Help I like to drink!

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124

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  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
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    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.
  • elizabethbennett96
    elizabethbennett96 Posts: 2
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    Try drinking something else or go somewhere without alcohol.
  • sed1217
    sed1217 Posts: 228 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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.
  • MoveTheMountain
    MoveTheMountain Posts: 764
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    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: 2,611 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    Burn to Earn. Love that!
  • Ashley_Panda
    Ashley_Panda Posts: 1,404 Member
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    I like vodka.
  • funsiiz
    funsiiz Posts: 246 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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.

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