Alcohol - are you feeling guilty?

BellySoonGone

I am not even talking about getting drunk to decrease your inhibitions, or doing things you may regret later. Just keeping up with your diet. As much as I try not to drink it, I still do. A bottle of beer here, a glass of wine there...
Most of you know that 1g of alcohol gives you about 7 pretty much "empty" calories...

Are you feeling guilty? What to do?

What do you do after? drop and do 150 push-ups? dance the night away?

kmm7309

I do... nothing differently. Well, what I do do differently is I don't get piss-drunk. I'm more of a light-weight (pun intended) than I used to be, so it takes a little less to get my buzz on. I count my calories just the same, and I try to accomodate the space in my diet for the calories for the day. But I do know that I am going to drink on occasion, and other then passing guilt, I don't deprive myself of the pleasure or "punish" myself for indulging.

stella77

Well, it is the same thing as eating the sweets for some people. You just need to figure out why you do it and if it is really worth it. If it is - then you need to drop something else that is less important. Personally, I never DRINK empty calories although I will admitt to eating them sometimes. When I do - I just don't consume something else to make up for it and when I do I usually consider it WORTH it for me.

Suggest you do the same - is it worth it out of social context, do you really enjoy it that much, etc. ...

Good luck!

oxnina

Yesterday i had quite a few drinks at the bar, so i made sure that i danced the whole night! woo! 3 hours of dancing!

foreverjade

Ooo I definitely just posted a blog post on this yesterday!!

If I know I am going to be drinking, I leave space in my cal count for the day in it. Plus, I never sit around and drink... If I am drinking, I inevitably want to go dancing, and if I'm dancing, I always burn more than I drank.... The trick here is to not eat after you have been drinking, bc alcohol totally slows down your metabolism. Work the alcohol cals away and then make yourself go straight to bed!

mistyb47711

I dont feel guilty, I just put it in and go on....I think when I personally see it in my diary I tend to not drink a whole lot..That is what helps me.

kmm7309

I dont feel guilty, I just put it in and go on....I think when I personally see it in my diary I tend to not drink a whole lot..That is what helps me.

I'm the same way. And I try to log it before I drink it, when possible. It gives me an idea of what's really going in my body if I decide to drink more than I allot.

mistyb47711

I dont feel guilty, I just put it in and go on....I think when I personally see it in my diary I tend to not drink a whole lot..That is what helps me.

I'm the same way. And I try to log it before I drink it, when possible. It gives me an idea of what's really going in my body if I decide to drink more than I allot.

Exactly...I even log my whole day a food that way I can see if I need to makes changes before I eat anything.

MMK72

I try not to go "binge" drinking more than once a month and don't really bother with the one or two with dinner.
I try and drink vodka (club) soda with a piece of lime or low carb beer.
Keep counting it, don't lose track - you have to be honest with yourself there can be HEAPS of calories in your drinks.
I make up for it over the week before.
The iphone app is great because it gives you the weekly view. In fact we should talk admin into having weekly view on the website for those withour iphones. It really puts blow-outs in perspective.
Even if saturday night is 700cal over (it was for me this saturday :blushing: ) I still know my weekly average was below my goal which is awesome. It also works for junk food, restaurant or eating at friend's places - I try and aim 100 cal under most weeknights so I have room for some kind of blow out once a week. If I don't blow out - awesome I guess I'm closer to losing 1lb per week instead of the 0.5 I'm aiming for - not sure how well this would work for someone aiming for the dreaded/magic "1200 Cal per day" though!

CARNAT22

I am trying to limit my drinking to one night a week (be that a few glasses of wine with dinner, a few vodka & diet mixers at the pub OR a few beers with the weekend football)

It is a lot of empty calories but I try to work out enough to compensate!!!

Been really bad this weekend with alcohol (and I mean very bad) a few drinks every night this weekend :-( and yes I do feel terribly guilty. Although the only person who is suffering is me.... and I don't mean suffering as in a hangover - I mean the fact that if I don't lose anything this weekend I know why...

I am putting it behind me now though - time to move on and continue in the way I had been going (prior to this weekend!!)

