ALCOHOL

aimeeernest

Until recently, I had never realized how many calories were in alcoholic drinks! How many of you have cut alcohol out of your diet completely or significantly since starting your diet? How do you even fit it in? Do you purposely eat less when you know you may be drinking socially or do you just not drink now?
I'm just really curious, it took me an hour debating myself on whether or not to have a drink with my boyfriend tonight. Lol! I finally decided on one 166 calorie beer. Holy cow!

gaynorv

While I'm Losing I will sip my wine, .... Then reappraise ... More gym ...

aimeeernest

haha! Okay im glad im not the only one to 100% cross it out of my diet. I'm not a big drinker in the first place, a few beers every few weeks or so... but it looks like a few will have to be more like 1-2 max. i agree, just make sure i burn those cals at the gym on top of my normal workout!

kdz526

I have discovered Bud Select 55 this evening. I started out with my tasty Bud light lime, and switched to it. I hear it has less alcohol then the bud lights, but as you lose weight you can't drink as much anyway right? 55 calories a beer will cut down on my caloric intake cause i tend to drink several when i am out anyway.
also knowing i would be going out drinking, i made sure to drop calories yesterday and work out more today to fit it in. I "went over" today by a couple hundred calories, but i was under by that much yesterday. I do however retain water after drinking, so i won't weigh again till monday or so.

Destanie_Robyn

I definitely do think twice before having a drink because of the calorie content ... Will it be worth it lol. On special nights I usually will.either plan for it by extra workouts in the morning or just by giving myself a cheat day. I will also get lighter options like a skinny margarita if that's available.

SLLeask

I have cut down quite a bit but sorry, can't stop totally, I enjoy a drink!!! I don't like beer so that's not a problem but do like red wine. I have cut on the wine and swapped for a vodka and diet coke, going looong on the diet coke. Lots less calories and I don't feel I'm missing out. :bigsmile:

srm1960

:drinker: "hahah-never drink your calories"-I skipped my marg tonite cause this is my 7th day-but wine is less cal/ than mixed drinks with sugar mixers in them-yes you can have them, but work off or lower you cal intake-its a bummer I know

owndbycatz

I've had to basically cut it out altogether. I'm not much of a drinker anyway, but I just can't spare the calories right now. Over the holidays I indulged - some rich food but I think it was the 1 or 2 glasses of wine almost every day for about a week that did the most damage. The result was a weight gain that I've just recovered from. Can't say I really regret it. And it did show me is that I can go through a period of indulgence, get back on track, resulting in just a brief period of no progress, not a complete negation of my hard work. But the weight loss is too important to me right now to include alcohol in my intake.

ashlinmarie

I cut out 99% of my alcohol. I have the occasional margarita or drink with my friends, but usually reserve those for cheat days or work out a lot more before. I hate being drunk and feeling gross the next day so I'd rather not drink anyway.

catsinpajamas

I drink less frivolously, for sure. I just factor in the calories when I really want a glass of wine

Candi_land

taso42

I confess, I don't drink like I used to.

lizzyd629

LOL so funny I found this post!

I decided to have a beer last night, a Michelob Ultra....
Now mind you, I really don't drink much anymore, the older I get the less tollerant my system becomes...
....back to my beer, that I didn't even finish...about 3/4 of it.

woke up this morning feeling like CRAP! I thought to myself (with my spliting headache) I didn't have a case of beer, I barely had 1 BOTTLE!....
I was quite sick :sick: ...wont go into details BUT...I have come to the conclusion, it's not worth wasting my calories or taking away my good feelings of accomplishment with my feeling like crap!

So...nope....no drinking for me. If I really feel like drinking anything, it will maybe be a small glass of wine once a year :bigsmile: lol

taso42

LOL so funny I found this post!

I decided to have a beer last night, a Michelob Ultra....
Now mind you, I really don't drink much anymore, the older I get the less tollerant my system becomes...
....back to my beer, that I didn't even finish...about 3/4 of it.

woke up this morning feeling like CRAP! I thought to myself (with my spliting headache) I didn't have a case of beer, I barely had 1 BOTTLE!....
I was quite sick :sick: ...wont go into details BUT...I have come to the conclusion, it's not worth wasting my calories or taking away my good feelings of accomplishment with my feeling like crap!

So...nope....no drinking for me. If I really feel like drinking anything, it will maybe be a small glass of wine once a year :bigsmile: lol

Disgusting! If you're going to drink a beer, drink a beer. Michelob Ultra has little in common with actual beer.

mareeee1234

I usually make room.. eat less or exercise more ect...
Sometimes you literally have to put 10000 calories aside or more if you're planning on getting drunk
I'm trying vodka and diet coke tonight, never had the two together! haha

titanium96

I actually dont find it high in cals at all. A beer here is about 110 calories....thats less than a sports drink, a soft drink and probably about the same as a glass of full cream milk. its the food you stuff down your face when you are drunk thats the problem....lol

Vansy

It's hard for me to save calories for alcohol at the end of the day, so I usually just don't drink. But when I do drink I usually choose something like vodka and soda or a flavored vodka and soda.

grillingirl

I used to be quite a beer drinker, but have found that the older I get the less I can drink. I think all the beer might be why I put on so much weight in the first place. But I have definitely cut out most of it. I will have one beer or glass of wine every now and then but I try to remember how long I worked at the gym in order just to have that one drink. And lots of times I decided that it's just not worth it!

