Dieting......Can I drink booze?

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  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    I love my weekend drinking and the odd mid-week tipple, but I always save or exercise up enough calories.

    You might want to look at working towards having half the week off drinking though. Without thinking about alcohol's other health risks, it's just empty calories you could otherwise be using on nutritious food.
  • billmac
    billmac Posts: 51 Member
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    My method of cutting out the alcohol was to buy sparkling mineral water and drink it from a nice wine glass. You canbuy the expensive stuff if you want. it's still a lot cheaper than wine anyway. I generally put a couple of thin slices of lime or lemon just to give a slight taste. I think it satisfies the psychological need. You can drink as much as you like!
    I have a glass or two if I go out for dinner. I just don't drink alcohol at home.

    As others have said if you count the calories on MFP you find the alcohol really adds them up and there are other things you'd rather have.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    As others have said if you count the calories on MFP you find the alcohol really adds them up and there are other things you'd rather have.

    Ahh, I think that is the big question. Is there really something else you'd rather have? For me the answer is a big fat NO. I'd much rather have wine in the evenings than dessert or protein shakes or huge chunks of meat. I do aerobic exercise for an hour almost everyday (usually Zumba or moutain hiking) and eat a healthy diet and wine is my reward. I rarely go over the MFP calorie limit (which I actually find a little high).
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    My one friend drinks vanilla vodka and diet coke and its only 60 calories per glass... And I drink Captain and Diet and it is also 60 calories per glass... so you may be able to do something like that.

    How small is your glass? I've done the homework and a 1 ounce serving of Smirnoff vanilla rum is 70 calories. Since a shot is 1 1/2 ounces, a drink at a bar would be 105 calories if mixed with diet coke.

    The calories in 1 jigger of vodka (1.5 fl oz, 42g) is as follows:

    Vodka
    Calories
    80 proof
    97
    86 proof
    105
    90 proof
    110
    94 proof
    116
    100 proof
    124
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    The bottom line is if your only goal is to lose weight you can eat or drink ANYTHING on the MFP plan so long as you stay under your daily calorie allowance after exercise.

    Like food, though, be careful to measure your booze. A home slug of spirits can be double or more the size of a pub serving.

    HOWEVER if your weight loss plans are part of a healthier lifestyle choice, you'd be better off eating healthier food and drinking less booze. :smile:
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
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    I love to drink, but I don't allow myself everyday anymore. Maybe once a week, sometimes once every other week (I'll have several drinks, but only on one day). If you're looking for low carb, make sure the mixer is diet. Tonic water has a lot of carbs, but diet tonic does not. I often drink a gin and diet tonic or vodka and diet ginger ale. Beer is almost non existent for me, since even a few low carb beers can add up (I'm on a low carb diet). But I incorporate planned cheat days into my diet, and that's when I allow myself some good beer.

    It may come down to what you want more...a few drinks everyday or consistent weight loss. Some people can still lose while drinking; others might not.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    HOWEVER if your weight loss plans are part of a healthier lifestyle choice, you'd be better off eating healthier food and drinking less booze. :smile:

    But it is absolutely possible to do both. You can't be healthy and be a raging alcoholic but you can enjoy alcohol every day and keep your lipids, BP, liver enzymes, glucose and weight in control.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    As others have said if you count the calories on MFP you find the alcohol really adds them up and there are other things you'd rather have.

    Ahh, I think that is the big question. Is there really something else you'd rather have? For me the answer is a big fat NO. I'd much rather have wine in the evenings than dessert or protein shakes or huge chunks of meat. I do aerobic exercise for an hour almost everyday (usually Zumba or moutain hiking) and eat a healthy diet and wine is my reward. I rarely go over the MFP calorie limit (which I actually find a little high).

    I don't eat puddings at all. When I drink I tend to have wine instead of my evening meal, rather than with it.
  • Tic_Tac_Toe
    Tic_Tac_Toe Posts: 33
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    If only the pounds would come off with every booze I lift, ugh :ohwell: My husband and I have basically cut out all beer, wine, and sweet drinks. We stick to shots or mixed drinks of vodka/rum & diet coke. So far, we've been good. We drink probably once or twice a week.
  • zafferFL
    zafferFL Posts: 402
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    alcohol is going to hinder your dieting, period.

    The only solution is to cut back and save it for one day a week if you need to drink at all while cutting down on weight.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    alcohol is going to hinder your dieting, period.

    The only solution is to cut back and save it for one day a week if you need to drink at all while cutting down on weight.

    The first sentence is true. It will "hinder" it, as in one would certainly lose more if they did not ingest extra calories from alcohol. But I personally AM losing weight and drinking nearly every day so ... I'm going to have to say only drinking one day a week is not the "only" solution. Not for me, but everyong is different. :drinker:
  • laurenwarwick
    laurenwarwick Posts: 29
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    IT's not the calories that are bad, but the alcohol itself. It essentially a poison that your body needs to metabolize. In the meantime the other calories you've injested get stored.


