For those who stopped drinking...

Lisa1971

Did you find that you lost weight a lot faster? I'm giving up alcohol for a few months (except for my bday!). Going on vacation in April and would love to lose 30lbs.

Please tell me if it made a difference.

Thank you!

mklassy123

Huge difference, although I didn't cut out alcohol altogether, just cut it down significantly. I can't say I was a huge drinker before but I would drink a few beers a few times a week, drink a glass of wine or two with dinner. Now I maybe drink a few glasses of wine a week but not if I have plans for the weekend, then I save my few glasses for the weekend. No beer. If I have a glass of wine I count it in my calories on MFP. The weight for the first two weeks in January barely budged, but now all of a sudden the weight is coming off. On the weekends that I do drink, my weight loss is stalled for the next week.

alexisu96

I think it has also helped me. If not only from the less calories from the drink itself, but let's be honest, don't chips sound great with beer and cheese with wine? or chocolate and nuts with wine.... THiS is why I am overweight. I have cut this down to a rarity...
life was too good on the couch at night at times.

Smuterella

I gave up last month - apart from two nights (i'm extending my dryathlon to make up for it)

I do think it helped but it took a month to kick in, be patient.

forzawithin

I used to drink 2 - 3 glasses of red wine a night and cocktails on some weekends. I cut down to 2 -3 glasses a week and hardly ever have a cocktail. I think it has made a big difference.
If I do have a glass, I include it in my calories consumed. Even though we all already know they are empty calories, it is crazy to see how booze actually piles up like that on screen.

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

I stopped drinking almost two years ago (it'll be two on Feb. 8th) and I definitely lost weight without trying. I was drinking about 3 liters of wine everyday so that cut out a significant number of calories.

Camille0502

Yes definitely. I like to drink wine and there are tons of calories in one glass. Plus, I've recently started measuring my wine (on the rare occasion I have some) and found that my typical serving was larger than the 5oz serving I was reporting. I can't lose weight when I drink regularly. It gets me in many ways - first of all the calories. Then second, I feel lethargic and don't want to get up and exercise. Double edged sword!

One thing that this site has given me was the idea to consume lower calorie alcoholic beverages when I do drink. So I have mostly switched to spiced run with soda water (around 60 cals) as opposed to a glass of wine (around 115 cals) when I do drink.

ryry_

Awhile back...I started drinking more heavily and could not drop weight and started gaining pretty regularly...But I wasn't tracking my intake.

I think you can still drink alcohol in moderation and if its considered part of your overall intake and you are creating a calorie deficit you can.

I think the biggest problem you have is when your intake is restricted to lose weight, it may be harder to get your other food needs in (protein, fruit, veggies, etc.). I eat something like Peanut Butter or Sherbert or Pizza every once in a while but that could just as easily be replaced with Beer or Wine (or whatever your drink of choice is).

DWF65203

I haven't had a drink since I started on myfitnesspal. I am too obsessed with the calories right now and hate to waste them on alcohol. I will, of course, make an exception for the Super Bowl.

darkguardian419

Weight loss has been the same, but my lifts have been doing better.

Smuterella

I stopped drinking almost two years ago (it'll be two on Feb. 8th) and I definitely lost weight without trying. I was drinking about 3 liters of wine everyday so that cut out a significant number of calories.

Well done for giving that up! I'm really impressed.

Southernb3lle

Yep, I think it helps tremendously. I have not had a drink of alcohol in about 9 months.

ryry_

I would also add that getting in the gym and working out daily has curbed my appetite to where I don't really desire to drink ATM.

I am going on a ski trip next week, so that will likely change...

sussexbythesea

Huge difference, although I didn't cut out alcohol altogether, just cut it down significantly. I can't say I was a huge drinker before but I would drink a few beers a few times a week, drink a glass of wine or two with dinner. Now I maybe drink a few glasses of wine a week but not if I have plans for the weekend, then I save my few glasses for the weekend. No beer. If I have a glass of wine I count it in my calories on MFP. The weight for the first two weeks in January barely budged, but now all of a sudden the weight is coming off. On the weekends that I do drink, my weight loss is stalled for the next week.