SaraO41

Hi. I have cut it out completely for January as part of a healthier 2013. I also stopped smoking at the same time AND
... Started my healthy eating. I'm an all or nothing type of girl and know that if I had my usual wine induced weekend
, I would start eating whatever I can get my hands on and smoking like a chimney ! I am hoping that come February I will be able to have the odd drink with a meal but will see how it goes :-))

moostrodamus

I used to drink alot, but i found as i got older my "indestructability" slowly diminished...at 18 i could get up withing 4 hours after partying with little problem, then at 25 it became 8 hours, then thirty it was 16 hours, 40 it was 32 hours and now at nearly 50 it barely seems worth the effort to ruin an entire weekend (48hours) because i drank... so i very rarely drink anything at all now.

Oh ya...also i was an *kitten* when i drank.

maruby95

As someone said above, I don't find the the glass of wine to be the problem- but the lack of self-control that comes with it! . I can make room for the drink, but can't always predict what I'll end up snacking on with it. Not usually worth it- but sometimes, it most definetly is .

martinh78

I cut down from drinking 6 nights a week to one night a week. I exercise in the afternoon before heading out (last night as it happens).

I usually go over my calories by 500-1000 on Friday becasue of beer, but I figure that's still at my maintenance level so not a disaster for one day. It's just stalling my weight loss by 1/7th I guess.

Plus I usually have a big day in the hills on the weekend so more than burn them back off within a day or two.

Deeangelique

I had the same thing. Found that on a Friday night, i was easily drinking almost 2000 calories through alcohol! And on a monday I'd have about a thousand (1.5 - 2 bottles of wine).

I find cutting down my alcohol on mondays and fridays harder than cutting down the food! But I'm trying. I have stopped drinking pints, avoid going to the pub where i end up drinking cocktails, and instead have my friends round for a night in with some rose wine. It's still tough though, so I also try to limit myself to one drinking day a week, and on the day I do my best to eat less.

I think you're entitled to a treat now and again, but maybe just make sure you do a good work out the day before so you dont feel so bad about it

Lyadeia

LOL so funny I found this post!

I decided to have a beer last night, a Michelob Ultra....
Now mind you, I really don't drink much anymore, the older I get the less tollerant my system becomes...
....back to my beer, that I didn't even finish...about 3/4 of it.

woke up this morning feeling like CRAP! I thought to myself (with my spliting headache) I didn't have a case of beer, I barely had 1 BOTTLE!....
I was quite sick :sick: ...wont go into details BUT...I have come to the conclusion, it's not worth wasting my calories or taking away my good feelings of accomplishment with my feeling like crap!

So...nope....no drinking for me. If I really feel like drinking anything, it will maybe be a small glass of wine once a year :bigsmile: lol

Disgusting! If you're going to drink a beer, drink a beer. Michelob Ultra has little in common with actual beer.

LOL!!!

I haven't cut out alcohol by any means. I'm just smarter about it than I used to be. There's no reason for me to get drunk all the time, but there's also no reason to lie to myself and say that I will never have another glass of wine, bottle of beer, or mixed drink ever again.

jaxxie

I will not deprive myself of what I enjoy, if this is to be a lifestyle change then, to me, this means permanent....so while I do my best to do well, I also enjoy a good hangover! Best of luck to you.

saltedcaramel86

I actually enjoy alcohol but am not a big drinker to begin with (most people I know drink almost daily!). I'd have a bottle of wine on the weekend or when I was off the next day, but trying to cut down to fortnightly. I'd rather have a little of the good stuff as opposed to loads of "diet" stuff so prefer a couple of glasses of red wine rather than low cal beer, for example. If I'm not having wine, I'll have a couple glasses of brandy or whiskey (neat, so save cals on mixers!) My downfall is when I'm relaxing with a drink, I end up snacking on crisps and chocolate. That's the part I need to work on.

glitteratthesea

As a student, yes I drink alcohol. But i'm not a binge drinker, or as my friends like to describe: 'she is a cheap girlfriend' :laugh:. Because I don't drink that much, I allow myself to drink when I want. But I stick to beer and vodka .

notthatthis

Alcohol, I like to drink alcohol and like you for many years viewed it as a CALORIE product. Alcohol has calories but they are useless, what happens to the physiology of the body is the key to understanding how alcohol consumption may really put a dieter behind in their goals. There are many references to alcohol on the internet and for the purpose of responding to this post I searched,

"alcohol and digestive system while dieting"

This article which leads to further articles on the web site were quite clear and provides further links in the articles to the science.

http://chestofbooks.com/health/nutrition/Diet-Dietetics/Is-Alcohol-A-Food.html

Again, I do drink (once or twice per week) but I am now much more aware of how the alcohol is going to effect my diet goals and simply counting the calories does not fully prepare you for how your metabolism and digestive systems deal with the food currently waiting to be digested in your body when having to deal with the alcohol toxins- nutrition not fully taken from food, food that could have been burnt by your system converted to fat and the list goes on and on.

As I spend more time exercising and really trying to hit my goals, especially after the weight loss, then alcohol will have to go.

tonishires

Yes to this! ^^^ Vodka and diet mixers are a good way to go (vodka is the lowest calorie spirit, I think)!

loved1

I'm abstaining until I lose at least 10% of my body weight - not just because of the calories, but also because of how the body burns alcohol before fat. At this point, I want the full benefits of my workouts.

ashesmf

I try not to drink my calories but if I do it's Bud Light and SoCo. As long as I end up under that day, I'm okay with it. Although, the 2 times I've done so, I've instructed everyone around not to let me eat while I was drinking. Normally I end up with a bag of chips after all the alcohol.