Not that I'm an alcoholic or anything but....

missmacsays

Okay, so I've decided in the spirit of commiting myself to this new healthy lifestyle, I've got to make changes. The biggest one is to cut back an extreme amount on alochol. If you viewed my food diary during the week, you'd probably think it decent. If you viewed it on the weekend, you'd think it's atrocious. It's true, I probably consume more calories in alcohol than I do in food on the weekends. And I go out for meals more frequently on the weekends, so that's saying something. That being said, moderation would be okay, but I don't trust myself to be "moderate" and I want to know how much of a difference it makes to live a sober lifestyle as opposed to ruining all my hard work during the week by binging on the weekends.
The purpose of this post you might ask? Can anyone give me tips/advice/suggestions/their personal stories/stories they've heard/stories they've read/etc/etc of quitting drinking cold turkey? Do people withdraw from it? Does it help you lose more weight? These are the kinds of things I'd like to know. Please share if you could. And feel free to add me if you think you're up for the challenge of keeping me in line with this decision :]

nphect

i quit for 2 years and didn't notice anything, so i dunno.

missmacsays

i quit for 2 years and didn't notice anything, so i dunno.

No change in weight loss from quitting?

MercurialScribes

I'm ner (first day) but your post caught my eye... I forgot to even log the alcoholic drinks I had today... drat. Now I'm gonna be even more over my limit. I have quit drinking cold-turkey a few times, and, depending on how much and how often you drink, there can be withdrawal symptoms, both physical and psychological. It's definitely do-able, especially if you only drink on the weekends... I'm not a professional, but I'd totally be willing to help support you if you'll help support me, because I need to quit too if I'm gonna come in below my calorie/fat intakes. The worst is the social aspect... you can do it though! Quitting cold turkey might not even be necessary, just moderation

SusanLovesToEat

I used to drink a lot of calories in wine when I went out so when I started MFP I went cold turkey for a month for calorie control reasons. This was easier because I had no social engagements except dinner out with my husband and we had a pact that he wouldn't order for me or pour. After that month I started adding one glass with dinner out and then two. It seemed that I had better contol over mindless consumption and enjoyed the drinks I had. Of course now and again there is a blow-out on a big evening but its not a habit anymore so the calories are not excessive. It really does get easier...

rainghirl

I cut down the amount of alcohol I drank and/or drank lower calorie drinks. Having said that there were a few weekends when I went out to special events where I didn't, but I tried to mitigate it by doing exercise which really helped. I found that as I lost more weight, I was motivated not to drink so much as I didn't want to undo the good work I'd done. Another thing I did was to be the designated driver when we went out, that meant I couldn't drink, or was limited to a very small amount so tended not to bother.

I still lost my weight, just a bit slower than I might have done if I had given up alcohol. My friend gave it up for 2 months and she lost a hell of a lot, but she was also doing Boot Camp. So it's hard to tell if just giving up would have helped as much.

nphect

i quit for 2 years and didn't notice anything, so i dunno.

No change in weight loss from quitting?

im a pretty big exerciser , i love to run, so i can loose weight fast if i want to go in that direction.

missmacsays

I'm ner (first day) but your post caught my eye... I forgot to even log the alcoholic drinks I had today... drat. Now I'm gonna be even more over my limit. I have quit drinking cold-turkey a few times, and, depending on how much and how often you drink, there can be withdrawal symptoms, both physical and psychological. It's definitely do-able, especially if you only drink on the weekends... I'm not a professional, but I'd totally be willing to help support you if you'll help support me, because I need to quit too if I'm gonna come in below my calorie/fat intakes. The worst is the social aspect... you can do it though! Quitting cold turkey might not even be necessary, just moderation

Awesome, I can totally use the support. I used to drink a lot more than I do now, but because I work third shift, I can't necessarily drink during the week and get away with it. it mostly just makes me too sleepy to work. And there's that whole going to work drunk thing that's frowned upon lol. I'll add you and we can keep each other in line. Make sure you log them. That's the only reason I even say all this is because I log them and then I'm mortified by how bad they actually are. Of course I knew drinking wasn't good for me, but it's just plain awful nutrition-wise and I hate throwing away 5 days of hard work for one or two crazy nights.

missmacsays

I used to drink a lot of calories in wine when I went out so when I started MFP I went cold turkey for a month for calorie control reasons. This was easier because I had no social engagements except dinner out with my husband and we had a pact that he wouldn't order for me or pour. After that month I started adding one glass with dinner out and then two. It seemed that I had better contol over mindless consumption and enjoyed the drinks I had. Of course now and again there is a blow-out on a big evening but its not a habit anymore so the calories are not excessive. It really does get easier...

