wine and weight lost

cazzahi

ok so i'm going to give up the booze to help weight loss, i'm find it ok to control my diet but i do like half a bottle or up to a bottle each night of wine . i know this going to be hard tonight, has anyone gone through this and any advice, thankyou caz x

trudijoy

drnk wine and still lost weight a few years back - count it into your calories and make sure you drink water. don't drink a bottle a night though. that's never gonna be healthy.

trudijoy

OOH top.tip from when i was weaning off it for a while

3/4 fill a glass with soda water, then top it up with wine. Makes a spritzery deal. really refreshing.

2013queen

I used to drink a glass to a bottle a night 5 x a week.
Now I dont.
I have wanted to lose weight for SO long, I realised that the calories being added from that had to go.
It wasnt until I was serious enough about losing weight that I could cut it out.
I occasionally drink it at the weekend (had plenty on sat night just gone), but I try and stick to vodka and soda if I fancy a drink now. I am totally counting calories so I dont miss it too much and on the 2 nights this month that I have had some (last week) - the calories are just totally not worth it.

merrillfoster

There's a little over 500 calories in a bottle of wine (depending on the wine. It's something like 525ish). Factor it in.

ashlinmarie

There are two options:

1. I quit drinking except on some occasions. I'll have a margarita or vodka cranberry or glass of wine rarely. On those days, I fit it into my calories.

2. There is a recipe for low cal Sangria. It is about 90 calories per glass and is really good! If you'd like the recipe, feel free to message me and I can dig it out of my hard drive. Otherwise, search Sangria in the forums and there are some other tasty looking ones, though not sure how they are on calories.

kendunn579

On a lighter note.... A skinful will dehydrate you so have a bottle or three then get on the scales in the morning! Weight drops off dramatically! (Unfortunately it comes back all too soon).
Of course I'm only kidding, drinking that much is irresponsible.

Kabijots

I find drinking it in smaller portions helps. I try to think of the bottle as six portions - roughly 80-90 cals for red wine. Get rid of the huge glasses and use the smallest ones you can find. The smaller the glasses, the larger the glass of wine seems!

I have cut down from a much higher level to one or two glasses of wine a day which actually equates to about 180 calories. This is easy to add in to your daily allowance and makes sure you don't feel like you are missing out.

Sometimes I don't even bother and I don't miss it anymore.

Drink lots of water in between.

Hope that helps

2013queen

Also - work out in the evenings.
On at least 2 nights a week I dont get home from the gym until after 9pm. By this point, I want a quick bite to eat, a shower and bed - alcohol doesnt even cross my mind. Even when I get in earlier, a few chores done, Im so tired I just want to go to bed!

I honestly, honestly never ever thought I would not have a glass of wine in the evenings. I dont even drink on Sundays now, which I would always have a few with dinner.
If I can do that change, you can!!

cazzahi

i factor it in to the weight loss and having problems losing much weight, so it the thing i'm looking to cut this out, not sure to cut out completely or just reducing or do alternative days and reduce down. i talk to friends and alot people drink on a daily thing. i#m not sure what other people think but drinking seam to be a thing that builds up over time and then release you are drinking a glass each night with food and then you find you are just finishing the bottle in front of the tv. on a positive thing my husband doesn't drink so i can take it out the house and not got someone else in the house drinking.

vicmonster

I usually log my evening wine at the same time I log my morning coffee

Leamac83

I am struggling with the same thing at the moment. I crave a glass of wine when i get home from work and then that glass can easily turn into a bottle. I now dont drink through the week. there is no point. I have to keep reminding myself of the empty calories.

It is possible to lose weight whilst drinking but think of the other factors. The liver damage and the dehydration, the damage to your skin. Alcohol ages you, it disrupts sleep, rots teeth and it gets expensive after a while. Ok these are all the bad points but i have to keep reminding myself of them in order to cut down. The liver takes 3 days to detoxify its self so make sure you give yourself 3 or 4 days with nothing to keep your body functioning at its best.

2013queen

thats very handy your hubby doesnt drink, mine does and hasnt stopped since I dont. But I just think, Im a healthier me - he works out tons and obviously weight stays off him FINE (GRRRR) but for me, a wine belly is something I dont want anymore!
It was obvious in the first 2 weeks as I lost around 8-9 pounds straight off by not drinking... that has levelled out and I hope to lose more by keeping it up.

Simplicity

I know I have absolutely no evidence for this but it is just personal findings.
I really feel that alcohol is more than just calories. I've had two nights of drinking this year so far.
Last year I'd drink a small amount 2-3 times a week.
Without alcohol, I do these things
Sleep better
Exercise for longer with more want,
Make better food choices
Positive mood
Less anxiety, stress.

With alcohol I do these things
Sleep longer but not better
Miss workouts and feel bad about it
Search for calories dense foods that leave me feeling sick
I worry about the smallest things
My weight fluctuates over 3-5 pounds during the days after a few drinks due to dehydration and bad food choices.

These things are commonly listed under alcohol side affects but when I weigh them up side by side I find it easier to make better choices and save the drinking days for special occasions.
This is in no way meant to be a preach or tell you what to do, but if you are considering not drinking it will make a world of difference to your goals. I know alcohol can be allotted into your calories for the day I was just trying to AY there are oth implications worth noting.
Good luck with it. I hope you get the results you're looking for
Ben
:-D

spamantha57

I love wine. For several years, even before I started gaining weight, I drank a lot of it - it wasn't uncommon for me to drink more than a bottle a night.
Although I probably average less than a bottle per week these days, I wouldn't have a problem if I decided to have a couple of glasses a night.
A couple of things to factor in too (besides just allowing room for the calories) is to think *what* kind of wine you're drinking (example: sweet wines can have double the calories as your standard red) and also that drinking can make you hungry or munch mindlessly - which would lead to more unplanned calorie consumption.
Just be aware of what & how much you're ingesting & it should be fine. Also red wine has lots of antioxidants & can help with heart disease & blood pressure. :happy: :drinker:

sarahcuddle

I am not anti drinking and I enjoy a glass of wine occasionally myself but you really need to alter a habit that has you drinking half a bottle or more a night. It's not just for weight reasons, although obviously that is a factor, but that level of alcohol consumption every day will eventually lead you to liver disease. I would urge anyone to check out the safe limits for alcohol consumption and stick to them because it's a disease that can creep up on you without you realising and the consequences are dire.

heatherterp

I am with you on the wine. I gave up soda in August 2011 and it was fine. I find now my wine consumption has gone way up. Not out of control, but I can easily drink a bottle over 5 or 6 hours. I was thinking this morning it is time to cut back to 1 glass with dinner 1 or 2 times a week. I am usually good with the water. I need to see the numbers on the scale go down again!

2013queen

Without alcohol, I do these things
Sleep better
Exercise for longer with more want,
Make better food choices
Positive mood
Less anxiety, stress.

With alcohol I do these things
Sleep longer but not better
Miss workouts and feel bad about it
Search for calories dense foods that leave me feeling sick
I worry about the smallest things
My weight fluctuates over 3-5 pounds during the days after a few drinks due to dehydration and bad food choices.

THIS IS (WAS ACTUALLY!) ME.

So, so so so unbelievably true. Giving up alcohol in the week has got to have been the best thing Ive done. Not just due to the calories I am saving, but more because of the reasons above.
I have even started turning down social situations on week nights, ie a meal out, because a) I dont want to be tempted to "break" the no drinking rule and b) Im damned if Im missing my Thursday night workout classes!!!

Simplicity

Yeah I get it. I made the commitment to stop based on trying to complete the Insanity course. I've missed three workouts so far in the first four weeks. Two of them because of alcohol.
So yeah I'm still learning too, damn alcohol.

melissarina

I always struggled with limiting my alcohol intake, and would make sure I had enough calories left for a glass or two of wine. After one too many a boozy night, I realised that I really need to learn to cope without so much wine in my life. This year, I've pretty much given up the booze - since getting back from my holiday on the 6th Jan, I've had 3 drinks on 3 different nights. I can't believe the changes. I feel more alert, my skin is clearer, I'm sleeping better, I'm not struggling with my food choices, and my self control is stronger.

I suggest reducing your alcohol intake to the weekends, and see if you want to drop it completely. I also liked the suggestion of smaller wine glasses

mazdauk

I was regularly drinking 1/2 bottle a night with dinner - but sometimes there's be a glass and a packet of crisps before, AND cheese and biscuits after. That's a LOT of extra calories. Now I maybe have one glass/ glass and a half which I take into account with my calories. Nothing before dinner (unless I have a LOT of spare calories for a weird reason). I do a workout before breakfast and one when I get in form work - just 20 mins Rosemary Conley. I've found (to my surprise) I actually feel less tired if I do my little workout before I have my bath and start cooking, and so I'm not looking for wine before dinner.

For the first week I had no wine until the weekend, but Dh carried on which just made me ratty. He's on late shifts for a couple of weeks so I may give the wine a miss a few more nights. However, I believe good food deserves wine (I've not found a non-alcoholic drink which really works with most evening meals) and I'd rather have the wine than ice-cream or biscuits.

As with any food or drink, you can have everything you want and still lose weight, but not a lot of it and not all at once!