Alcohol and dieting, advice?

twinketta

To the OP try to maybe put a glass of water in between your alcoholic drinks when you are out.

Exercise a lot the day before and exercise a lot the day after to try to minimize the cals.

Try to drink clear drinks .the darker the drink the more sugar there is...but at the end of the day there is only you that can control how much you drink (or eat or exercise)

chavens85

So I'm looking for some advice here, I'm 21 years old first off, and I'm finding myself in the same dilemma every weekend..whether I should workout more or eat less just so I can go out and drink..I know that the healthiest choice would be to just cut alcohol all together but I don't see that as being an attainable goal for me at this time..so I'm looking for advice/suggestions from anyone that may be in a similar situation..how much is an ok amount to drink, what would be the best thing to drink, and should I be eating less to save calories for my drinks or is that even less healthy? Anyone who has any input on how to balance dieting and my current social life would be greatly appreciated!!

Seriously, if you are trying to choose between nutrition and alcohol, you just might have a problem with alcohol...

Wow, you must have never been a 21 year old. What a rude comment. I agree with another post. everyone has their vices. Whether it's alcohol, fried food, chocolate, etc, it's all the same. Aren't we on here to offer helpful suggestions?

kuntry_navy

go out and do it right! healthy living is hard, but if you don't experience the great times alcohol brings you may miss out. before you get into your chicken and rice and 8hrs sleep healthy life. working out and seeing results is amazing, but painting a town red takes talent

perfectingpatti

Seriously, if you are trying to choose between nutrition and alcohol, you just might have a problem with alcohol...

I didn't read anything about her choosing between nutrition and alcohol.

OP- I will exercise more just so I can drink wine with dinner. I plan for what I'm going to drink and make it fit with my goals. Just because you want to enjoy alcohol and want to know how you can still remain fit or lose weight while doing so does not mean you ahve a problem. You're 21 and there is nothing wrong with enjoying alcohol as long as you're responsible. :drinker:

cwolfman13

At 38, I still enjoy more than my fair share of adult beverages. I've cut them back considerably since starting MFP, but I also like to go have some fun. If you're concerned with calories, stick to booze with diet mixers or straight up/on the rocks. If I've had a rather "fun" night, I've found it beneficial to go for a good run or something the next day...not so much to burn those calories, but it clears the fog and burns off that remaining sugar. Also, one of the worst things you can do while you drink is eat...when you drink your body can only metabolize the alcohol...it stops metabolizing everything else because the body cannot store those sugars, it has to burn them; once it's done metabolizing the booze everything you ate in while you were partying down pretty much just goes straight to fat. Also, you will get little to no benefit from the nutrients you took in...as your body is too busy trying to metabolize the booze to absorb nutrients.

peaches3683

I think the best piece of advice is...plan ahead. Work out an extra day, extra hard, then plan how many ahead and stick to it. I also order water between (like several of the posts mention). You're 21, enjoy it, just don't party away all your hardwork every weekend. You're in this for the long haul, slow and steady with the weight loss is the best plan. So a little over indulgence once in a while is to be expected, just try not to make it a habit. You go girl!

rebelate

I drink on a regular basis, a drink or so a night. Vodka, and diet 7up or sugar free redbull or whiskey and diet coke when I'm out.

If you feel like you need to drink when you go out, then make sure you have the calories to do so, or just be a bit more active to get more calories to burn through. It's also a lot easier to drink when you're maintaining 1,500 or more calories. I'm accepting of the slower weight loss, but am appreciate of having more ~wiggle room in a week. That being said, when I first started here, I was trying 1,200 a day and on nights I would go out I would try to sleep all day, or put off eating until I would go out so I could keep my calories in range. It wasn't the smartest choice. I felt horrible, and wasn't losing, and wasn't happy with my choices.

krickeyuu

I would not tell anyone to cut anything out of their diet that they enjoy--soda, fried food, ice cream or alcohol. For me, I make sure that I meet 90% of my macros with food before I add in alcohol. I often use my exercise calories for alcohol--WIll Kickbox for Wine.

Monica_has_a_goal

Advice : stop drinking and make that your goal :glasses:

kimmymayhall

I'm not sure what you're calorie goal is, but do not short-change nutrition in order to be able to drink. Make sure you take care of your nutrition first, but I like a drink or two as much as the next girl. I agree that the best idea is to plan for it. Look up your favorite drinks here, or getdrunknotfat, or some other calorie database. A good beer has 150-200 calories, a glass of wine can have 100-150 depending on the pour, liquor is around 70 per oz. but the mixers are killer. Tonic water has about as many calories as a regular soda. I don't much care for diet drinks so I usually mix with club soda and a splash of orange or cranberry if I want sweetness. Decide before you go out how many drinks you want to max out at and the associated calories you want to spend on that night. Alternate drinks with a glass of water. And be really careful about the drunk munchies, you can do a lot of damage. If it doesn't just seem worth it some nights, offer to be DD.
Have fun, be responsible, but don't beat yourself up about occasionally having one too many drinks or hot wings.

