will quitting drinking really help THAT much??

hipsdontlie1

Hey kids!
SO ive been thinking about quitting drinking! Due to my social life and influence of my friends!! lol i like to think its their fault.. I drink on average once a weekend, somtimes twice. and when I do drink, I'll drink about a pint and maybe 1 beer. Do you guys really think if I stop drinking all together that it will show?!? Or if I cut it down to once a month?? Let me know what you think!

Anna800

I go to happy hour every Friday with a group of friends and don't drink. I do drink occassionally, but decided that I work too hard in the gym to have a regular drinking habit.

bagge72

If that is all you are having then I don't think it will really show, if you cut down from like ten drinks a weekend then yeah. Just switch to a vodka soda water, it is a lot less calories!

MexisMom

If that is all you are having then I don't think it will really show, if you cut down from like ten drinks a weekend then yeah. Just switch to a vodka soda water, it is a lot less calories!

Well, a pint would be 12 drinks as singles, 6 as doubles.

The big factor isn't necessarily alcohol itself, it's what kind of alcohol and what you're mixing with. If you're having a pint of dark rum and coke every weekend... then yes, cutting that out will definitely help. But if you're having vodka and a diet soda, I don't really think you'll see any huge changes cutting out that alone.

Having a little detox can be good, but if drinking with your friends on weekends is something you enjoy, I would just be conscious as to what types of drinks you're having (ie clear spirits vs dark spirts, diet sodas/water/soda water vs regular sodas or juice, cutting back on sugary martinis, etc).

caraiselite

i do diet coke and vodka when i imbibe.

pinuplove

Only one way to find out - try it and see! Everybody is different.

kathyms13

in answer to the op post yes, me i just drink diet coke.

thewall61

Quitting drinking is a responsible decision. We always seem to eat more when we do drink and more than 1 drink is hard on your liver

hoppinglark

Some people say to drink in rotations,
drink 1 drink
then have one water
and one soda
before having another drink.

Josie_lifting_cats

Hey kids!
SO ive been thinking about quitting drinking! Due to my social life and influence of my friends!! lol i like to think its their fault.. I drink on average once a weekend, somtimes twice. and when I do drink, I'll drink about a pint and maybe 1 beer. Do you guys really think if I stop drinking all together that it will show?!? Or if I cut it down to once a month?? Let me know what you think!

I suppose it depends on what you are doing. I drink a glass of wine probably 4 out of 7 nights a week. I've seen no ill effects, but I'm not looking to get ripped, either.

jenkinsjerry

After years of pretty heavy and regular drinking, I quit to support my wife, who was having our first child. 9 months later, I realized that I had learned to live life without it... 15 years later, I haven't missed it much. No AA, no recover groups, just alcohol free. No hangovers, no $30+ extra charges on my bill for nice dinners, no worries about driving while hammered and I am setting a good example for my kids. Quitting is also helpful for my marriage and keeping me away from temptations and bad decisions, etc.

No this isn't a self righteous promotion to stop or to shun those that do.

lucylAnneMason

you can do it occasionally but I know there the same amount of calories in a glass of red wine as there is in a big mac but if you do it like once a month you should be fine

terimjohnson

I'm doing myfitnesspal.com in conjunction with a physician supervised plan. The doctor told me that the biggest problem he sees with people wanting to get the weight off is alcohol consumption. Those are empty calories-no nutritional value but they count, and they also slow things down. If you can give up those calories, you should see a difference in weight loss.

chocciechip

it may make a difference for you - but it doesn't sound like you drink that much/go out on a binge. depends what you're drinking really as others have pointed out.

I found out for a while that people got really hostile towards me when I stopped drinking alcohol with them and switched to sodas/water it was odd so now I get half pints of diet coke if I'm out with the 'angry crowd' as it looks the same as a glass with vodka and coke.

I was a fantastic binge drinker though and I could hold my own through a bottle of wine, 3-5 beers and then start on the spirits so perhaps its unsurprising giving up drinking has made a difference to me (and my head/liver hahaha)

i quite enjoy a beer still though, but I get a bottle like brahma or peroni as they're about 150-180 cal a bottle which is far less than a cocktail and more refreshing I think :-) but that's just my two pence on the matter!

iremonk

I doubt drinking once a weekend is seriously contributing to any issues with weight loss - that's the sort of thing you can plan around if it's really important to you. Of course, if you stop drinking any alcohol and maintain your current diet then that's a little less net input each week so there's something, but it seems an insignificant amount from the habits you describe. It really depends on the rest of your diet and exercise habits. It wouldn't be hard to figure out how many calories are in your average weekly drinks and see whether you find it a serious issue.

