Help I like to drink!

13

Replies

  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    If you keep doing what you are doing, you'll continue to get the same results.

    If you want change, you have to do somehting different.
  • Try drinking something else or go somewhere without alcohol.
  • sed1217
    sed1217 Posts: 228 Member
    Club soda with lime is my drink of choice at bars now - most of the time I don't even get charged for them if other people with me are drinking. Plus they look fancy and you won't feel like the buzzkill who is walking up to drunk friends with a Diet Coke. No one will know you're not drinking a vodka and Sprite.

    I give myself one day per week when I can choose to drink my calories. So I usually have a drink then. I'm not a heavy drinker by any means though - I usually don't even finish a beer. So whatever I drink is typically small. My hubby loved that I was such a cheap date when we were dating, haha.
  • Ripcode
    Ripcode Posts: 142 Member
    This is my first week of actually counting calories and so far, Im not doing so well. I cant seem to stay within my calorie range. I keep going over and to top it off we go out on Thursday and I like to drink! What do I do?

    Keep doing what you are doing and you make no progress.

    You know what to do to make a difference.
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    It's called - everything in moderation and willpower! If you're getting derailed in the first week....you might want to ask yourself how bad do you want this.
  • Captain Morgan and Diet Coke...... 60 calories of greatness!!!


    Yup this is usually what I drink =)

    Dirty martini - has to be about the same calorie level. I also make make kamikazies this way:
    1 shot vodka
    1 splenda packet
    1 (pretty big) slice of lime

    Margeritas can be made the same way, just swap the vodka for tequila.
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,576 Member
    I know what you're going through. Breaking consumption habits tied to social habits are 10x as hard!

    Ultimately you have to replace the statement "and to top it off we go out on Thursday and I like to drink!" with "and to top it off we go to the gym on Thursday nights and I like to workout!". Or something else like going to art shows, walks, etc.

    Try getting up super early Thursday mornings so you're too tired to go out. Or grow a new social circle that does something other than drink on Thursdays.

    Anything else is really habit dodging. Which is ok unless it's getting in the way of your health/fitness goals. Eventually you have to change the social habit before you can change the consumption habit.

    OR, rather than ditching your friends while you make this change, exercise moderation and caloric maintenance through exercise and calorie counting. I used to drink beer every night and more on weekends. When I started counting calories, I saw how much that was costing me but knew that I didn't want to fully give up what I enjoyed so I made little changes to balance everything out and stay within my weekly goals. Just remember that every drink has a caloric cost and weight that.
  • CameoDouglas
    CameoDouglas Posts: 78 Member
    Switch over to light drinks, and some low calories to begin with then eventually cut it out of your diet completely. Also if you find yourself hungry start off the day with fibre (keeps you fuller almost twice as long) and snack lightly with low calorie foods. Try doubling your water intake as well. Statistics show like 60% of the time you think your hungry your actually thirsty and its a desperate plea from your body so it's looking for the NEXT best thing that contains water (food). Try drinking a bottle of water before a meal and if you're still hungry eat and sip throughout every bite. You'll be stuffed in half the time, trust me :)
  • JenMull44
    JenMull44 Posts: 226 Member
    Everything in moderation my dear ! I cut way back on drinking when I stared on MFP. It has done wonders for my metabolism and I feel
    SOOO much better.
    IF you read through this entire thread you will see a pattern of responses : Moderation and Commitment.
    This will be the key to your success !
  • cazzamartinek
    cazzamartinek Posts: 123 Member
    My trainer guy insists it takes 72 hours after drinking alcohol to get back to maximum fat burning rates. I've never read that anywhere else but the one woman who loves beer is the only one not losing weight after a year in our group.

    my trainer has told me exactly the same thing and also that the next time after drinking all you are doing is burning of the empty calories!! :sad: So either you dont drink or just have one every now and then , some times when i go out i get a non alcoholic drink or water with ice and a slice of lime in it so it looks alcoholic and i dont have to listen to people trying to get me to drink ( i used to love a good drink or 20:laugh: :laugh: ) and its hard for people to understand the impact it can make on your weight loss if they are not dieting, hope this was helpful :flowerforyou:
  • silvergurl518
    silvergurl518 Posts: 4,123 Member
    Try going out and having fun without drinking :) if you can not achieve that you may have a more serious problem then staying in your cals.

    i'm probably in the minority here, but i'm inclined to agree with this guy ^

    (spoken from someone who loved to drink and ended up having a problem. five years sober in one month!)

