Alcohol and Weight Loss

Emancipated_Tai

I'm a drinker.. wine and white liquor. Maybe a few drinks twice a week. Honestly, I do not log them. However, I've managed to substain. I still do my cardio and stay under my caloric intake by several hunders (due to the excerise). Maybe that's why it doesn't affect me

MamaKeeks

I do try to log it all. Last weekend I had 4 beers and did log them, however, I'm hearing that belly fat isn't going to budge if you drink at all, stick to clear liquors, and on and on with the suggestions. I saw last night that it's okay to have 5 oz of wine at night. 5 oz is NOT that much, so is it even worth it???

I am most worried about my belly. After having two very large kids and gaining a ton of weight with them, the belly remains. I know it's not all skin, that it's fat too. Part of me wonders if I quit drinking all together what might be possible?!?!

I feel like I'm an all or nothing kind of person with this topic. How lame.

For me, it seems like booze = belly fat. The sugar/calories from booze seems to go straight to my gut. If I cut out booze, I can actually lose, but if I don't, I won't. That's it!

Angel1066

I drink at the weekend but not too much, and it doesn't seem to have affected my weight loss.

jedikrissy

I am also struggling with the Alcohol aspect as well. I agree with the other posts, staying within your calorie limit is Key! As for the beer belly fat "myth" I think that the one thing everyone is forgetting is that everyone's metabolism is different, mine is very slow. I need to not drink beer at all it is not good for me but for someone else it can be ok. I drink whisky with water now which is 64cals a drink. You just need to find what works for you and stay in that calorie limit!

Cheers :drinker:

00trayn

I've lost 65 lbs so far (I reset my ticker for 2012), and I never stopped drinking the entire time. I'm not saying I've gone out every weekend and had 5 drinks at a time, but I was reasonable about it.

I'm a craft beer drinker, and those are probably 200 calories each. But I pretty much keep it to the one night a week I have dinner with my boyfriend. I try not to eat a high calorie dinner, I watch what I eat the rest of the day before going out, and I'll usually workout on Saturday morning. Could I lose more weight or not have weeks where I don't lose if I quit drinking? Sure! But that's never been a compromise I'm willing to make. It's about balancing a healthy lifestyle with what you want to do. And since my boyfriend and I LOVE craft beer, I'll never cut it out of my diet. I'll just balance it out.

You could replace beer with any food or drink. I don't think anyone needs to go crazy and cut out all the foods they enjoy. Moderation is the key and balance with healthy food and activities. I refuse to be miserable the rest of my life by cutting out the things I enjoy. That's not what this is about.

tigersword

Moderate alcohol consumption is healthy. Excess alcohol consumption isn't. just track your calories, stick to your goals, and you're fine.

rob_v

Like you, Im a weekend drinker. Usually to the tune of 10-14 beers. That being said, If I know Ill be pounding them that night, I will bust my *kitten* harder at the gym that day and "pre-burn" the cals Ill be having later.
I have also made a HUGE effort not the eat crap while Im out. Which is usually very hard to do, but the soreness in my body from working out earlier usually reminds me to not pig out on the crap food

Julzanne72

Diet Mountain Dew and Mailbu.....

Sweet_Potato

There was a study a while back that showed women who drink in moderation weigh less than those who don't drink at all. Interestingly, the men who drank were heavier than those who do not.

There were various theories thrown out there for the gender discrepancy, but the most believable one (to me) is that men tend to drink with food, while women are more likely to skip a meal if they know they'll be drinking.

In my experience this is true. When I was more of a partier I was at my thinnest. I didn't work out, but I was probably eating less and being more active in general. What you're drinking matters too-- I drink mostly vodka sodas, wine, or the occasional light beer, which are a lot lower in calories than some of the other options.

msapril177

^THIS^

Hahaha!! YEAH BUDDY!! I was looking for that answer.

LuciaLongIsland

Oh and I like someone's idea of Vodka and flavored water. YUM!

You look quite young to me/ When I was in my 30'sm and 40's losing weight was somewhat easy. I ate and drank whatever I wanted and exercised in the morning. I do not promote alcoholism, but just as some people get such enjoyment from food, I prefer a drink. Don't stress over drinking. I am not telling you to drink but just as food alcoholics make excuses for all the junk they eat and say Oh I am entitled, so are you!!! Like someone here said, "I want to enjoy life and I have a cheat day for food", well you can do the same. Just log!!! PS, drinking decreased my appetite.

LuciaLongIsland

There was a study a while back that showed women who drink in moderation weigh less than those who don't drink at all. Interestingly, the men who drank were heavier than those who do not.

There were various theories thrown out there for the gender discrepancy, but the most believable one (to me) is that men tend to drink with food, while women are more likely to skip a meal if they know they'll be drinking.

In my experience this is true. When I was more of a partier I was at my thinnest. I didn't work out, but I was probably eating less and being more active in general. What you're drinking matters too-- I drink mostly vodka sodas, wine, or the occasional light beer, which are a lot lower in calories than some of the other options.