My partner and I have found same as this though don't drink more at weekends so no stall- in fact our tolerance has gone down so not a good idea to up it then!

junebaby21

Jillian Michaels was just on Dr. Oz saying booze has no place in anyone's diet plan. It is totally counter-productive with the calories, sugar, and carbs. I have definitely cut back since I started this journey, and I'm happy with my results. But I will indulge every now and then at a gathering!

considermac

Yes it made a huge difference for me. For the me the drinking also made me eat more. I only have a drink one day a week (typically Saturdays) and the weight is coming off and I am gaining muscle. I wish I would have done this years ago.

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enigmaneo

My problem with drinking is after a drink or 2 I would eat.

Espressocycle

It's basically something I just can't fit in my diet most of the time. As a bonus, I now get buzzed on two beers.

amelia_atlantic

I'm 30 days sober today!

I noticed I'm sleeping MUCH better which means I have more energy to work out. I don't feel bloated or sluggish.

My skin is also really clear too.

I'm snacking more, which I don't like (emotional drinking/emotional eating are basically the same thing) but I'm conscious of it and I stop myself before it gets out of hand.

aakokopelli7

Yes! I was drink 3 to 4 bottles a couple of nights a week that I found out where 400 cals a piece. I haven't had any more a month now, including Soda as well and the changes are amazing! I have only lost 11lbs so far but my stomach is not bloated and sticking out any more.

juliemouse83

I am really glad that the OP posted this.

I am a HUGE fan of wine...I mean, I can put it away. It's how I relaxed after a long day at the office. That said, I would ration my allotted daily calories to include 2-300 at the end of the day so I COULD have my wine and unwind at the end of the day.

Here's what's happening, tho...

I cut back significantly when I started tracking calories again a couple of weeks ago, because tracking makes you aware of how much you REALLY are drinking, so that was an immediate change.

Now I am finding I just don't seem to have the taste for it like I did a couple of weeks ago, which is really bizarre because I LOVE wine. (Did I mention that?)

Exercise relaxes me more than a few glasses of vino ever did (Ermagerd, did I just say that?), and I am finding that I don't really even WANT a second glass, and that I would absolutely prefer a big glass of ice water, instead.

The scale hasn't moved, but then, I'm only a couple weeks in and working out a whole lot more than I'm used to, so I'm ok with that.

After reading everyone's posts, I am feeling pretty good about things, and will keep not sucking down the wine. :flowerforyou:

KathrynCatlady

I think it's always good advice to avoid "drinking your calories." It never seems worth it to me.

However, there are drink options out there if you want to keep it low cal. How about rum and diet coke? Or a citrus vodka in diet sprite or fresca (which I -think- is zero-cal, but not positive)... something like that.

For me, drinking is a treat, and something I plan ahead for. If I know I want to have a couple glasses of wine later in the day, I watch my carbs and calories early in day to make it fit. It can be done, and I believe you can still lose weight if you plan (and stick to a plan) with the occasional drink or two.

Though another facet to be aware of is the fact that when people drink, often their inhibitions are lowered, and that can lead to SNACKING on things they wouldn't normally snack on. So, you gotta be careful about that. Have a plan, and STICK to that plan, and you should be fine. You know yourself better than anyone else in the world... figure out what you can handle.

joydayval

I'm 30 days sober today!

I noticed I'm sleeping MUCH better which means I have more energy to work out. I don't feel bloated or sluggish.

My skin is also really clear too.

I'm snacking more, which I don't like (emotional drinking/emotional eating are basically the same thing) but I'm conscious of it and I stop myself before it gets out of hand.

Congrats on your sobriety!! Keep up the good work sister!! Most people don't understand how hard it is to give up what we love cold turkey until they try

paxbfl

Short answer... YES!

Longer answer... first of all, you have to count the calories. I drink craft beers that are typically just under 200 calories each. So if I drink 3 of them, that's 600 extra calories in a day. It's hard to maintain a deficit with those kind of numbers.

Second, where there's drink there's always food. So you have to factor that in also.

Third, I do believe alcohol has a negative impact on metabolism - and I tend to have the munchies after I drink which makes it even harder to stay on track.

Like others said, I didn't give up drinking entirely but I cut way, way back - and YES it has definitely helped.

BigDnSW

Yes, it definitely made a difference for me. I was a heavy drinker, mostly Scotch, Irish whiskey, tequila, and wine...the amount of calories turning to sugar are amazing. Now, I don't at all and probably will not again. My liver is functioning normal again doing its job to keep me healthy.

If you want to see how many calories are in alcoholic beverages, go to www.getdrunknotfat.com.

Works great for me, but that's me and I am willing at this point to go any lengths for my mental and physical well being. But that's me, everyone has their own journey and tend to be an all or nothing guy...so it was with alco.

I sincerely wish you the best and a wise decision for your path, which is yours and no on else's. We all be different. :drinker:

cricketpup

I would agree with you.. I love(d) merlot!! Needed it. It made me feel sexy when I poured that wine in my pretty little glass at the end of the day! It made me feel yes girl you congurered yet another day! Now after just starting the journey with out it..although the scale hasn't budged, I don't even like the taste of it anymore.
I would rather have a cup of hot tea.
So the sexy glass is put away..and when I do pull it out I fill it with cranberry juice instead. Actually my husband thought I was drinking wine. He said Wow is that your 2nd glass already? I said yes ..of cranberry juice. LOL!

mklassy123

Now I am finding I just don't seem to have the taste for it like I did a couple of weeks ago, which is really bizarre because I LOVE wine. (Did I mention that?)

The scale hasn't moved, but then, I'm only a couple weeks in and working out a whole lot more than I'm used to, so I'm ok with that.

After reading everyone's posts, I am feeling pretty good about things, and will keep not sucking down the wine. :flowerforyou:

I most certainly have not lost my taste for red wine!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The thing is that now I enjoy it more. One 5 ounce glass (I measure) is fabulous. I savor it. I get an almost buzz from it and it's enough.

As I wrote earlier, the first two weeks of January the scale barely budged. Then I started losing. Then I had a weekend where one day I was horrible. I drank four beers and ate like crap. I gained 1 .5 pounds and it took over a week to drop that added weight. Since then I've had two nights of drinking a glass of wine (ok, one night I had probably one and a half) and the weight is NOW really coming off.

My big issue with wine is that the wines that I love (I won't drink something now if I don't love it) do not come in half bottles. If my boyfriend is here then we can share a bottle in two nights and I can have one glass for two nights. If he's not here, what do I do with the open bottle? It's five glasses. This means I need to either drink wine for five nights (when it's really vinegar for a few of those nights), have more than a glass over three nights to be able to drink wine that's still good, or just not drink it. I choose to not drink it because I don't want to have to drink wine every night. Before MFP, drinking wine every night was NO PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!

rubyautumn4

I wasn't a big drinker to begin with, mostly just when out with friends and so maybe a total of a bottle of wine a week - the issue was the foods I would eat with it! Once I started tracking though I didn't want to waste the calories on the alcohol and I was also more aware of the foods I was eating. I will have a glass of wine here and there, I don't drink beer or cocktails now.

justal313

Stopped? Never. Like others I have cut back. Losing this much weight has limited my ability to drink as I am now a lightweight.

If I drink I generally have a beer or glass of wine with dinner. Social drinking not so much as either my wife or I have to drive and I can be the good guy by having keys and I don't have to account for the calories.

We did a pub crawl back in June (about 50 pounds ago). I ran 6 1/2 miles for the calories so I didn't go over my now generous calorie budget but it was all for naught as I left most of my consumed calories splattered all over an alley :sick:

Besides drinking leads to overeating and bad choices so there's the reason to stop at one or maybe 2.

Lisa1971

WOW you guys are doing fantastic! Thanks for all the replies! Staying dry until my bday at the end of Feb. then dry until my vacation to St. Croix in April.

Thanks so much!