Mamoonie

The few times that I drink alcohol, I don't feel guitly!
It sure means empty calories, but as long as you have spare calories, why not used them up with a good beer or glass of champagne?
There are a few ways to deal with this.
I only drink alcolhol when I'm out, or when I have people visiting me. They always are special social occasions which I enjoy. Gathering together, partying is part of my life which I don't want to miss. So I need to make sure I schedule around it. I can either make it a cheat day, or save calories up for it. Both ways are ok, well at least for me :-)
Even though I want to lose weight, I don't want to give up my life. I just need to find a way to do both. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's impossible. It's the long way that counts, not only one step on or off your path.

Just remember.. the more alcohol you drink, the more water you need to drink to get it out of your body again.

MM

cem789

yeah and when i drink i ALWAYS give in to junk food!!

crisps, takeaways, pizza, fries, burgers! anything! alcohol ruins my diet

morganadk2_deleted

I had wine on friday night, i don't feel guilty , because its about life style change and not a "diet" , i love my friday night wine i have done it for years, i'm not about to give it up


Oh and by the way , yes i did log it, was over , also logged my snacks!

naidzlove

I dont drink very often, so its not too much of a problem for me; but when i do have a few drinks i CRAAAVVVE takeaway junk food! so i just let myself have it because its only about every 6 weeks

Out of interest, how many cals in half a bottle of red wine?

Limeinthecoconut

I enjoy every glass just that little bit more. I *may* have had 3 large glasses of a French red tonight... But I had a blast and since I knew I was going out tonight I factored it in to my calories. Plus I walked to the place we were meeting at from work so that burnt some cals (30mins) . I never drink at home - it is very much a social thing for me. So I will enjoy myself when it occurs .

girlinahat

I don't feel guilty about drinking, but I do make sure I log what I am having before I drink it (if possible). That way, I can see if I have space for it in my allowance, and may make the decision to have only one glass of wine rather than two. It's up to me if I want to blow my calories, which I did easily at the weekend as I had a black tie do - but I don't feel bad about that, as someone said, it's a lifestyle change, and not being able to have a few drinks at a party is not a lifestyle change I want to make.

The iphone app is great in that you can keep track of your weekly goal and see easily whether the blowout you think you are having is really as bad. Despite what I had at the weekend, I ended the week only 181 calories over my weekly target. Pretty good considering.

There's plenty of evidence to suggest that alcohol in moderation is good for the health, as is chocolate, salt, fat and tea.

marianne_s

I try and aim 100 cal under most weeknights so I have room for some kind of blow out once a week.

This is exactly how the diet (Rosemary Conley) that I follow works - it alows you a number of calories (200+) daily, which you can then bank to use for a night out (meal/pub).

They recommend that you must use those saved clalories by then end of the week, even you're not going out, so your weekly calories intake doesn't end up being too low.

Debx12345

I enjoy my glass of wine, and im one of those naughty ones that enjoys a glass at home. Shock horror. I just make sure i dont go mad and ensure that i have enough calories to account for it. I don't eat meat, sweets, cakes or junk, so its my treat to myself. God I need something to chill me out at nights. Lol

princesschikee

Alcohol sabotaged all my clean eating efforts. It started out with just a glass of wine, then a beer with pizza, then going to a friend's party. All that over an extended period of time, mind you. Then I started making my own drinks on the weekend. I loved getting that slight buzz. Then it was every day. A light bulb hit New year's eve. Long story short, it got out of hand to the extent that it was effecting my marriage and then I realized that all that sugar in my drinks was making me crave sugar and junk food. I was slowly hating to eat clean. I gained 15 lbs within a 2 month period and only thought about eating junk.
I decided to quit all together. And after 2 months I've lost 10 lbs, feel great, love eating clean and have gotten back on track with everything. Actually, I am so much more motivated now.
All sugar does is make you crave more. So I've cut that out too as much as humanly possible. I don't even think about junk food anymore.
Just want you guys to be aware that the sugar in alcohol can effect what you eat.

MeredithLee11

I don't feel guilty about it. I hardly ever drink now that I'm counting calories again, and when I do it's a light beer or a glass of wine and I've earned it by behaving all week. Feeling guilty about slip-ups or indulgences is silly. First earn your treats then keep working extra hard afterward to continue with your success.

