Social life & MFP?

LGrill27

I posted this in motivation thread and thought I would post here since most of us are trying to have some sort of social life.

How do you handle MFP and your social time if you’re a drinker? Weddings, concerts, sporting events, out with friends etc. I’m sure we have all been there, but with me it happens almost every weekend. Monday thru Thursday I have my routine down which I do great. I’m up at 6am for work at the gym by 4pm, no issues and never deviate from my routine. Friday = 50/50 chance for happy hr. with co-workers & Saturday = out with friends most the day. No plans usually go with the flow ending up at some sports bar. (I have no family and hate sitting home bored) Last Saturday I didn’t even track the amount of BBQ wings liquor consumed. With Superbowl this Sunday I think I’m going to have a repeat of last weekend! Do you cheat tracking your points? skip the day? Actually track you had about 40 wings/3 bags of chips & countless beers/shots? Sounds like I need new friends!

will010574

I dont really care if I go over....I know weekends are going to be garbage food and drinks for the most part. I just add extra exercise to try and equal it out. If I go out on a Friday night, Ill run 6-7 miles on Saturday...one it sweats the poison out, two it gets any unwanted guests out of my house early and three it makes me feel better about my splurge.

My advice add a few exercises and another gym/cardio day to your routine and it will help balance out the weekends.

poncho33

Also don't care if I go over, I think of MFP as making sure I don't go 500 calories over everyday. But I don't feel bad for grabbing some beers or having a good time while watching the super bowl.

MissingMinnesota

I try log everything and even it out for the week. When drinking I usually have one drink than water than another drink and so on. Even at a sports bar I usually eat something half way healthy as in not fried.

RunIntheMud

I've been really bad about tracking the last week, but normally I track everything. I've lost friends because of what I eat. I eat healthy most days, but I don't restrict my diet. If I do, then I end up binging. I also drink when I want. And, I drink what tastes good, not what has the least amount of calories.

I do my best to fit the day-to-day into my macros. For nights that I know I'm going to drink, I try to have a salad for lunch, something filling for dinner, but then I drink and eat what I want....if I go over, I go over....it happens. My overage days are few and far between. And, when it happens, I don't kick myself for it.

Also, no cheat day...everything in moderation.

RosscoBoscko

I usually go to gym on way home from work Friday (about 500 cals) and play rugby on Sat (approx 1000 cals) so use these to counter balance at least some of the drinking if decide to drink. generally I don't eat much on a Saturday, don't like eating straight after playing and then am running the bar all night. Am going to start trying to do a 10k most Sundays as well so like Will has said hopefully this will have added effect of clearing out toxins from anything I have drunk and giving me some bonus calories in reserve.

If i'm drinking and end up having late night munchies, try to snack on something okish but don't always succeed!!

AnnaPixie

I'm a social drinker too, and it certainly jeopardises my weight loss However, when I'm consciously trying to lose weight, I practice damage limitation by:

1. Exercising on the day/s I'm going to drink
2. Eat sensibly - no more drunken KFCs (or BBQ wings!!!!) after pub closing - I have a cooked chicken at home with salad
3. Call it a cheat day!
4. Mainline water the next day so I dont indulge my carb attacks!

Also, I only tend to go out once a fortnight when I'm losing weight, but I know this is hard when you're single and bored :sad:

Good luck, it aint easy! :flowerforyou:

tallieterp

I have really cut back on my drinking when I started this whole tracking food etc.... stick to a glass of wine, one cocktail or a couple beers at max...

I realized when I drank I was so dehydrated the next day and retained water so badly that it took 2-3 days to get back on track... Wasn't really worth it... I save my splurges for when I vacation or go to see out of town friends...

I've gotten to really enjoy quieter weekends with an occasional dinner worked in here and there... I have friends over occasionally and I can control more what types of foods are around etc... I don't miss having a crazy social life honestly... I feel a lot better when I'm on my routine, even on weekends...

kls13la

I try to track everything, but don't always meet that goal, especially on the weekends. During the week I do okay, but on weekends I eat out a lot and drink alcohol. I'm also not a big believer in restricting my diet unduly. If I'm at a great restaurant, I would not just order grilled chicken and veggies. No way. I want to enjoy my night out at the great restaurant and drink my wine and get dessert. That said, I do my best to estimate and track. Usually I do it the next day and just try to remember everything I ate to the best of my ability. It's mostly a problem on days where a lot of grazing occurs -- like Superbowl Sunday will be. I likely won't even try to track or worry about the food, but I will log the booze.

Doing this helps me keep it in perspective. If I go over by 1,000 calories on Saturday and Sunday, then I know to cut back more during the week. It helps me mentally to see the red when I am reviewing my week. It also encourages me to work out more. Also, sometimes I'm surprised to find out that I'm not over by as much as I think I am. (Assuming my estimates are fairly accurate, and I do try to overestimate.)

So yeah, I would log the 40 chicken wings. And the bottle of wine. And the six beers. :drinker:

liz827

I'm the same way. Weekdays are fine and Fri/Sat nights are usually when I do have the beer or wine or the not so good for you food. I've been trying to be good but we all have our off days! I do try to log it all, even if I am over.

SVCat

I've been wroking out for the past four years and have steadily improved my weight loss by diminishing my alcohol intake and increasing my water consumption.

This year, as of 1/2, I have gone alcohol free. Am doing it to see how alcohol affects me. So far I've dropped 4% BF and am seeing some definition that before I hadn't achieved. I'll continue being dry for about three more months and see where that gets me.

As for logging my cheat food, I behave 6 days a week and allow myself one cheat day. On that cheat day, I eat whatever I want, however much I want....I don't log. I am still averaging 3lb weight loss a week.

lacroyx

I work nights including the weekends. I get Mon & Tues off which I spend my mornings @ the gym. It's really nice with few people around hogging equipment and weights. In some ways this keeps me in check since I am unable to go out with friends on Fri-Sun and do all that drinking and eating. I could be bad, but I enjoy having company when I do. Since my friends work typical Mon-Fri jobs, they can't stay out late during the week, so I don't go out to eat and drink much. I do have my pizza and beer, once every other week. I don't restrict myself from anything besides soda pop. Haven't had any since Dec 2009. Don't miss it either.

christine24t

I dont really care if I go over....I know weekends are going to be garbage food and drinks for the most part. I just add extra exercise to try and equal it out. If I go out on a Friday night, Ill run 6-7 miles on Saturday...one it sweats the poison out, two it gets any unwanted guests out of my house early and three it makes me feel better about my splurge.

My advice add a few exercises and another gym/cardio day to your routine and it will help balance out the weekends.

Will, is it weird that I thought "get unwanted guests out of the house" was a euphuism for a bowel movement? I don't know what I'm thinking!