ETA the OP said she has wondered if she should workout more or eat less so she could go out and drink, that's why I cautioned about making sure she takes care of nutrition first. When I started out on a VLCD I did some bargaining to eat less food so I could have wine at night which led to some self-reflection. Perhaps a little projection on my part. Now I make sure that my macros are good and earn extra calories through excercise.

fallintograce03

Have you checked out the brand skinny girl? they make a variety of low calorie alcoholic beverages for those of us who are still interested in drinking but don't want all those calories. There are also some other brands and mixers that are low cal that you can google.

Also, if you do a Gin and diet tonic it only is 60 calories vs a beer which has anywhere from 120 to 300. Any liquor and a diet soda will be around 60 calories. Also, someone mentioned before, drinking water in between will help.

If you cut out some of your calories during the day it will also take less to get the desired effect... just saying

Fr3shStrt

I would plan on cutting back. Still go out, have fun, enjoy life, but just work it into your plan. I would do it by working out rather than eating less, because drinking on an empty stomach is a bad idea. I have the problem that I make bad food choices when I'm drinking a lot, so that is also something to look out for.

Anthonydaman

I enjoy cocktails, so I reward myself with them (not daily) by banking some exercise calories and then using them for my cocktail consumption. Being a 21 year old I think you should enjoy yourself this is a very short period in your life so have fun with it.

tmgider

With not knowing what "adult" beverages you enjoy the most, my best suggestion would be to research the calories in the types of beverages that you like and then choose what you will drink before you go out. Especially for mixed drinks because you have a lot of options. Think ahead and make a plan.You can always have a chaser in between your drinks - maybe a diet soda, seltzer with a lemon or lime (yes, I know not everyone enjoys seltzer, but it fizzes and as 0 calories) or water with lemon or lime. Oh - and if your clubbing / dancing - shake that booty!

What i have discovered in my weight loss journey - i enjoy my wine on the weekend, and it definitely has impeded my weight loss progress. To compensate, I exercise more frequently.

monty619

just put a drop of alcohol in ur *kitten* and u get drunk.. thats wut i do.

NewKeriSept2014

just put a drop of alcohol in ur *kitten* and u get drunk.. thats wut i do.

lmao

Bumbeen

This is a ridiculous topic. If you want to get a buzz off something smoke weed, drinking is so much worse for you.

iWaffle

Personally I would avoid it except for some special occasions or maybe once a week at most. Alcohol lowers your inhibitions on pretty much everything. That includes the ability to make good food decisions. You're going to find that you get extra calories from a lot more than just the alcohol. You're probably going to pick up quite a bit from extra stuff on the side when you drink.

It depends on how much you need the alcohol to have fun and how serious you are about your weight. If you're already at goal weight you can probably get away with this. If you're trying to lose a substantial amount I would hold off on it or keep it to a minimal amount.

fuzzieme

I hear you kitten. I'm Irish, and for me, the stereotype is true. With weather like this, you have to drink I haven't had anything this month and I've really enjoyed it actually. But there are a lot of birthdays etc coming up. It starts with a 40th tomorrow night. Awwww ohhhhh I'm prepared to get slated, I'll be ignoring everyone who has something negative to say to me, so please, save yourself the energy

You already know you shouldn't consume alcohol. You also know you are going to anyway. You are young and you want to party. It's as black and white as that. So, since you will anyway, maybe not three nights a week, every week, but let's say one night every fortnight (in theory, heh heh). So, you'll have to be smart about it.

Exercise, as much as you can.
Cut out beer (it still saddens me)
Do NOT drink sweet things like alco pops - those pre mixed vodka drinks that are full of sugar

The next two are the main ones....

Mix your drink a LOT - this has been a life saver for me, ordering it is tricky sometimes, but do it Get one measure of a spirit; my favourite is dark rum, but you can go vodka etc; get the ONE measure in a pint glass with a little low calorie diluting juice and top the rest up with water, ice and a lemon wedge. This is delicious with rum! If the bar only has a sugary diluting juice, get a vodka with water and wedges of lemon and lime. It takes awhile to drink and it hasn't near as many calories. You can always get a rum and diet coke too, but that's expensive. And because it's a spirit, you don't need very many of them White wine with sugar free lemonade isn't a bad choice anyway and you certainly won't need to drink many of those.

And finally, next day when you are hungover, don't eat sloppy. Make soup

In my opinion, you need to have fun and let loose sometimes. All work and no play, you know Have fun

fuzzieme

Also, dance off some calories!