I'm glad someone has approached it this way. I was planning to have a "sober month" because I had a wayyy over the top last weekend to celebrate halloween and the pain of my hangover is still fresh enough to make me try going without for a month. I definitely think after that, I'll let myself still have some if I go out or hang out with friends, but I just want to mostly prove to myself that I can do it.

missmacsays

I cut down the amount of alcohol I drank and/or drank lower calorie drinks. Having said that there were a few weekends when I went out to special events where I didn't, but I tried to mitigate it by doing exercise which really helped. I found that as I lost more weight, I was motivated not to drink so much as I didn't want to undo the good work I'd done. Another thing I did was to be the designated driver when we went out, that meant I couldn't drink, or was limited to a very small amount so tended not to bother.

I still lost my weight, just a bit slower than I might have done if I had given up alcohol. My friend gave it up for 2 months and she lost a hell of a lot, but she was also doing Boot Camp. So it's hard to tell if just giving up would have helped as much.

The DD thing is a great idea. My boyfriend always volunteers to drive because he's not much of a drinker so I think that was encouraging me to have as many as I wanted. I'm going to try for a month and see where that gets me. I have a lot to loose still and it's coming off with me drinking, but not all that fast. I'm just starting more intense exercising too, so that kinda goes with what your friend did. Hopefully I'll have similar results!

missmacsays

i quit for 2 years and didn't notice anything, so i dunno.

No change in weight loss from quitting?

im a pretty big exerciser , i love to run, so i can loose weight fast if i want to go in that direction.

Ah, well then you're one of the lucky ones :] My weight loss has always been a struggle, so I'm thinking I need to eliminate more of the bad to see more of the good results.

nphect

i quit for 2 years and didn't notice anything, so i dunno.

No change in weight loss from quitting?

im a pretty big exerciser , i love to run, so i can loose weight fast if i want to go in that direction.

Ah, well then you're one of the lucky ones :] My weight loss has always been a struggle, so I'm thinking I need to eliminate more of the bad to see more of the good results.

well beer is only 100 calories a beer. are you drinking a six pack a day?

Amberonamission

My Husband drinks between 24 and 36 beers every week of his life. That guy seems to drop a pound a week just by cutting back on food a little. I hate him. I'd have to preform circus tricks to lose a pound and I never ever drink. Did I say I hate him?

Its_Nat

I was a huge wine drinker before I started. I simply decided to quit week days, and drink only on Friday/Saturday nights - as long as I stayed within my calorie limit. If you want to drink more, simply exercise more that day to give yourself more calories to play with. It's worked for me so far :drinker:

missmacsays

i quit for 2 years and didn't notice anything, so i dunno.

No change in weight loss from quitting?

im a pretty big exerciser , i love to run, so i can loose weight fast if i want to go in that direction.

Ah, well then you're one of the lucky ones :] My weight loss has always been a struggle, so I'm thinking I need to eliminate more of the bad to see more of the good results.

well beer is only 100 calories a beer. are you drinking a six pack a day?

I only drink on weekends anymore. I'm off all day Friday, so I've gotten into a bit of a routine of drinking all day on Fridays. I guess I'd call my average 5-6 shots of whiskey and probably 5-6 of the large draft beers? If that sounds ridiculous, this began at 1-2 in the afternoon and carried on until 10-11 that night.

missmacsays

My Husband drinks between 24 and 36 beers every week of his life. That guy seems to drop a pound a week just by cutting back on food a little. I hate him. I'd have to preform circus tricks to lose a pound and I never ever drink. Did I say I hate him?

Ugh, can I hate him too?! Lol. I know a lot of people that are like that and I really can't complain because I've lost 13ish lbs (pending weigh in today) over the last 2 months and that's with my weekend binging. But I'd like to lose more of course!

missmacsays

I was a huge wine drinker before I started. I simply decided to quit week days, and drink only on Friday/Saturday nights - as long as I stayed within my calorie limit. If you want to drink more, simply exercise more that day to give yourself more calories to play with. It's worked for me so far :drinker:

That's pretty much what I've been doing too. I'm just thinking if I didn't drink those calories at all, I wonder what my loss would be like. I'm thinking a month of soberness and then I'll re-evaluate myself from there.

nphect

i quit for 2 years and didn't notice anything, so i dunno.

No change in weight loss from quitting?

im a pretty big exerciser , i love to run, so i can loose weight fast if i want to go in that direction.

Ah, well then you're one of the lucky ones :] My weight loss has always been a struggle, so I'm thinking I need to eliminate more of the bad to see more of the good results.

well beer is only 100 calories a beer. are you drinking a six pack a day?

I only drink on weekends anymore. I'm off all day Friday, so I've gotten into a bit of a routine of drinking all day on Fridays. I guess I'd call my average 5-6 shots of whiskey and probably 5-6 of the large draft beers? If that sounds ridiculous, this began at 1-2 in the afternoon and carried on until 10-11 that night.

exercise a lot the next day then and you'll be fine. If you can't exercise the next day cause your hungover, you might want to rethink how hard your pushing your exercise routine, or cut back on some of the beers.

Amberonamission

My Husband drinks between 24 and 36 beers every week of his life. That guy seems to drop a pound a week just by cutting back on food a little. I hate him. I'd have to preform circus tricks to lose a pound and I never ever drink. Did I say I hate him?

Ugh, can I hate him too?! Lol. I know a lot of people that are like that and I really can't complain because I've lost 13ish lbs (pending weigh in today) over the last 2 months and that's with my weekend binging. But I'd like to lose more of course!

Haha.. feel free to hate him with me. Beer drinking, weight losing freak of nature he is... lol

And good luck with the weigh in.

MercurialScribes

I logged what I drank tonight, and was absolutely MORTIFIED by how much that added to my intake for the day... I went WAY over... on my first day! Thanks for adding me... we can definitely be a support... I'll need it with the friends I keep, LOL! We can do it!!!

missmacsays

i quit for 2 years and didn't notice anything, so i dunno.

No change in weight loss from quitting?

im a pretty big exerciser , i love to run, so i can loose weight fast if i want to go in that direction.

Ah, well then you're one of the lucky ones :] My weight loss has always been a struggle, so I'm thinking I need to eliminate more of the bad to see more of the good results.

well beer is only 100 calories a beer. are you drinking a six pack a day?

I only drink on weekends anymore. I'm off all day Friday, so I've gotten into a bit of a routine of drinking all day on Fridays. I guess I'd call my average 5-6 shots of whiskey and probably 5-6 of the large draft beers? If that sounds ridiculous, this began at 1-2 in the afternoon and carried on until 10-11 that night.

exercise a lot the next day then and you'll be fine. If you can't exercise the next day cause your hungover, you might want to rethink how hard your pushing your exercise routine, or cut back on some of the beers.

Or exercise more that day? A lot of it too is the fact that I had bronchitis and didn't exercise for two weeks because my lungs were in pain. I just started up the exercise thing again this week, so here's hoping that helps!

missmacsays

My Husband drinks between 24 and 36 beers every week of his life. That guy seems to drop a pound a week just by cutting back on food a little. I hate him. I'd have to preform circus tricks to lose a pound and I never ever drink. Did I say I hate him?

Ugh, can I hate him too?! Lol. I know a lot of people that are like that and I really can't complain because I've lost 13ish lbs (pending weigh in today) over the last 2 months and that's with my weekend binging. But I'd like to lose more of course!

Haha.. feel free to hate him with me. Beer drinking, weight losing freak of nature he is... lol

And good luck with the weigh in.