FearAnLoathing

I never feel guilty

bigskinner

I am not even talking about getting drunk to decrease your inhibitions, or doing things you may regret later. Just keeping up with your diet. As much as I try not to drink it, I still do. A bottle of beer here, a glass of wine there...
Most of you know that 1g of alcohol gives you about 7 pretty much "empty" calories...

Are you feeling guilty? What to do?

What do you do after? drop and do 150 push-ups? dance the night away?

i am feeling guilty today, as i was in barcelona and went on a 5 day alcohol binge finishing yesterday. I feel bloated and just not good. Thought my 8 mile cycle this morning would have helped.

but at times needs is a must!!!

melsinct

I don't feel guilty. I budget calories for alcohol (usually red wine) then make sure I log whatever I drink. I don't drink soda or anything nonalcoholic besides water, green tea, or the occasional coffee, so I have room for some empty calories here and there.

Nigel99

No guilt here. I'm only an occasional drinker of alcohol, and the odd occasion when I have a beer or glass of wine, I will log it in my diary as I do with anything. As it is an occasional thing, and always fits within my daily goals, I don't have to do anything to make up for it at all.

That beer I had the other night was pretty darn tasty, too!

kelsully

I do one of two things.....enjoy a drink when my calories allow...I pass it up when I don't have the cals to spare. That happens on a weeknight or run of the mill weekend...etc...sometimes a beer with pizza is so good etc but I for one am content with water or diet coke if I don't have cals to spare.

Otherwise, I drink alcohol on a predetermined "free" day. I had a wonderful date night with my dh thisweekend. That onle happens onceevry few months....I worked out, ate reasonably all day then just enjoyed my night. I didn't count calories,ate dessert and had dri ks. Yes we danced and walked a lot but that was to enjoy each other. If those dates happened once a week however I would probable make sure I saved some calories and danced the night away to burn off the empty cals

BellySoonGone

Alcohol sabotaged all my clean eating efforts. It started out with just a glass of wine, then a beer with pizza, then going to a friend's party. All that over an extended period of time, mind you. Then I started making my own drinks on the weekend. I loved getting that slight buzz. Then it was every day. A light bulb hit New year's eve. Long story short, it got out of hand to the extent that it was effecting my marriage and then I realized that all that sugar in my drinks was making me crave sugar and junk food. I was slowly hating to eat clean. I gained 15 lbs within a 2 month period and only thought about eating junk.
I decided to quit all together. And after 2 months I've lost 10 lbs, feel great, love eating clean and have gotten back on track with everything. Actually, I am so much more motivated now.
All sugar does is make you crave more. So I've cut that out too as much as humanly possible. I don't even think about junk food anymore.
Just want you guys to be aware that the sugar in alcohol can effect what you eat.

Thank you, that's what I feel happens to me: beer, a slice a pizza that tastes good too...and than maybe another beer..can't help it unless i don't use it - 'cause it tastes too good.

mfpchris

I had one of my rare nights out with empty alcohol calories. After I was dropped off back at home, I started
having empty food calories. A rough one-two punch

josparkle

I tend to fit in with the majority on here I think. When I'm watching my calories, which should be all the time but I've lapsed recently so I'm trying not to come across like some kind of saint - so when I'm following MFP guidelines correctly then I don't drink in the week but may have a glass or two (small) of wine on a Friday and Saturday evening.

I don't eat puddings or sweets so I guess its' the equivalent of a chocolate cake or bar for others. These are empty calories for sure but they're not fat calories or junk calories. Plus I enjoy the wine; I try to make sure I have it with food and count it in my log hopefully having exercised for real or exercised restraint in order to havethe calories available to me. And if I haven''t, then I haven't so I probably won't lose as much weight that week but I know why and it's there in my diary with no one to blame but me.

I know that if I have a drink without eating then I'll be right there tucking into the crisps etc so I've learned to TRY not to do that...too often.

JennsLosing

i dont drink often, only like once a month, maybe twice...but i do nothing differently...i get back on track and on with my life the next day.