Alcohol and weight loss

cjs3001

I did just search for an alcohol thread but it wasn't really what I was looking for so I thought I'd start my own

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I just did a sneaky pre-weigh in weigh in (I normally weigh myself on a Wednesday but I couldn't resist!) and I found that I've lost 3.45lbs this week so far which is one of my biggest losses so far. I have been taking co-codamol since Tuesday as I pulled my back so I have been unable to drink. I've eaten the same (if not a little bit more) but probably drank more water as I've been sitting around all day trying my hardest not to move and keep drinking water to stop myself getting hungry. But my diet hasn't changed at all. Is it really possible that I've lost this much (my average is about 2lbs, that's what my calorie goal is set to) in a week just because I haven't been drinking?

I'm sure the answer is yes but I love drinking. Love it. I know a lot of people have cut alcohol out almost completely but that's not how I want to diet. I've made it this far eating pretty much what I want but either less portions or lower fat versions and working out a hell of a lot more. And I do want to stick it out doing it my way but I feel quite disheartened that to really see super results I will have to cut out my drinking. Or just be content at a very very respectable (don't get me wrong, I'm not whinging!) 2lbs a week? Obviously I cut down when I started losing weight. The 800 or so calories a day from drinking pints is no more and I now stick to wine or vodka and even then it's only a couple of nights a week, unless I just really fancy a pint (perhaps once a week).

I know I've probably answered my own questions and ramblings but is there anyone else like me that looooves a drink? Everyone else has seemed to managed to cut it out quite easily but are there any borderline alcoholics like me to give me some advice? :bigsmile:

CassieLEO

I think you did answer your own question. You can still be social, get your groove on, and not drink so many calories. You can drink lower cal drinks like Vodka and Tonics or something like that, wine has a lot of calories and 800 calories in alcohol is a lot of your daily allotment of calories so you probably arent getting a lot of your nutrients from healthy foods if you waste them on alcohol. If you cant stop then it might be more than a "Borderline alcoholic" issue. I see that you are 21 and I know its a phase everyone goes through, but, sometimes you have to make the decision between your health and healthy weight or the alcohol and being overweight....

cjs3001

It's definitely not a real issue, it's not like I need to drink it's just I enjoy it. And I suppose that still losing 2lbs a week is more than okay with what I'm doing now, it's just going to be a case of if that stops working for me I'll have to think about cutting my alcohol again.

registers

I did just search for an alcohol thread but it wasn't really what I was looking for so I thought I'd start my own

-

I just did a sneaky pre-weigh in weigh in (I normally weigh myself on a Wednesday but I couldn't resist!) and I found that I've lost 3.45lbs this week so far which is one of my biggest losses so far. I have been taking co-codamol since Tuesday as I pulled my back so I have been unable to drink. I've eaten the same (if not a little bit more) but probably drank more water as I've been sitting around all day trying my hardest not to move and keep drinking water to stop myself getting hungry. But my diet hasn't changed at all. Is it really possible that I've lost this much (my average is about 2lbs, that's what my calorie goal is set to) in a week just because I haven't been drinking?

I'm sure the answer is yes but I love drinking. Love it. I know a lot of people have cut alcohol out almost completely but that's not how I want to diet. I've made it this far eating pretty much what I want but either less portions or lower fat versions and working out a hell of a lot more. And I do want to stick it out doing it my way but I feel quite disheartened that to really see super results I will have to cut out my drinking. Or just be content at a very very respectable (don't get me wrong, I'm not whinging!) 2lbs a week? Obviously I cut down when I started losing weight. The 800 or so calories a day from drinking pints is no more and I now stick to wine or vodka and even then it's only a couple of nights a week, unless I just really fancy a pint (perhaps once a week).

