Gave up alcohol, lost weight

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  • sharebearVT
    sharebearVT Posts: 1
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    I know this is an old thread. However, I quit drinking as New Year's resolution on January 1 this year. I have lost 25 pounds and now at my goal weight -- a weight I haven't seen in at least 12 years. In fact, I now weight what I weighed the day I got my driver's license when I was 16 years old. If you find this interesting, try reading my blog: http://sharoncombesfarr.com/2014/06/01/how-i-gained-then-lost-30-pounds/

    In addition to not drinking, one of the other major factors in my success was using myfitnesspal nearly every day. All told, I've lost over 30 pounds!
  • earthboundmisfit
    earthboundmisfit Posts: 192 Member
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    Alcohol puts weight on me fast and then it's so hard to lose. Also, drinking gives me the munchies. I gave up alcohol and feel so much better.
  • Sasssy69
    Sasssy69 Posts: 547 Member
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    The problem with alcohol is that is the high ratio of calories per gram: 7cal/g , second behind fat (9cal/g). The cals from alcohol, are used first by the body so, more alcohol, less carbs/fats used by the body.

    This page looks ugly, but after compare the values with other (more incomplete) sites, looks correct: http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/collegestudents/calculator/alcoholcalc.aspx

    So, in an average drinking night, you may be consuming calories equivalent to maybe to days!!

    Yep, this is too sad :( I know.

    Okay, so I was wondering about the whole how alcohol is burned. When I used MFP a couple of years ago, I worked beer into my daily calorie goal - but the weight came off sooooooo slow. This time, I just cut out beer except for maybe 2-3 a week. The weight has come off a LOT faster...I mean, a LOT faster. So the idea that your body burns the alcohol, then the calories, makes sense. I even told my husband that I thought my body burned alcohol differently than food, that maybe it wasn't as simple as calories in, calories out when it comes to beer. Either way, cutting it out has made a HUGE difference in my weight loss.

    This past year has been incredibly stressful, and I got way off track. I stopped exercising, began eating too much, and drinking even more. I used this calculator to see how many calories a month I was consuming - and before I gave up my nightly beers (about 3-4 a night), I was consuming, on average (probably more), an extra 16,000 calories a month...with no exercise. Not to mention the food intake. It's amazing I didn't gain more than 15 pounds this year.

    I too quit drinking as much. I usually only have about 2-3 beers a week now. Sometimes I'll throw in a Malibu Rum and diet root beer, but not too often. Summer is difficult - I love sitting out on my porch swing, reading, and drinking a nice cold brew. Oh well. I like not being fat even more, so everything in moderation.
  • jawycoff
    jawycoff Posts: 1 Member
    edited October 2014
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    I quit drinking two weeks ago. I know it's early on, but the weight is not flying off my body the way others have described. In addition to not drinking the 2-3 glasses of wine I drank nightly, I have significantly changed my diet for the better and am exercising more. Overall, I feel great: I sleep better, I no longer have a lingering headache in the morning, I am less mentally foggy, I am able to push harder in my workouts, I'm less moody and depressed, my self-esteem is higher. So these are all great things and plenty of reason to keep on doing what I am doing. I guess I just expected a bigger weight loss to accompany the not drinking.

    One thing I started to suspect was that maybe the alcohol was causing chronic dehydration (headache, constant thirst, mental fog - and yes, these could be attributed to many other things but do point to high alcohol consumption). Now that I am drinking more water and herbal tea I am wondering if I am slowly gaining back a normal level of hydration and maybe that is why I'm not losing any weight. I am not adding calories by eating more or worse foods, either. I do notice that I seem less "puffy" overall.

    Any thoughts?
  • wmcmurray61
    wmcmurray61 Posts: 192 Member
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    I quit drinking at the beginning of my total overhaul, 2 years ago. I didn't change my diet, at first. Just gave up the booze and started exercising. I lost 15 lbs, right away. Was it the exercise alone that did it? Possibly. But I doubt it. I feel 100% better without it. Makes going to parties a little weird and maybe even a little interesting. If you aren't drinking and everyone around you is it can be....well....entertaining! lol!

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