    Not trying to minimize the fact that alcoholism is a serious issue, but not everybody drinks specifically to get drunk. I LOVE the way beer tastes. I don't waste my time on beer that doesn't taste good. If I was out at a sports bar with my friends and everyone had a beer and I was drinking water, I'd be pretty unhappy about it. Not because I have a problem or anything, but because I'd be pretty jealous everyone else gets to have something really delicious that I really like and I'm stuck with a boring alternative.

    ETA: Congratulations, though, that is a really huge accomplishment that takes a ton of hard work and dedication :smile:

    thank you, btw. i sometimes wish i could drink like a normal person....but i'm grateful i went through what i went through. i have a renewed perspective and i love drinking my mocktails :)
  • kelseyhere
    kelseyhere Posts: 1,123 Member
    Alcohol not only provides way too many empty calories, but it will lower your inhibitions chances are you'll over eat and you'll make worse food choices. Speaking from experience!

    This is so true! I ate a Chalupa last night after drinking which is something I would never, EVER order sober. Nor would I even visit TB, but that's besides the point...

    I'm going to throw this out there and it's probably not want you want to hear, but you should probably quit drinking completely for at least a month. Flush it out of your system. At that point you can decide if you want to continue to drink, but you'll have a better perspective. You'll also notice how much easier it is to lose weight when you're not drinking, which will hopefully motivate you to stay away from the alcohol. Also, your tolerance will go down so you can drink less and still get the same effect.

    Finally, don't ever drink cocktails. Just man up and take a shot, you don't need all that juice and soda, it's a waste.
  • EpiGaiaRepens
    EpiGaiaRepens Posts: 824 Member
    man. It doesn't take anyone long to figure out you gotta give up the booze if you want to lose.

    I think it's great. Now when I do opt to drink, I hardly have to drink anything to get a serious buzz on.
  • faefaith
    faefaith Posts: 433 Member
    I like a shot or two of seagram's lime twist gin, mixed with cold water and ice with a lime on the side. It's yummy and gets the job done! :wink:
  • _Triple_S_
    _Triple_S_ Posts: 214 Member
    QFT! I average one beer a night, and manage to lose, and on weekends I may have 3-5. I just burn to EARN!
    [/quote]

    Same here except not beer...I just burn more to drink.
  • alasin1derland
    alasin1derland Posts: 575 Member
    Burn to Earn. Love that!
  • Ashley_Panda
    Ashley_Panda Posts: 1,404 Member
    I like vodka.
  • funsiiz
    funsiiz Posts: 246 Member
    I only drink on Friday or Saturday....sometimes both days :drinker: drink alot of water before you drink and the next day alot of water....I have given up alot of junk food so I can indulge once a week...It's a tough commitment at first but well worth the results......:flowerforyou:
  • kokaneesailor
    kokaneesailor Posts: 337 Member
    I guess you will have to decide what is more important. Drinking or losing weight. Driving your body so hard to burn 1,000 calories so that you can consume 1,000 empty alcohol calories is about the only way around it and quite foolish IMHO. I'm sure you will figure out what is best for you. Good luck on your journey. :smile:
  • SoozeE512
    SoozeE512 Posts: 439 Member
    This is my first week of actually counting calories and so far, Im not doing so well. I cant seem to stay within my calorie range. I keep going over and to top it off we go out on Thursday and I like to drink! What do I do?

    Don't be discouraged. It's your first week and changes do not just come instantaneously, they take time to adjust to. Choose one thing to focus on each week. Learn from this week how much you generally consume, and then next week, try to consume less. If you're going over your calories by say 300 (I can't see your diary, so I don't know), then next week, cut back 100 calories each day, or burn an extra 100 calories each day. Take it slow so it's managable for you. As time goes on, you'll adjust and be able to cut back more until your calories are on target and it eventually won't feel like as much work.
  • stormystrickland
    stormystrickland Posts: 187 Member
    This is my first week of actually counting calories and so far, Im not doing so well. I cant seem to stay within my calorie range. I keep going over and to top it off we go out on Thursday and I like to drink! What do I do?