That said, I like alcohol a lot and learning how to limit it is a big part of my struggle with all of this, so I would be more prone to offer advice about integrating it into your diet. If you just don't care much either way then certainly quitting will have some positive effect, however small.

edit for grammar

Derpina7

As said by a couple others, I don't think that amount is unreasonable, but it doesn't hurt to give it a try! If it's something you enjoy doing socially and are responsible with it, I think moderation is key! Maybe also look for lighter calorie drink options, light beers for example, and I've heard dry wines are commonly more low cal than other types of wine.

TheNewDodge

Just start doing blow instead.

D446

you can do it occasionally but I know there the same amount of calories in a glass of red wine as there is in a big mac but if you do it like once a month you should be fine

Ahh what?! Your telling me a glass of wine is over 500 cals? Lies.

JesterMFP

you can do it occasionally but I know there the same amount of calories in a glass of red wine as there is in a big mac but if you do it like once a month you should be fine

Ahh what?! Your telling me a glass of wine is over 500 cals? Lies.

Wow, that's a big glass of wine you're having.

OP - it's really up to you. It doesn't sound like your drinking's out of control, but why not try cutting it out and see? I still drink in moderation and fit it into my calorie goal. It hasn't slowed my weight-loss. I've heard other people say that cutting it out altogether really helped them to lose weight though, so it depends on the individual I suppose.

vanessatheriault

I quit drinking, and seen a huge improvement in my body. Not only did i feel stronger at the gym, but I noticed my body changing in places I was having troubles with. I feel alot healthier too. Going to the gym early on a Saturday morning feels alot better then being hungover in bed! Give it a try! It's totally worth it.

TheFitFireman

You don't need beer or booze to have fun, cheers to that :drinker:

Once I stopped drinking I found that I was seeing the results I wanted faster; for me, a night of partying resulted in a day of laziness afterwards which usually involved fast food, not a good combo.

LynC33

I would definately give it a try. There are alot of cals/carbs in alcohol and why would you want to let all your hard work and exercise go to waste? Friends should be supportive and encouraging no matter what because they should know how important this is for you. Having a good time isnt about the drink its about the company you're in. Even try switching to low carb or light beer ot cut back to once a fortnight. Good luck, and well done for wanting to try something new if other things arent working. Alot of people would just give up. Keep us posted on how you go :-))

LifeIsNotADressRehearsal

you can do it occasionally but I know there the same amount of calories in a glass of red wine as there is in a big mac but if you do it like once a month you should be fine

What? You must be using a fishbowl for a wine glass! My glass of red wine has about 130 cals!

CherokeeBabe

I've basically given up alcohol for over 4 months now, don't regret it. It's a workout-killer for me, and I usually eat badly the next day. Easier to just not worry about it.

s00sh

you can do it occasionally but I know there the same amount of calories in a glass of red wine as there is in a big mac but if you do it like once a month you should be fine

For those of you freaking out, this is absolutely not true

Athena98501

you can do it occasionally but I know there the same amount of calories in a glass of red wine as there is in a big mac but if you do it like once a month you should be fine

This is ridiculous. 98 calories in a typical glass of red wine. Don't know where in the world you might've heard that.

rayraex

Yes, it does make a huge difference. There are a lot of calories in alcohol. You should drink water whenever possible.

Even diet soda is bad for you. Research shows that diet sodas actually cause you to eat more because your brain tastes the sweetness of the soda and prepares your body to receive sugar and calories. When it doesn't receive them, it causes hunger and you consume more food calories to make up for it.

I have also heard that alcohol somehow bonds with the food in your stomach, making it harder to burn the calories and easier for it to turn into fat.

LuckyLeprechaun

My weight loss goes slower if I include alcohol, even if it fits into my daily calorie goal. I get faster results when I leave it alone for awhile. I've asked a lot of questions about why this occurs and haven't found a whole lot of answers.

Right now, I've gone dry because I want to see a few lbs disappear that have crept back on. So I am hitting my calorie numbers and leaving alcohol alone, but I won't quit drinking forever. When I hit maintenance weight (again) I will slowly re-introduce it.

ebelliss

i'm in college and when i came home for the summer this year, i went from drinking every weekend, about the same amount as you, to drinking nothing. i lost 5 pounds in the first week i was home. i also started eating better, but i really do believe that alcohol and water retention and all the gross stuff that comes from drinking contributed to that rapid weight loss

shirerose

nah, dude. drinking is awesome. once a week... even twice a week isn't that bad. but it does depend on what you are drinking. i do whiskey and diet coke. gets me tipsy and doesn't slow down my weight loss. i'm also getting in exercise walking around town to different bars. and walking from my house to the bar and back again. i'm a huge supporter of continuing drinking while trying to lose weight haha... but if you are drinking loads of sugary drinks, it's totally going to screw you up. all the vodka/diet soda drinkers are doing it right as well.

Helloitsdan

Moderation is key.
Drinking doesnt help fat loss at all.

My opinion, if you decide to drink go at it on an empty stomach or have some quick carbs before going out.
Anything consumed while the alcohol is in your system tends to get stored since the body is detoxifying.