Going out (alcohol)

FearAnLoathing

Looking for some ideas that people have or ones that they use when they go out with friends and family. Every week I lose about 5-6 pounds, and then on Friday or Saturday (sometimes both) I'll go out to the bar and watch the games with my friends and drink beer and gain 3 or 4 pounds back. I usually do okay food-wise. It doesnt bother me that friends are eating burgers and wings and I am eating a salad, but I really do enjoy my beer!
I am finally sick of taking steps backwards every week. Any tips or advise?

You would have to drink A LOT of beer to actually gain back 3 to 4 pounds lol.
Drink a glass of water between beers
switch to a lite beer
you do not have to give up drinking to lose weight,I drink once a week and have lost 50 pounds.

jbconnelly

Thanks for all the advice, except the people who say the 20 somthing year olds should "stop drinking beer." Like that's going to happen...

I always wondered if drinking water inbetween really helped. I'll give it a shot.

sillygoose1977

I wont tell you not to drink beer. If you are keeping up a lifestyle and having a few beers with your friends is part of that, then there is no just giving it up. I could be at my goal weight if I wanted to quit having some weekend drinks, but I don't. I do drink a lot of water while at the bar and I try to drink lower calorie beer. Google best and worst beers and you should find a good list of lower cal beers. I also try to drink mixed drinks with diet soda when possible.

starboardzor

Stop drinking beer.

Disagree. I say, limit it to one night a week. Get a REALLY good work out in earlier that day. And really watch your calories that day too. If you want beer, fit it into your schedule! I personally don't want to live in a world with no beer, I don't know about you

RichB77

Stop drinking beer.

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most obvious :bigsmile:

Kristy085

Diet Coke and whiskey...and water in between! It really helps!

Waynes_World

I gave up beer about 6 months ago. It has been hard but well worth it in the end.. If I am in the mood to drink I have some Vodka mixed with tea.. I love it !! Low in calories also.. around 70 I believe

hawaiianmegan

I know how you feel! I'm a tiny girl but I can put away probably 6+ beers in a night if I'm out in the right setting. Obviously you know this is well over 600 calories (I drink light beer about 110 cals each). Depending on what kind of beer you drink, consider something lighter. I've tried Bud 55 Select and MGD 64 and like them both. They are kind of watered down, but you still get a buzz and you can still keep up with the boys during the game without feeling as guilty. Another thing I've done is switching to liquor. Be careful with your mixers though. A shot of vodka/rum is roughly 100 calories and if you mix it with seltzer or diet soda it's about the same calorie content as a beer but you don't have to drink as many (or you can drink more slowly).

It's hard to just say "Oh just give up beer" or "What's more important to you?" You'll just have to drink in moderation and maybe put in an extra hour at the gym on weekends. Going hard on the treadmill or elliptical for 30-40 minutes earns you about 3 beers! That's what motivates me at the gym on Friday afternoons!

Samerah12

If you just have one or two and you've planned ahead for them calorie-wise you should be fine. Pretend you're DD-ing. OR if you just want to get buzzed and its not the beer specifically that holds the draw get a whiskey and diet coke, its very low calorie.

I don't agree with the people who say stop drinking altogether. You're shooting for longterm changes and moderation if you want to keep the weight off. Going out for drinks once a week is not unreasonable, you just need to find a way to do it that doesn't involve the backsliding.

Catzwitch

For those commenting that a 3-4 lb gain seems like a lot of beer, its not just the beer, its the water that you retain after drinking alcohol. That's why it seems like loosing 5 lbs a week, and gaining back 3-4 lbs. In actuality, you';re probably just dropping and re-holding the same 3 lbs of water each week. Ignore those 3-4 lbs, and if you are still losing weight (which in your case looks to be about 1-2 lbs a week) then it is working.

