Alcohol & losing weight

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  • tragicpixie
    tragicpixie Posts: 71
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    It is much easier to lose weight if you don't drink

    Perhaps you meant "It is much easier to lose weight if I don't drink"??? It would not be easier for me because I would feel deprived.

    drinking alcohol consumes a lot of calories that can be used for food instead. If you mean only one or two drinks then that is different.

    Yeah but I would rather drink my calories than eat them: to each their own. At my thinnest I drank with my canvass crew every night probably on average three pints and evening. I had coffee in the morning, whatever for lunch and my actual job was walking around 10-20 miles a day not including all the other things I did that may involve walking. So to each their own but it's totallypossible to fit beer into a weight loss plan.
  • hitstuff
    hitstuff Posts: 40 Member
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    I started a thread a little while back regarding alcohol. I LOVE to have drinks with my gfs......go out and get silly and rowdy :-P. The reality for me is ,on a typical day, I can really take it or leave it (booze). However, I dig the buzz I get from having a few brews. Truthfully, without that, I would really choose to forgo the liquor calories entirely. That 'groovy' buzz leaves a pretty nasty wake of carb craving, and as a previous poster alluded to- I'm just not quite right for a few days afterwards. It totally buggers up my eating/exercise regime. So for me, I choose not to 'drink' my calories on the average day. I would much rather eat my calories. And because it has such a detrimental affect on my overall progress (admittedly due to excess) I choose to put it in a category with other fatty/salty/yummy foods. So ultimately, it's not the face value calories that impede my progress- but indeed the aftermath. As such, I will save it for the odd occasion and thusly preserve my ability to make good dietary choices while getting my workouts in.
  • deltalbarbie
    deltalbarbie Posts: 50
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    Bump
  • mendozaangelica
    mendozaangelica Posts: 1
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    LOL Good Question! I can do really good all day but then I drink a couple drinks and there go all the calories...
  • freddiegreer
    freddiegreer Posts: 4
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    If you are a drinker, stopping, probably isn't going to happen but cutting down is the key and logging the calories. I have that same issue, I love alcohol but I include it in my calorie intake when I do drink.The weekends are the worst but I try not to go over. Being aware to track the calories really helps. Good Luck & cheers, lol
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    It is much easier to lose weight if you don't drink

    Perhaps you meant "It is much easier to lose weight if I don't drink"??? It would not be easier for me because I would feel deprived.

    drinking alcohol consumes a lot of calories that can be used for food instead. If you mean only one or two drinks then that is different.

    Most days it's one or two (usually two) but some days it might be 2 bottles of wine or several beers. It's no different than eating candy or junk food while losing weight. An entire bottle of wine has about the same calories as a Big Mac. I'd rather have the wine. But cutting alcohol out without a medical need would lead to diet failure for me.
    *shrug* whatever works for you, most people don't NEED the drink though.

    What does NEED have to do with anything? I don't NEED to drink alcohol either. I like to. People don't NEED to eat cookies, or ice cream, or bacon, or chocolate either. It doesn't mean losing weight would be easier for them without it.

    You said depriving yourself of drinks will lead to diet failure. I see that as a need.

    Need for happy,yes. Happy need for long term success, yes.
  • fatboypup
    fatboypup Posts: 1,873 Member
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  • Jenada79
    Jenada79 Posts: 17 Member
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    I LOVE LOVE LOVE Beer! Really good beer not any of these weird flavoured ice tea coors or bud light lime. None of the low calorie or carb options either. They are not nice and they do not taste like beer in my opinion. I do not eat crap chocolate for the sake of it or because its low cal so will not do the same with beer. That's said I am on a 12 week ban on booze as I wanted to prove I could break my habits of binging. It makes keeping within my calorie goals easy and I am less bloated. I guess after my ramble what I am saying is cutting booze will help you lose weight if you are keeping within your calories goals to lose weight. If you can enjoy a few within these boundaries than enjoy a beer. My issue is I would enjoy 10 and than a pizza :laugh: I miss beer:sad:
  • BigBrewski
    BigBrewski Posts: 922 Member
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    Would it be a good idea to cut out alcohol in order to lose weight??

    I know most of you would agree that it isn't necessary if you drink in moderation, but I really...REALLY...like beer :)

    Is it a good idea? Yes, absolutely.

    Is it absolutely necessary? No. As long as you are taking the calories in the beer into account and staying under your calorie goals, and especially if you are making sure you are meeting your protein goals, you can still lose weight and have a reasonable amount of beer.

    Good Advice
  • squishycow7
    squishycow7 Posts: 820 Member
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    In moderation I say it's fine. Obviously it's not healthy, but you know that :)


    I will say, most of my weight GAIN was from alcohol. And the rest from binge eating while drunk.. So again, alcohol. Lol
  • 12skipafew99100
    12skipafew99100 Posts: 1,669 Member
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    Alcohol & losing weight? I'm all for it!
  • Sharon0523
    Sharon0523 Posts: 22
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    Moderation is key, limit your quantity and drink twice as much more water per ounces of alcohol plus your daily amount
  • mes1119
    mes1119 Posts: 1,082 Member
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    Here is a little weight loss secret of mine....

    you can have ANYTHING you want as long as it fits your calories.

    (oh, and that means if you intend on drinking, a good hard workout beforehand helps).

    Not to mention when you eat less, your buzz kicks in faster, so you don't need to drink as much anyways.

    edited to add: oddly enough there are a lot of studies about this topic. most of them prove that alcohol isn't that bad on your waistline (some have even found that alcoholics have lower body fat than typical americans) but I can't quote these sources at the moment. I've also read (not sure how accurate, obviously) that alcohol calories aren't always completely "consumed" by the body so when it says it has ___ amount of calories in the drink, your body usually registers a lower amount. I've also heard that watching your carb content on the days you want to drink is crucial to ensuring that it doesn't effect your fat loss.
  • KittieLea
    KittieLea Posts: 1,156 Member
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    To each their own, but I do a better job of focusing on my goals when I don't have alcohol or limit myself.
    I've been known to get sh!tfaced and end up at Taco Bell at 2 AM. LOL, That's not really going to help me stay in shape!
    Everyone is different though. If you can enjoy just a glass of wine, or a beer or two and not get crazy, I don't see it hindering weight loss.
  • MelisRunning
    MelisRunning Posts: 819 Member
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    I am a Guinness junkie. I have one a night because I like it. I just make sure to make allotment for the calories in my day. yummy!!!
  • spirit80
    spirit80 Posts: 327 Member
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    I'm having a beer right now reading this thread. After a hour at the gym!
  • heathercicle
    heathercicle Posts: 91 Member
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    I used to drink a lot. I gained a lot, too. I tried hard to just drink and count my calories but for some reason, I still wasn't losing weight. Once I stopped, I almost immediately dropped 10 lbs. I may be wrong but I'm totally convinced that the alcohol was keeping me from losing weight.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    To each their own, but I do a better job of focusing on my goals when I don't have alcohol or limit myself.
    I've been known to get sh!tfaced and end up at Taco Bell at 2 AM. LOL, That's not really going to help me stay in shape!
    Everyone is different though. If you can enjoy just a glass of wine, or a beer or two and not get crazy, I don't see it hindering weight loss.

    Burger king drunkard here. Nothing better than a whopper jr with cheese at 1am

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