    Well, when I was seeing my trainer, I wasn't able to lose any weight no matter how much I worked out or tried. It was because my metabolism was wayyyy too low for someone like me. I was drinking 3 days a week and having about 7-8 drinks each night. I go to college so I didn't see anything wrong with it, but she explained to me that alcohol lowers your metabolism and makes you fat. I mainly drank beer so that was my whole problem right there. My trainer told me to try to drink only one night a week and if I couldn't stay away from the beer, casually start having one or two vodka and waters (or something with low calories) each week that I drank. Her thought was that if she could get me drinking less days a week and less calories that what I was used to drinking each day, then she was doing well. I had been drinking like this for three years and it was very hard to change, but now I only drink one night a week, if that and I have lost about 7 pounds and I haven't been strict on my diet or exercise. Main thing I'm trying to say, drinking does make a significant difference, but it depends on how much you drink. If you go out one night a week and you have 5 drinks, I wouldn't consider that a big deal. You will almost always go over your calorie limit when you go out, unless you are aiming to stay sober when you go out....

    What I would do is track the things you drink, but don't feel bad about it. It's only one night and you are set to a calorie deficit anyways. This means that you will have to eat healthier and work out more to make up for your drinking habits, but if drinking is something you really value then you will be able to do it.

    Good luck! If you find a way to cut out drinking completely, let me know! lol
  • grag79
    grag79 Posts: 70 Member
    I love to drink too.I just try to exercise extra if I am going to have a drink.Saying that it is not always the case I have often went well over but I have to be extra good during the week.I wont cut out the booze cause realisticly I will not stick to that but I do try and save calories the days I am going to have a drink or two or......:) xgx
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
    I drink every night of the week,,,I have found a low cal wine 40 cals per 125ml so it works in just fine with my 4 glasses a night!

    I always put 4 drinks down but some days I have 1 somedays I have more depends how I feel if you cut everything you enjoy out of your life then you are prob not going to stick with it.

    All the alchohol haters prob still have a little of something that they used to enjoy in bulk

    Just work it into your cals and if you want to get rid of it later down the line then go for it!
  • Chipmaniac
    Chipmaniac Posts: 642 Member
    Stop drinking. Dependency on alcohol is rampant in our society. Myself, I don't quite understand it. I'll buy a six-pack of beer and it will sit in my fridge for a year. People seem to find a way to include alcohol in everything they do.

    Edit: I forgot to mention that not only do alcoholic beverages contain a lot of calories, the processing of alcohol taxes your liver and hinders its ability to metabolize fat.
  • stupot73
    stupot73 Posts: 5 Member
    Simple answer.. don't drink.

    As a regular beer drinker it is hard to stop.. but two pints is more than a quarter of my daily calorie allowance, so I'm cutting it out until I lose another two pounds. That is good motivation for me.

    Maybe 'treat' yourself to one drink after every pound you lose, and don;t cheat - or you are just cheating yourself.
  • BigRedgw2010
    BigRedgw2010 Posts: 127 Member
    I used to drink a lot until I watched a video how drinking destroy your liver. It's only posion, so I quite cold turkey. Now I only drink one glass of wine every two to three months. No more black out and no more hangovers and I feel great. :happy:
  • robston
    robston Posts: 67 Member
    bump
  • bradphil87
    bradphil87 Posts: 617 Member
    I drink every night of the week,,,I have found a low cal wine 40 cals per 125ml so it works in just fine with my 4 glasses a night!

    I always put 4 drinks down but some days I have 1 somedays I have more depends how I feel if you cut everything you enjoy out of your life then you are prob not going to stick with it.

    All the alchohol haters prob still have a little of something that they used to enjoy in bulk

    Just work it into your cals and if you want to get rid of it later down the line then go for it!
    Please look into getting help. 4 drinks a day....everyday is far from moderation.
  • Salasel
    Salasel Posts: 69 Member
    Michelobe Ultra has become my new drink of choice when I go out. 98 calories a bottle and taste like real beer!
  • JenMull44
    JenMull44 Posts: 226 Member
    I drink every night of the week,,,I have found a low cal wine 40 cals per 125ml so it works in just fine with my 4 glasses a night!

    I always put 4 drinks down but some days I have 1 somedays I have more depends how I feel if you cut everything you enjoy out of your life then you are prob not going to stick with it.

    All the alchohol haters prob still have a little of something that they used to enjoy in bulk

    Just work it into your cals and if you want to get rid of it later down the line then go for it!
    Please look into getting help. 4 drinks a day....everyday is far from moderation.


    I thought the same thing when I read this thread. Four drinks a day is offiicially a habit.
    This person is either VERY young and still has a high metabolism or does not have a lot of weight to lose.