Totally agree!:drinker:

nkziv

alcohol reduces your ability to burn calories because it slows down your metabolism pretty significantly, depending on how much you drink. It's also a lot of calories, and reduces your inhibition when it comes to bad food (greasy late-night snacks, etc). Then again, in moderation, it's probably not going to kill you or completely derail you!

doorki

I'm a weekend drinker but I'm healthy and don't eat my exercise calories during the week in order to bank some space on the weekly calorie goals. As many have already said, it is a life style issue rather than a diet. No sense cutting out drinking if you are just going to start up again after you reach your goal.

halfasandwich

Do you actually eat the same amount on your drinking days? I know I tended to eat very little on my party days (back in the day) and I never gained weight until I hit my 50s.

coyoteo

Sometimes I save enough calories for whatever booze I plan to ingest. And sometimes I just drink....which usually leads to copious dancing and idiotic stunts which usually result in the scale going down. Just live. If a couple weekends of partying give you results you dont want, either drink less or workout more.

Sparksfly

alcohol reduces your ability to burn calories because it slows down your metabolism pretty significantly, depending on how much you drink. It's also a lot of calories, and reduces your inhibition when it comes to bad food (greasy late-night snacks, etc). Then again, in moderation, it's probably not going to kill you or completely derail you!

I agree with this.

For me personally, my weight stalls when I have more than 3 drinks in a sitting/night out. See what it does to your weight loss goals and go from there.

I will say that when I was losing weight steadily I wasn't drinking. Now, I have a few drinks a month and its been much harder to drop those lbs!

blondejillie

If you are thinking of health and fitness in the short term then drinking on the weekend is probably not a good idea. However, if you are like most serious people and view your health and fitness as a lifestyle change and not a diet for the short term, then indulging once and awhile wont hurt. Being care free 1-2 days isn't what got most people to where they are, it was adding the other 5 days of over eating as well.

This!

prism6

I quit,or at least for the past 60days[tomarrow] I needed to as it has been a problem for way too long. I know that my weight loss is definately tied into stopping alcohol consumption. I eat healthy, no ,or very little junk, no fast food and exercise instead of vegging with a beer or tankard of wine. You will figure out what you need to do, I don't think occaisional alcohol is bad,but just be honest with yourself. Good luck!

bcattoes

I drink a lot, nearly every day. It's never stopped me from losing weight as long as I exercise and eat right.

lulabellewoowoo

I saw last night that it's okay to have 5 oz of wine at night. 5 oz is NOT that much, so is it even worth it???

I drink socially, which sometimes can add up depending on how long you are socially. So I usually take my 5 oz of wine and add a flavored seltzer to it and it makes it bubbly, flavorful, and I can get two glasses out of it with the calories of 1. Sometimes the drinking is just to have something in your hand while socializing (plus a little buzz doesn't hurt)

mazie61

I love wine! If I drink it I log it. I have cut down tremendously, that said there are days when it's just unavoidable!

SilentRenegade

I honestly lost weight at a time when I was drinking quite often. I did stick to certain alcohols though with the OCCASIONAL beer. I mainly drank vodka and tequila (some good nights...). I do not drink that often anymore, but the one thing I did try to watch no matter what I was drinking is the drunk munchies. Those kill me sometimes because I lose the idea of what is healthy and what is not.

I1ahunt

I cut back alot, but not completly...I am still losing weight so I guess it's all good....my son recently got married....I went to the gym the morning of the wedding.......I got my work out in........ate helathy at the wedding even avoiding the cake and deserts......but I did raise more than a few with freinds and family in celebration and still came in under my daily goal.....I am going to my nieces birthday party tonight.....ran 7 miles this afternoon and had a salad for lunch....I should be fine tonight.......

Dashal

Same here and agree with a lot of the peeps on here - I drink at the weekend but to compensate I store up about 1000 cals over the week and have changed from beer to voddy and diet cokes. Seems to be working ok..

Yasmine91

Strangely for me when I drink I lose weight, I guess it's because when I do drink or if I'm going to the club, I don't eat so I can get completely wasted. I never drink just to be social, if I drink I plan to get completely **** faced, otherwise I'd just have a drink of water :P

However I don't often drink, maybe like once every few months :P last time I drank I lost like 2 pounds the following day :P plus I dance like a wild creature at the club XD

It's not really an issue for me, if I wanna drink then I bloody will. Ya gotta live a little when you're losing weight lol but then again we all are different

tbresina

You can drink and still lose weight as long as you're staying within your calorie limit. Which is highly unlikely.

Make sure you log everything that goes into your mouth. MFP works but only if you're honest in logging EVERYTHING.

I calculate what cals I will be drinking and I have to burn that much at the gym b4 I am allowed to drink em, its that simple!

Bikini27

I still drink and I lost 5+ pounds last month alone. I don't drink heavily and I log everything.
It's all about moderation, but we all have our own opinions. I take this as a lifestlye change, not a diet. I do not avoid foods or drinks, I learn healthier ways to enjoy them.

LeenaRuns

I saw last night that it's okay to have 5 oz of wine at night. 5 oz is NOT that much, so is it even worth it???

5 oz is not that much?! It's a glass of wine as poured at a restaurant or bar. I have 4 oz of wine almost every night and I enjoy it.

foxfieldzoo

I think its ok to drink alittle ,but I find that even alittle for me doesn't work when I am trying to loose weight ,it never fails that I will gain 2-3 ibs if I drink on the weekend .I know that it is water retention ,ut it will take days for me to get back to where I was before AI drank ,so it sucks for me because I do enjoy a cocktail every now and then ,so I just live with it:grumble: