy and stressful but drinking every day is counterproductive in handling the stress and busy lifestyle. Best of luck to you!

sengalissa

Full disclosure here, I've never told anyone that this is a problem for me, not even family. I come from a family where a cocktail every night after dinner for my parents was the norm and drinking at ALL social occasions was expected. I was a light social drinker for most of the time my kids were growing up, with occasional binges that I always regretted (hangovers suck!). Around the time my youngest was 16-17, I began to be more of a drink or two every night before bed. Over the next 5 years that gradually increased to this point where I'm having 5-6 drinks (Jack Daniels is my poison of choice) every night. Sometimes I don't know how I make myself get up and get to work every morning because my head hurts. But I do. I have a great job and would never think of drinking during the work day.

I've gained 30lbs over those 5 years, from eating bad and all the booze. After coming to MFP about 3 weeks ago I've been aggressively tracking my calories in, and am getting exercise 4-5 time a week. I can plainly see now (and this was easy to ignore when not tracking) that every night I drink as many calories as I'm eating in 2 meals.

I know that to stop, I just have to stop. I don't think when you get this far down the road that moderation is an option, at least not at first. Almost all my friends and family have beer or wine or alcohol whenever we're together so I usually lose all willpower at social functions.

Have any of you MFP's seen alcohol as being a barrier to your weight loss? What did you do? When did you have to admit to family that it's a problem for you?

I have never had that problem, though I did like beer and cocktails a lot when I was a student. However, it showed on my hips! I had to be abstinent while pregnant (6 times), so it was easy for me to stop for a good reason.
Back to you, I think there is a perfect social excuse to not drink, which are the calories. Tell everyone that you have to decline the drink because it has too many calories ("Oh, no, thank you. I am tracking my calorie intake - and did you know how many calories this has?!"). That way, you don't have to talk about alcoholism or anything. Since you were able to stop according to your update, I don't think you are addicted which is great!
Be GRATEFUL that your weight loss plan will limit your drinking in passing as well! In a few weeks, you will feel like a new person!

bubblesl40

It's wonderful to read the support and positive comments coming to you. I also want to give you my support. Unfortunately, I have the ugly side of too much alcohol. My husband died last year due to alcoholic cirrohosis, he was only 46 years old. He enjoyed whiskey and Sun Drop daily, drinking whole bottles in a day. After he died I went into some weird different reality and stayed drunk for about 3 weeks (wake up to pass out drunk). Then I woke up one day and realized this crap took my husband from me in a long, ugly disease process. Moderation is the key. I have to agree with the others that if you can't have just a couple drinks occasionally then it's best to just leave it out. Best wishes to you

AddieOverhaul

I have recently been "re-evaluating my relationship" with alcohol as well. I don't drink a lot; sometimes I will go a couple of weeks without a single drink. And I can do the glass of wine or a beer here and there. BUT - if I get together with a group of friends at the pub or a BBQ and people are drinking I usually end up binge drinking. And I'm talking like 8-15 drinks here not 4-6. And sometimes that leads to day-after regrets! Not just because of hangovers but because of things I said or bad decisions made. My friends don't think it's a problem because they say nothing I have done or said is really that bad, but I have shared information I wish I didn't, and I have done a few things I regret. My friends do it too, but that doesn't mean I should be okay with it.

I do like drinking though, but seem to have an issue stopping if I go past three or four. So, I am giving up alcohol for 30 days starting on the 15th, and then after that I will try to not go past 4 drinks maximum at social gatherings. I'm going to see how that goes. If I can't do it, then I will know maybe I need to stop completely. I had issues with drugs when I was much younger, and alcoholism is in my family on both sides, so I need to be careful.

Best of luck to you, and me, and everyone else who needs it!

castlerobber

Around the time my youngest was 16-17, I began to be more of a drink or two every night before bed. Over the next 5 years that gradually increased to this point where I'm having 5-6 drinks (Jack Daniels is my poison of choice) every night. Sometimes I don't know how I make myself get up and get to work every morning because my head hurts.

Yeah...5 or 6 drinks a night, every night, is a problem, and not just because of the calories. That can't be good for your liver, either.

You mention that your drinking increased as your last child was getting old enough to leave home. Is there something going on that you need to work through...empty nest, relationship problems, whatever? (You don't have to tell it here, obviously.)

