BEER & DIETING

karyngrace

I used to be in a similar situation with alcohol, i could never just have a couple!! so I had a looong break from it, and incidentally by doing that my friends who drank heaps and partied all the time stopped wanting to hang out with me, which was a blessing in disguise because without them i didn't feel much like drinking anyway because i wasn't around it!!!
when i did start to drink again, i gave myself a limit, just enough to stay on that "happy relaxed get a bit silly" buzz, then no more after that. I also made sure my friends new it too so i wouldn't get too drunk!!

in saying that though.......your only 21!! i say to hell with it, declare your birthday as a cheat day and eat and drink as much as you want, get a bit crazy!!! one day of birthday shenanigans isn't going to throw you off as long as you've made a commitment to yourself to be a healthier person and make good lifestyle choices

HonkyTonks

Do any of you have this problem and how do you cope?

Yes - to an extent. I like drinking but have never felt it was too big an issue. I can drink a wine or two in an evening and leave it at that. I have a couple of wines a week, and some beers over the weekend. I try and drink light beers, we have Pure Blondes we are low carb and about 110 cals, there's also Hahn White which is low carb and 98 cals. You can also drink spirits which are about 60 a shot with a no cal mixer.

Do any of you drink a beer or 2 from time to time??
Yep!

I stick to corona light, which is 99 calories i know theirs lighter
drinks out there any suggestions?

Vodka lime soda
Hahn White
Pure Blonde
(honestly not sure what is available where you are though)

ryanperna

I sure do enjoy beer. But when it comes to weight loss, beer and diet don't mix. Yes, you can drink in moderation and lose weight. But the type of drinking that you want to do, it just can't happen. I drank that way for years. It's a huge reason why I'm on this site. That's the hard part-it's an endless cycle. You drink a lot, then you get hungry, your inhibitions get lowered and you eat anything and everything in sight. I have also read that heavy drinking causes you to crave carbs. Then the next day, you crave greasy mexican food / burgers / whatever because it helps you feel better. And, the next day you typically don't exercise cuz you feel like garbage and you just want to recover.

That's my story. I'm here because I've had enough. I went out to dinner last night, drank 2 Michelob Ultras, stayed under my calorie goal, and called it a night. I'm not going to be that successful all the time. But it's what we do for the MAJORITY of the time that gets us to lose weight!

And about your 21st, yes, have fun! But be careful! (Don't do 21 shots). We had traditions in the fraternity I was in with the 21st birthday, and unfortunately, I have seen people go to the hospital after their 21st from alcohol poisoning. Don't want to rain on your party, just an fyi, but you should still HAVE FUN!

lrd2010

It sounds like a symptom of food addiction to me, I remember back in the days *flashback*

A friend of mine, when we would all go out, wouldn't drink to enjoy himself, he would only drink so that he would get drunk. Like falling down, we had to prop him up in a chair to make sure he wouldn't swallow his own tongue kind of drunk.

*end of flashback*

It's one of those things that you have to learn to control, by all means enjoy your birthday, but it doesn't have to be the fact that you're drinking that makes it fun.

The thing about being addicted to food (and drink) is that all social occasions become about what it is that you're going to be putting into your mouth on the day you're celebrating on, rather than enjoying the event and the people itself. We associate the food with the good time, till it becomes the food itself that we want rather than the company of the people that we're actually celebrating with.

I have been trying to break this cycle over the course of the last year and a half, I've by no means succeeded yet (check last nights food diary to prove that) but I'm better, and I am starting to realise when I've had enough.

If you set yourself a limit of a number of beers per hour, rather than rushing through to get to the drunk stage, and make sure that you concentrate on the people that you're celebrating with rather than the food/drink you should feel a lot more in control and a lot more calm.

I hope you have a fantastic birthday!

ZeroTX

I often have one (1) beer or maybe two (2) with a meal or special occasion. I didn't go get blitzed, even when I was 21. I've done it once on accident (co-workers kept giving me shots, about age 25) and once because I thought I could handle it (age 35, never doing THAT again, NEVER).

Moderation is key... in food and drinking.

Count it.