JigglyPig

Well...for me it's just like food. I can only eat (or drink) the calories that I have. If I only have 50 calories left, I can only eat/drink 50 calories! That's how it goes! It's so incredibly tough, but drinking is just like eating. If you don't have the calories, you just can't do it. You just can't. One thing you can do to slow down the beer intake (yet still have fun with the guys) is drink water in between each beer. That will take out at least half of your drinks. Another idea is to MAKE your mind before you go that you will ONLY have ___ number of beers. That's all that you can afford (calorie-wise), so that's ALL that you'll have. And that's that. Just make it a mental game.

alygoo615

For me this is a lifestyle change and not just a "diet". With that said, at 25 with no children, my current lifestyle allows for going out and having drinks. I usually only drink once a week and won't even drink one drink on another night. I have been invited to wine tours with the girls, watching games with the guys, drinking and dancing with the girls. I really have not been drinking beer at all- my drink of choice has turned into flavored vodka and soda water- usually 60 cals per drink. I only need a few of those and I'm feeling good. When I go out with the girls I will try to drink water in between each drink to stay hydrated and I try to walk instead of cab (harder in heels!) and dance as much as possible while I'm out.

Would I lose weight quicker if I cut out drinking completely? Sure- but like I said at the beginning, this is a lifestyle change and it's not sustainable for me to completely not drink until I'm at my goal weight. Everything in moderation!

SueInAz

I always wondered if drinking water in between really helped. I'll give it a shot.

If nothing else, it slows down your beer intake. :laugh: It also helps to keep you hydrated because alcohol dehydrates you.

hyde1977

Only weight yourself once a week- don't weight yourself after a night of drinking! I do my weigh-ins every wedensday! Gives your body enough time to reset after the beer.

I am never giving up beer, but I only drink Corona so it is very light! Drink water...helps to wash it out faster!

You cannot give up everything...if you do, sorry, the weight is just going to come back as you will start to crave it.....don't drink every night/day-

Be reasonable! if not vodka and water, or vodka and diet coke! stay away from juice with the hard stuff....you might as well drink beer if you are going to do that....

BamBam1113

I am a 20-something year old. To me, a beer is not worth the extra work I'll have to do to get it back off. I enjoyed drinking and believe me I did my fair share, but it went with a lifestyle that was slowly killing me. I had to just give it up. Not saying that when I reach my goal I won't have one occassionally, but I will also have a batter idea of what it does to me over a given time. I'm not hating on people that drink beer or any alcohol by any means. I'm just saying what my way is.

stolliver25

:drinker: Beer and mixed drinks have lots of calories. Striaght alcohol like tequila, rum, vodka, etc have fewer calories its when you start mixing and drinking too much that there is a problem....and not just with calorie intake. Anyway here is a site I found for all those beer drinkers out there (not a beer drinker....prefer my mixed drinks)...but it gives you the different brands of beer and approx. how many calories are in each one. Hope this helps! :drinker: http://www.beer100.com/beercalories.htm

therealangd

I found when I was drinking beer that I retained a lot of water. A couple of days of drinking my water and I was back to where I was supposed to be. So unless you are actually drinking 3 or 4 flats of beer on the weekend, it's not actual fat you are gaining.

rthompson81

I like to drink beer. A lot. Let's get that out of the way. And if you like drinking beer, don't stop doing it! Just do it in moderation, and make sure that you allot for your calories that day. If I know I'm going to a cook out, I will work my butt off extra hard so I can have 3 beers AND a hamburger.

Also, last weekend we went to the lake, and I brought some Topo Chicos along (carbonated water made in Mexico). It's amazing what having something carbonated in a glass bottle can positively do for your calorie consumption when beer is around. Plus, you're hydrating yourself. A friend of mine even mentioned to me that once he put one of those Topo Chicos in a koozie, it was almost better than having a beer.

Good luck! You can do it... just plan ahead. And enjoy yourself!

Kolohe71

I always wondered if drinking water inbetween really helped. I'll give it a shot.

Works for me... If I'm going to drink a beer, then I have whatever beer I want (No fizzy yellow stuff filtered through camel!). I then drink at least 2 waters of equal size to the beer before I have another beer.

rav52

Switch beer--thats what we did. Either Select 55 or MG 64. They actually taste good