I know I've probably answered my own questions and ramblings but is there anyone else like me that looooves a drink? Everyone else has seemed to managed to cut it out quite easily but are there any borderline alcoholics like me to give me some advice? :bigsmile:
[/quote

I had the dream to become a navy SEAL. I was doing very well as I was working on it, drinking got in the way. It literally messed up everything. I "skimmed" through your post, so I don't really know what you're asking or trying to say. From what I gathered is you don't want to cut alcohol out of your diet. Here is what I would do if I was you. Drink how you normally do. If your weight loss stops. Then cut back more on your drinking. It's okay to drink sometimes, no big deal. Drinking also prevents weightloss so you know. I am currently writting in my blog so I can't really get in to the details. If you're interested shoot me an email i'll explain the process.

elliecolorado

Personally as long as I stay in my calorie limit for the day drinking doesn't really have much of an effect if any. I like you love drinking, especially now that it is warm out and there are so many things going on in the summer that involve alcohol. I have definitely cut down my drinking, but still drink several times a week and still lose on average about 3lbs a week. Personally I think that alcohol affects different people differently, for me as long as I am exercising regularly drinking doesn't slow down my weight loss. If you are happy with the your weight loss while still drinking, then by all means keep doing it :-) I just up the water intake quite a bit on days where I know I will be drinking and try to drink water after every couple of drinks.

george_ie_girl

I know how you feel. I'm 22 and drink most weekends and I have absolutely no intention of giving up alcohol. I've started having vodka and diet coke or diet lemonade, another good one is vodka with lime and water. (Sounds bad, but it's actually really refreshing)

Also remember to add in exercise for when you're out clubbing or whatever - I will dance more now, even in my drunken state I'm still trying to get exercise... So you can burn off quite a few calories with that. I suppose the main thing is to not binge eat once you're drunk, and if you throw up from too much drink then you don't need to add it in the first place... hahaha. But yeah I had a bender last weekend and still lost weight... So I reckon it's okay.

Swissmiss

Alcohol will keep us from losing weight. I also love to drink but just one a day is enough to keep me from dropping any weight.

louiseei

The problem for me is if I drink a bit, I then eat rubbish - double whammy!

girlinahat

800 calories a day from alcohol is a lot.

Don't get me wrong, I love a pint and have no intention of stopping, even if it means my weightloss slows to a crawl. At present, I am not gaining weight, but I am not losing either, however I HAVE upped my exercise and have cut out the fish and chips and chocolate bars/crisps that led me to join this site - so if I am not losing that doesn't bother me so much - far better to live a helthy lifestyle. But I reckon it is my love of a good beer or some wine that is stopping me from losing.

BUT, I don't drink everyday. Usually I make it to Thursday with the occasional drink after going to the climbing centre on a Monday. And during the week it is maybe two glasses of wine (much higher on a Friday night).

But if you are drinking 800 calories a day, what are you eating? If it was me, that would mean I would have 500 calories left to get my nutrients from. Not really enough.

Added to that, 3 and a half lbs a week loss is quite a bit. I don't know what your starting weight is, but unless you are very overweight then this is unlikely to be a healthy loss. Even 2lbs a week may be too much for you.

Can you reduce your drinking by having days off? Days where you focus on something else rather than having a drink? I used to be more than happy to drink loads, especially at weekends. Then I had gallbladder problems which were exacerbated by alcohol and became terrified of drinking (I mean TERRIFIED). It completely changed the way I felt about alcohol, and now I am just as happy to drink as to do other things that do not involve drinking - I even broke up with a guy because all he ever wanted to do was goi out and get drunk.

I think you can lose weight and still enjoy a drink, but there comes a point when you are not enjoying the drink anymore.

cjs3001

I don't know if I was rambling too much or you have just misunderstood, I USED to drink like 800 calories a day, I barely drink pints any more and I drink probably 3 times a week absolute tops. And I'm not under eating by any stretch of the imagination and I am overweight so I think the 3.75lbs is odd and I don't imagine it'll happen again.

I think the point I was making, though perhaps a bit rambling in my medicated state, was that I don't want to be one of these people that cuts alcohol out all together but I am just worried there will be a point where I might have to. I think I was just having a bit of a rant rather than looking for anything in particular!

Swissmiss

It comes down to a personal decision. It is up to you. You do realize that they are now finding the health benefits of drinking. So, if you feel healthy and are losing weight (even if slowly), then you are doing fine.