Thank you :]

missmacsays

I logged what I drank tonight, and was absolutely MORTIFIED by how much that added to my intake for the day... I went WAY over... on my first day! Thanks for adding me... we can definitely be a support... I'll need it with the friends I keep, LOL! We can do it!!!

I'm two months in and I still have days like that. Just gotta use these days as learning experiences and move forward :] And for sure, my friends are all big drinkers too. Obviously I don't drink a bunch alone lol.

pinkraynedropjacki

Was drinking a bottle of burboun a day..... a 1ltr bottle that is. Took days off work JUST to drink. Was a great drunk, was funny & could type way better.... trust me I could touch type so fast & with NO mistakes, not like sober. Was like that for about 4 years

Went cold turkey. Gave it totally up. Poured the rest of what I had down the sink. Don't allow it in the house & I never drank out.

pixtotts

could you drive when you go out?

it costs me £50 in a taxi to get back from the nearest town so 99% of the time i drive that way i dont drink a thing except occasionally a redbull or coke ...well i did have a glass of champagne last time... but if someones buying champagne thats a wee bit different...
Ive never really been much of a drinker though only while i was at uni 0:)
x

missmacsays

Was drinking a bottle of burboun a day..... a 1ltr bottle that is. Took days off work JUST to drink. Was a great drunk, was funny & could type way better.... trust me I could touch type so fast & with NO mistakes, not like sober. Was like that for about 4 years

Went cold turkey. Gave it totally up. Poured the rest of what I had down the sink. Don't allow it in the house & I never drank out.

Oh wow, that's awesome you were able to give it up like that!

missmacsays

could you drive when you go out?

it costs me £50 in a taxi to get back from the nearest town so 99% of the time i drive that way i dont drink a thing except occasionally a redbull or coke ...well i did have a glass of champagne last time... but if someones buying champagne thats a wee bit different...
Ive never really been much of a drinker though only while i was at uni 0:)
x

I probably could! I hardly ever have to drive, my boyfriend usually does that because he's not much of a drinker. I've definitely improved, but being the DD on nights I don't want to drink out of control is a good idea. I forgot bars serve red bull! haha. I could def just drink one of those

pinkraynedropjacki

Was drinking a bottle of burboun a day..... a 1ltr bottle that is. Took days off work JUST to drink. Was a great drunk, was funny & could type way better.... trust me I could touch type so fast & with NO mistakes, not like sober. Was like that for about 4 years

Went cold turkey. Gave it totally up. Poured the rest of what I had down the sink. Don't allow it in the house & I never drank out.

Oh wow, that's awesome you were able to give it up like that!

Was tough, but glad I did. Have not drunk in 3 years now. Not since I got hurt & could not drink & have my painkillers. It was really hard on me. Worth it though.

rockingallovertheworld

I never used to drink that much maybe share a bottle of wine at the weekend but when my daughter moved to the USA 5 months before her 21st birthday and had to stop drinking because of the laws in the UK and US being different I said I would stop drinking until her 21st birthday. She will be 25 in January and I have not touched alcohol since August 2008 and can honestly say I don't miss it. Needless to say as soon as daughter got to 21 she could not wait to be able to have a drink!:drinker:

x_cinder_x

Weekends are pretty horrible for me as well. I have not stopped drinking but I have changed what and how much. I got to the point I was stuck on my weight and the drink changes combined with logging my calories have me back to the 1 1/2 to 2 lbs week loss.

It has only been a few weeks, but so far so good!

I try to stay away from beer, but if I do have one I go with a "diet" type. Mixed drinks I try to keep simple. I mix whatever with just plain tea (yes, I know this sounds weird. I think my taste-buds maybe dead to actually like this haha.)

Lindsay_N

Ive cut back. Used to drink 4 days a week about 10 drinks each day. Now I drink one day a week, maybe 2. Still around 10 drinks. Now I try to only drink vodka with water and lemon juice, so the only calories I get are from the vodka (about 70 calories an ounce). And I dont eat after Ive started drinking since processing the booze becomes your bodies first priority and anything you eat is just stored.

ETA: During the week I usually save some calories so I can go over on my weekend too. And I exercise earlier that day, or the day after (if Im not too hungover)