calories, alcohol and diet. what do you do?

TheOfficialEpic

When I go out, I drink like a boss! A night of drinks isn't going to kill anything.....so long as you're on schedule to your goals, I say drink up! Life's meant for living.

#DRINKRESPONSIBLY

Lize11e

I figure up the calorie content of the drink I'm in the mood for and save calories for it. I also try to drink a ton extra water.

reepobob

I only go out and drink if I have calories to do so. I usually only drink 2-3 beers so I try to allot myself around 600 calories. Where I get in trouble is if I decide to drink a little more...I end up blowing my calories in excess alcohol, but worse, my iron will rusts and I end up binge eating, which I NEVER do sober. The last time I had one too many I ate a Hershey bar, six peppermint patty minatures, six marshmallows, a handful of candy almonds, two spoons of peanut butter, a bag of microwave butter popcorn, a bowl of strawberry ice cream, and a spoon of cheddar/bacon cheese spread. It's funny that I was drunk but I remembered EXACTLY the hideous crap I ate when I got home. I haven't had one beer since.

lbigham1

I get a REALLY good workout in, watch my calorie intake during the day and try to stick to the lowest cal drinks when possible. If its a margarita night (I LOVE margaritas), then i sip them slowly and limit myself. One trick is to drink a glass of water in between drinks. :drinker:

smakela1

Hi - My vise is wine...'Love' it but I needed to stop my wine consumption as there are a lot of calories and sugar within but I love wone! What I have been doing is drinking Mic Ultra, I wasnt very happy about switching but since I have I have lost a few pounds and the beer fills me up so i don't drink as much.

thechubner

I'm witht he "Stick with Vodka and diet soda" crowd. It's your lowest calorie option. Also if you cut back on what you eat for the day (like try to get 500 calories less than you normally would have) you'll have compensated for a small wee binge. Just be careful not to snack while you drink and maybe pace yourself by throwing a glass of water or plain diet soda into the mix here and there (no one need know there's no alcohol in it) - less food+ stronger booze will help you feel your buzz faster anyway and having a little water here and there will help you keep hydrated which will help you not feel hungry and help with the hang over the next day. Good luck and enjoy your night out!

lbetancourt

When I go out, I drink like a boss! A night of drinks isn't going to kill anything.....so long as you're on schedule to your goals, I say drink up! Life's meant for living.

#DRINKRESPONSIBLY

"I drink like a boss!" <<<<<<<<<< I am so going to use that line.

Capt_Apollo

here is a decent article on alcohol and how it can effect your diet. http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/05/10/alcohol/ it is not all bad. seriously, a glass of red wine a night can be very good for you.

when i first started watching what i eat and drink, i had a party to go to, so i created a calorie deficit with exercise, and also didn't eat as much during the day so i could enjoy extra drinks at the party. big mistake. drinking on an empty stomach was no good.

now, if you want to have a glass or two of red wine a few nights a week, thats fine. enjoy!! but if you are talking about essentially binge drinking on weekends, well, thats not good in my opinion. try having a glass/bottle of water in between drinks to help keep yourself hydrated and not drinking as much normal.

Leamac83

I think alcohol only has an effect on my wieght loss in winter when i seek some nibbles and winter comfort food with the alcohol. In summer i am drinking a lot...infact way too much, and i lose weight. Maybe its the hours of dancing or the hours of walking round a music festival in wellies or the fact that im so hungover i cant face food only watermelon.

I say drink what you want, within reason, and enjoy it. Either work out a lot before of try and be good the day after. I know that the following few days after a crazy night out with a 2am macdonads pit stop normally motivates me to run a few 10ks in a week!

bcattoes

I'm witht he "Stick with Vodka and diet soda" crowd.

If your only goal is weight loss, this is a good idea. But distilled liquors are much harder on your organs than wine or beer.

horses1jessi

just drink low calorie drinks jesus, who can have fun on 2 glasses of wine?

Hate hate hate..

I agree, If I'm going out I know I'm gonna drink a lot.. Don't judge, some people have higher tolerance.
I just work out that much harder, and eat that much better try to make the calories count.

Better to not do it, but gotta live life.

horses1jessi

When I go out, I drink like a boss! A night of drinks isn't going to kill anything.....so long as you're on schedule to your goals, I say drink up! Life's meant for living.

#DRINKRESPONSIBLY

AWESOME!!!

Like a BOSS...

bcattoes

just drink low calorie drinks jesus, who can have fun on 2 glasses of wine?

Whoa! If you have to drink alcohol to have fun, you have a problem.

K0135

try flavored vodka with soda water!! my fav is peach absolute! its sooo good and not too many cals! and generally when i plan on going out i'll eat a big breakfast and then thats usually it because i like to drink a good bit whenever i do get a chance to go out

ALH1981

i love martinis and i won't give them up!

EPortJake

I try to avoid beer/ale and drink wine or whisky instead.

danil616

I only have a drink on special occasions, when I do have a drink I do try to eat healthier, also I try to exercise whenever possible, which helps.

cwolfman13

your body cant store those calories from alcohol. It's the stuff you're eating when you're drunk that do the real damage....you can't metabolize that stuff when you're drinking because your body has to burn the alcohol. All other metabolic functions are shut down. Steer clear of drinks that have carbs...mixers, beer, etc. Stick to dry wines and booze as they are carbless.