I agree with the folks who have suggested AA or professional assistance. Best of luck to you. :flowerforyou:

tulips_and_tea

I have recently been "re-evaluating my relationship" with alcohol as well. I don't drink a lot; sometimes I will go a couple of weeks without a single drink. And I can do the glass of wine or a beer here and there. BUT - if I get together with a group of friends at the pub or a BBQ and people are drinking I usually end up binge drinking. And I'm talking like 8-15 drinks here not 4-6. And sometimes that leads to day-after regrets! Not just because of hangovers but because of things I said or bad decisions made. My friends don't think it's a problem because they say nothing I have done or said is really that bad, but I have shared information I wish I didn't, and I have done a few things I regret. My friends do it too, but that doesn't mean I should be okay with it.

I do like drinking though, but seem to have an issue stopping if I go past three or four. So, I am giving up alcohol for 30 days starting on the 15th, and then after that I will try to not go past 4 drinks maximum at social gatherings. I'm going to see how that goes. If I can't do it, then I will know maybe I need to stop completely. I had issues with drugs when I was much younger, and alcoholism is in my family on both sides, so I need to be careful.

Best of luck to you, and me, and everyone else who needs it!

You are very smart! You know your triggers, are aware of your limits, and don't want to repeat bad behavior. You are on the right track and I think your plan is very good. Good luck!
IMHO, this is where "pride" is a good thing. For me, personally, I decided that I had too much pride in myself to drink too much to where I embarrassed myself. I've tried to instill that in my kids, also, but as you mentioned, friends act that way and don't criticize you for doing it, so it's hard to stop and draw the line. I get it. But you'll get past this and figure out what works for you.

AddieOverhaul

I have recently been "re-evaluating my relationship" with alcohol as well. I don't drink a lot; sometimes I will go a couple of weeks without a single drink. And I can do the glass of wine or a beer here and there. BUT - if I get together with a group of friends at the pub or a BBQ and people are drinking I usually end up binge drinking. And I'm talking like 8-15 drinks here not 4-6. And sometimes that leads to day-after regrets! Not just because of hangovers but because of things I said or bad decisions made. My friends don't think it's a problem because they say nothing I have done or said is really that bad, but I have shared information I wish I didn't, and I have done a few things I regret. My friends do it too, but that doesn't mean I should be okay with it.

I do like drinking though, but seem to have an issue stopping if I go past three or four. So, I am giving up alcohol for 30 days starting on the 15th, and then after that I will try to not go past 4 drinks maximum at social gatherings. I'm going to see how that goes. If I can't do it, then I will know maybe I need to stop completely. I had issues with drugs when I was much younger, and alcoholism is in my family on both sides, so I need to be careful.

Best of luck to you, and me, and everyone else who needs it!

You are very smart! You know your triggers, are aware of your limits, and don't want to repeat bad behavior. You are on the right track and I think your plan is very good. Good luck!
IMHO, this is where "pride" is a good thing. For me, personally, I decided that I had too much pride in myself to drink too much to where I embarrassed myself. I've tried to instill that in my kids, also, but as you mentioned, friends act that way and don't criticize you for doing it, so it's hard to stop and draw the line. I get it. But you'll get past this and figure out what works for you.

Thank you so much! I've done quite a bit of growing up the last few years and I'm really analyzing the choices I make and habits I have. I appreciate the encouraging words!

marko320

This is a great thread. Perhaps I need to reevaluate my addictions.

DamePiglet

I drink ALL THE BOOZE!

Also...

FitOldMomma

I know alcohol calories can be a problem for some people trying to lose weight. I'm glad I never took up drinking alcohol; mainly because I like food too much.
But seriously-coming from a family with a lot of addicts (drugs and alcohol), I know that if you are even suspicious you may have a problem with your drinking- you should heed your own intuition.

Someone I know who has been on Weight Watcher's for a few years recently told me that her love of evening wine has been a hindrance to her success. She simply isn't willing to forgo 2-3 glasses of wine and drinking that many of her daily 'points' leaves her too hungry. I suppose it a choice everyone has to make for themselves.

Good luck.

lisawinning4losing

You and me both sister. I can drink 500+ calories like nothing. I have two birthday parties to go to this week but I'm starting a 30 day no alcohol challenge on Sept. 14. Anyone who wants to join me can feel free to send a friend request.

FrankWorsley

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1405871-living-with-an-alcoholic

GertrudeHorse

Have any of you MFP's seen alcohol as being a barrier to your weight loss? What did you do? When did you have to admit to family that it's a problem for you?

I would agree with previous suggestions that you should get assistance with your drinking.

To answer your question, alcohol has been a problem for me, but never specifically a problem in terms of weight loss. I gave up drinking entirely because I started to realise the harm it was doing to me and my relationships. I regret nothing. One of the best decisions I ever made. There's no shame. Do what you need to do to look after yourself and live the best life you can.