Losing weight-Yay, losing social life-Ugh

runningfromzombies

I just go out anyway. One day a week with a few drinks (the key being A FEW--learn to enjoy being buzzed, not drunk, which took a while for me, admittedly) will not ruin your progress and you'll still get to hang out with your peeps.

Plus, you're in a better position to care for yourself AND them when you're closer to the sober side. :laugh:

runningfromzombies

I admit I struggle with this as well. For me it's dating and I basically gave it up until I reach my goals. Before eveyone starts flaming me yes, you can go on "healthy" dates but honestly it's hard to talk and get to know somone while your biking or hiking. The best way to get to know someone is to sit down and talk with them and the best way to get people to talk is a nice dinner and glass of wine. Heck, even now lately I have just been haning out with some buddies at the bar on the weekend and it seems like a few beers and bar food easily wipes out the weeks progress. (Yes, I know thats not true but it does seem that way sometimes)

Yes, you can adjust your drinks to be low-cal but I think you need to find a balance if you go out to the bar's Friday night then see if you can go hiking together "saturday" morning. Knowing that you have to get up and hike in the moring will help you curb the Friday night drinking.

Just my two cents!!!

My boyfriend doesn't drink, and somehow we still had a great first-date conversation that lasted four hours--over a nice dinner that didn't put me over my calorie allotment, no less. :drinker:

LorinaLynn

Honestly I would still go out, get a diet coke and watch the drunks. You cant distance yourself from everyone because that's unfair to your bf and to yourself. So why dont you two come up with a game plan like, go out to the bars twice a month, and twice a month you can go to the movies or stay home?

I'm with this. And for that matter, I still incorporated the occasional drink in my lifestyle.... and since I've lost weight, ONE drink goes a lot further than it used to!

Most liquors are about 70 calories per ounce. So a 1.5 oz shot in a zero calorie diet beverage is about 100 calories. I recommend whipped cream vodka in diet cola. Yum.

Robin_Bin

Unless you want the weight loss to be temporary, you need to find a way to make it fit into a long term life-style.

That could include the suggestions you've already thought of and a few more...

* drink, but less and don't eat out (eat before)
* have people over for dinner, a picnic, grilling in the backyard or a tailgate party
* host a games night at your home (serve beer or wine if you feel like you must, but your friends might like a break from drinking too)
* stay in for a romantic night
* dance when you go out
* go to a concert or ball game instead of a bar

Mix and match. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing choice.

P.S. When you drink alcohol always have at least one non-alcoholic drink (8 oz of sparkling water?) for every alcohol equivalent (shot, bottle of beer or glass of wine). Alternate. It has multiple good effects... you stay hydrated, you don't drink as fast, makes it much less likely you'll have a hang-over or any other after-effects, fills you up so you're less tempted to have too many drinks or food that wasn't in your plan, and helps meet your water target for the day.
And whatever you chose to drink or eat while you're out, TRACK it.

MFPBrandy

At some point, you have to ask yourself -- "Is alcohol the only thing I have in common with these people? Do we have fun hanging out together sober?"
You can budget for some low-cal drinks & nurse them all night. But if you don't like being around them when they're drunk and you're sober, it may be time to branch out a bit and start adding some friends to your life that have more in common with you now.

joybedford

I am 41, married and don,t go out much, also a light weight as far as alcohol goes a couple of glasses of wine and I feel rubbish the following day. I do still drink though (I will never learn). I hate the feeling of being hungover though so never drink to excess, i tend to budget in the claories perhaps doing a bit more exercise that day (not hard as I exercise a lot anyway). Life after all is for living and you can,t hide away because you are losing weight. When I was 23 (yes I can remember that far back) I worked in a university city after several months of drinking pints of beer every night I had piled on weight and didn,t like it. I used to go to the student bar and stand their with a diet coke not great but I was determined to lose the weight. I still had a good time, i danced a lot and I could actually remember the night, that was a novelty. I probably have a couple of glasses of wine 2-3 nights a week and am still losing weight. i am working on cutting back but it is a habit, as long as my husband and i have been together we have had a bottle of wine after the kids have gone to bed. Don,t stop going out lifes too short.