    A drink once a week won't derail you but three a night is completely counter productive to weight loss.


    i think if you need to drink that much daily, you may have some other issues...
  • zafferFL
    zafferFL Posts: 402
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    alcohol is going to hinder your dieting, period.

    The only solution is to cut back and save it for one day a week if you need to drink at all while cutting down on weight.

    The first sentence is true. It will "hinder" it, as in one would certainly lose more if they did not ingest extra calories from alcohol. But I personally AM losing weight and drinking nearly every day so ... I'm going to have to say only drinking one day a week is not the "only" solution. Not for me, but everyong is different. :drinker:

    but imagine how much you would be losing without the drinking :smile:
  • laurenwarwick
    laurenwarwick Posts: 29
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    alcohol is going to hinder your dieting, period.

    The only solution is to cut back and save it for one day a week if you need to drink at all while cutting down on weight.

    The first sentence is true. It will "hinder" it, as in one would certainly lose more if they did not ingest extra calories from alcohol. But I personally AM losing weight and drinking nearly every day so ... I'm going to have to say only drinking one day a week is not the "only" solution. Not for me, but everyong is different. :drinker:

    yes, you can lose weight while drinking. but if you're dieting for the right reasons, you shouldn't even want to put something so unhealthy into your body in the first place. dieting shouldn't strictly be about calories and pounds, but about overall physical and mental health as well.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    yes, you can lose weight while drinking. but if you're dieting for the right reasons, you shouldn't even want to put something so unhealthy into your body in the first place. dieting shouldn't strictly be about calories and pounds, but about overall physical and mental health as well.

    I don't think there is a "should" about someone else's body. People can diet for whatever reason they want. I imagine for many people health is less the point than being thinner and more attractive to the opposite sex.
  • BEERRUNNER
    BEERRUNNER Posts: 3,049 Member
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    Update:

    Ok so I drank about 4 Michelob Ultras last night. Next I am going to try the 55 calorie beer.....
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
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    I don't know if has been mentioned yet, but I'm a fan of Skinny B!tches...water, vodka with a splash of bar lime...70 calories and the water helps with the hangover :sick:
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    alcohol is going to hinder your dieting, period.

    The only solution is to cut back and save it for one day a week if you need to drink at all while cutting down on weight.

    The first sentence is true. It will "hinder" it, as in one would certainly lose more if they did not ingest extra calories from alcohol. But I personally AM losing weight and drinking nearly every day so ... I'm going to have to say only drinking one day a week is not the "only" solution. Not for me, but everyong is different. :drinker:

    yes, you can lose weight while drinking. but if you're dieting for the right reasons, you shouldn't even want to put something so unhealthy into your body in the first place. dieting shouldn't strictly be about calories and pounds, but about overall physical and mental health as well.

    I don't know what these "right reasons" you refer to are. I like to live well, and for me that is going to include wine (or beer if it goes better with dinner) on most evenings. I don't really consider myself to be "dieting" though, I had slipped into too many bad eating habits and, more importantly, only exercising about once a week (okay, sometimes less). But I'm not after a temporary change that will get me into a size 8 (where I want to be) quickly. I'm looking to live a healthy, satisfying life. If at some point the wine starts affecting my health then I would cut back or quit, and I'd be a little less satisfied. But right now I've got my blood work (rising LDL's are what pushed prompted my change) back under control even with the wine, and just yesterday my daughter said "Are those the jeans you just bought? They are gettting loose already". They are size 10, so I believe size 8 is coming (admittedly probably slower that it would without the alcohol).
  • wvmark41
    wvmark41 Posts: 124 Member
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    I cut way back on the alcohol and quickly saw those pounds drop off my body.

    Problem #1.) There's many calories in those delicious drinks..... Guinesse is the best, if you ask me.

    Problem #2.) Drinking at night is also bad. That alcohol turns into sugar while you're asleep. I wonder what happens to all that sugar? Heck, might as well eat a Snickers bar as a night cap.

    I might still have A beer, or A shot, or A glass of wine around dinner time, but I limit it to one or two and do some kind of cardio afterwards. I also no longer drink alcohol everyday. I have a drink maybe ... maybe... three times a week.

    I really don't miss it all that much.

    It's your choice.

    I'd concentrate on the fitness goal first and save that extra drink for when you meet your goal weight each week. If you don't make weight, then cut out the booze the next week.
  • stefanwolf
    stefanwolf Posts: 11 Member
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    Nothing wrong with having an occasional (occasional mind you) indulgence. The problem with alcohol is that no matter how you drink it it's empty calories and extra sugar. Wine was always my preference, then I switched to vodka or tequila with diet. However I noticed that switching to the diet brought on a general feeling of, well, crappiness. Diet soda and crystal light is all around just not good for you. We are all on a mission to get healthier right? What has worked for me, (and I know that doesn't mean everyone) is switching to tequila or vodka with sparkling or tap water and either lime juice or lemon. It's not my super drink of choice, but I feel much better about drinking it so it makes me happier.

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