RowenaBernice

Just so its clear- one shot AKA 1.5 OZ of vodka is 96 calories, not 60, or this 50 number people are throwing around. Main thing just with everything else, make sure you know how many calories you are ACTUALLY consuming. Yes, tonic, diet soda, all that is great, but the vodka itself is still 100 calories. I don't know about the skinny girl stuff, but I am an avid vodka fan, I usually just round up to 100.

stephanieadorman

I actually drink a fair amount. Probably 3 to 4 times a week. I thought this was going to be a problem with my diet - but it turns out - NOPE!

Here's my secret. I only drink on days that I work out, and when I go out to drink I stick with low calorie beers. I'm not talking that MGD 64 crap, but there's tons of secret beers that are only like 110 calories a pop and taste good. If you save your calories and work out, you find you're only have 2 - 3 beers before your kinda tipsy.

Cre8veLifeR

I just read something about this in the local ASU newspaper - it's a new "disease" college girls are suffering from - drunkorexia. Girls are cutting food calories for booze calories.

I drink once a week or every 2 weeks, and have anywhere from 5-7 drinks in that night out. My solution is to dance when I am drinking! lol. I love to dance anyway and four hours of dancing burns off the booze calories. I figure it's an additional 1500 calories a week in drinking. Makes up for the bread I gave up.

In all seriousness (I was being serious) I don't really worry about it much. I know that hubby and I enjoy our night out and that we are going to drink. I don't drink everyday though. I also tend to drink lo-cal drinks like guiness, or vodka with club soda and a splash of cranberry juice. This weekend is the Tempe Arts Fair and a big wine fest, so we will be drinking wine.

JewelSmith

If I want a drink when I am out, I order the skinny version. Over the weekend I have a Skinny Long Island Iced Tea 12oz 110 calories...I had been eating lightly all day, so that one drink hit me just right..LOL

kazzsjourney

About a year into my journey i stopped drinking except for very rare times (like i last drank august 2011 lol)...it just impacted the work i did during the week too much. That said tho I was never a big drinker...given the choice between alcohol or a cupcake ill take the cupcake anyday!

cwolfman13

Just so its clear- one shot AKA 1.5 OZ of vodka is 96 calories, not 60, or this 50 number people are throwing around. Main thing just with everything else, make sure you know how many calories you are ACTUALLY consuming. Yes, tonic, diet soda, all that is great, but the vodka itself is still 100 calories. I don't know about the skinny girl stuff, but I am an avid vodka fan, I usually just round up to 100.

Your body cannot store those calories as fat. Your body has to dedicate itself to burning those calories immediately. That said, alcohol interferes with fat oxidation and anything you do eat while you're drinking goes straight to fat because your body is too busy metabolizing the alcohol.

dixiewhiskey

Making room for booze may work for some but most liquor shots are under 100 cals so it's not much to worry about IMO. I'm not much of a drinker and I always feel like a bag of crap even just having 1-2 drinks. It seems to always impact my ability to workout the next day.

Mustang_Susie

If you change how you view alcohol, you will probably change how much you consume. It is empty calories, and you probably would skip foods like this. It also changes your metabolism, damages your liver, etc. So, it will mess with your weight loss in more ways than one. http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/how-alcohol-affects-metabolism.html. I have a glass of wine once in while, but I really don't drink often. Still, be sensible...just like with anything else!

^^This^^

There's nothing wrong with a drink or two once in awhile but it has absolutely zero nutritional value.
For those of you who like to "drink a lot", It causes irreversible damage to the brain and liver.

I don't understand why people who are working so hard to eat right, exercise, lose weight and live healthier lifestyles would want to sabotage their effort and health with alcohol.

According to a study done by Middlebury College in Vermont, these are the after effects of alcohol on just athletic ability:

Moderate use (2-3 drinks) can result in a loss of motor coordination for up to 12 to 18 hours after drinking.

Moderate use (2-3 drinks) can also result in depleted aerobic capacity and negative impact on endurance for up to 48 hours after the last drink has been consumed.

Doesn't seem worth it to me, but to each his/her own.

carlysuzanne85

I drink a lot less often than I used to. I try to plan ahead when I'm going to drink and how much of what and pre-log it. I do make sure to have a solid, balanced day with my food because drinking on an empty stomach is bad news bears, and also make sure I get a solid workout in and drink lots of water all day. (Of course I sometimes drink over the planned amount but I have found that planning it either keeps me on the plan or not as far off as I would have been without it.). I drink beer a lot less often since it's not as much drunk bang for my caloric buck. I love red wine and whiskey and scotch anyway so I mostly drink that. My biggest struggle is being tempted to eat unhealthy foods in terribly big portions while drinking--and the next day if hungover!--so drinking a lot of water while drinking alcohol and not drinking to get drunk but just enough to be a little tipsy while out with the friends helps with that. Log everything and be honest with yourself so you can assess how many calories you're going over (if you are) and how it might be affecting your week.

BrightEyes60

I pretty much stick with vodka (shot and a half to two) in a short glass with a little bloody mary mix spiced up and then three olives (good fat) - one drink is all that is needed anymore and you will start wrecking all of your hard work.. I am more focused on a low carb diet and when I want a change I use Crystal Light mix. Works for me - I've lost and maintained a 55 pound weight loss for over three years. I might drink up to three of these a week but never on the same day.

benol1

what do you do when it comes to alcohol and going out?
When you know youre going to be drinking a lot, do you cut down on calories from food or do you just make sure you drink a little?

Simple. I don't drink alcohol. There are some great health benefits from abstaining completely.
Incidentally, I heard from my older brother during the week and he had just completed 90 days of sobreity and as a result dropped 13kg. Mind you, he celebrated by getting straight back onto the beer and wine. Silly boy!

Whatever you do, I wish you all the very best.
kind regards,

Ben