Planning Around Drinking- What do YOU do?

agataarchangel

Hey Guys!

Just a general question I'm going to throw out there, as I'm wondering how others fit alcohol into their lives while trying to maintain a degree of control/health/planning etc...

I tend to shy away from carbs on days I know I'll be drinking, and generally eat lighter to avoid going MUCH over calories.

Other than fitting alcohol into your macros or overall calorie count, do you tailor your eating differently on the days you know you'll be drinking?

Don't get me wrong, sometimes you gotta just throw your cares into the wind and HAVE FUN, I just wanted to see if anyone else altered their methods or diet at all to accommodate booze days.

Caesar's TONIGHT, baby!

Brianna716

I can fit 1 mixed drink into my day by cutting out a snack... but I'm going on a date this weekend and I plan to have 2 or 3 beers, so I'll be spending some extra time at the gym before hand.

I've also learned to like Labatt 52- I can get quite a good buzz for just over 200 calories

agataarchangel

Nice!

We don't have that up here, and just started having Michelob Ultra available before the summer- I actually like it, for a "light" beer.

I don't usually have mixed drinks, but Caesars are on the menu tonight. At least they'll contain a few servings of vegetables! Hahaha.

jynxxxed

I usually eat a light breakfast/lunch and a big dinner with my first drink. I leave at least 600 calories for drinks and usually some room for snacks/whatever I happen to eat throughout the night as well. I just pre-log it in the morning so I don't go crazy on breakfast/lunch.

agataarchangel

I usually eat a light breakfast/lunch and a big dinner with my first drink. I leave at least 600 calories for drinks and usually some room for snacks/whatever I happen to eat throughout the night as well. I just pre-log it in the morning so I don't go crazy on breakfast/lunch.

That's kind of like what I'm doing today, though I tend to eat a larger breakfast or lunch, then a smaller dinner....

bokodasu

I work out a little longer and eat a little less and plan to go a little over on calories that day. Flexibility is key.

Last week went out with a girl I know from the gym and her tactic is to not eat after breakfast. This is a BAD PLAN, unless you are going out with someone who likes puke on their shoes, in which case, go for it.

jynxxxed

I usually eat a light breakfast/lunch and a big dinner with my first drink. I leave at least 600 calories for drinks and usually some room for snacks/whatever I happen to eat throughout the night as well. I just pre-log it in the morning so I don't go crazy on breakfast/lunch.

That's kind of like what I'm doing today, though I tend to eat a larger breakfast or lunch, then a smaller dinner....

Whatever works for you! I tend to feel sick if I don't eat a lot when I first begin drinking so I just plan it like that.

Schmelvie

I just try to do a reasonable job of planning in advance what the day will look like. If I'm going out to dinner or drinking, I estimate what I think that will be, and then cut some other things out earlier in the day to accommodate. If it's going to be heavy drinking, I know I'll go over, but some of the choices earlier in the day still help to buffer that.

For instance, I normally try to leave about 600 caloires left for dinner every day when I get home. Tonight, we're going out to eat, and I know I'll also have some drinks (maybe just wine). So I'm trying to save 1200 calories for the end of the day. I've even chosen my entre already for tonight. I'll still probably go over, but hopefully not by too much.

And then there are days like last Friday (if you happen to look at my diary) where the evening activities were completely spontaneous. That was not a good day for me with regard to food. I logged it and moved on. I ate less on Saturday to recoup a few of those calories.

But in general, planning ahead to buffer the extra calories is what I find works the best, and still allows me to imbibe.

gemmaleigh1989

I'll still eat my 3 main meals as per normal but ill cut out my snacks in between. I still exercise on that day, banking up more calories for me to consume and then when I do drink, I'll only drink vodka lime and sodas, they have about 70 calories each (the same as an apple!) I don't drink that often so I don't have to worry about it too much but that also means it doesn't take me much to get drunk I still try and keep to my calorie goal, or at the least I'll allow myself to go up to maintenance level. Having exercised on the day as well, that allows me a fair amount of drinks!

Edit: going out for me consists of lots of walking around and dancing as well so I don't stress about the odd night out. I know my TDEE is going to be higher than average on that day which sort of makes up for drinking :P

bee_elle

I try to go for a weekly average rather than be under EVERY DAY. So, if I know I'll be drinking or eating out one day, I'll just try to be under by 200 calories or so a few days so that I have more room.

omma_to_3

I typically will only drink on days I'm having a cheat meal. I drink very rarely now as I'd rather eat my calories than drink them.

creech6317

I try to eat something the has a lot of volume for my calories (veggie, etc) so that my stomach has something in it. Then I drink the "skinny" type mixed drinks, and have a water in between if I have more than one, so I make the drinks (and fun) last longer and don't pack as many calories as I would otherwise.
I will also work out more the day of and take an extra long walk/hike the day after, to help work off the extra calories.

KishaO

Hey Guys!

Just a general question I'm going to throw out there, as I'm wondering how others fit alcohol into their lives while trying to maintain a degree of control/health/planning etc...

I tend to shy away from carbs on days I know I'll be drinking, and generally eat lighter to avoid going MUCH over calories.

Other than fitting alcohol into your macros or overall calorie count, do you tailor your eating differently on the days you know you'll be drinking?

Don't get me wrong, sometimes you gotta just throw your cares into the wind and HAVE FUN, I just wanted to see if anyone else altered their methods or diet at all to accommodate booze days.

Caesar's TONIGHT, baby!

What I've done becaue I do not want to cut out the fun in my life becuase I am trying to lose weight - I will eat very little carbs that day becuase I know I like beer but I also drink Dirty Martini's or Ciroc Vodka with Sprite and splash of a juice so I don't want to add the "extra" carbs so eating about 15 that day helps me. I also go a about 30 minutes longer at my workouts to burn liqour off (its mental thing - I actually don't even know if I''m burning it off). I don't drink sweet drinks so that is what helps me stay at a decent point with drinking while I'm out. I live here in Texas and everyone is always trying to put a flavored magarita in my hand but I stay clear of those!! Lol

CaffeinatedConfectionist

I just try to do a reasonable job of planning in advance what the day will look like. If I'm going out to dinner or drinking, I estimate what I think that will be, and then cut some other things out earlier in the day to accommodate. If it's going to be heavy drinking, I know I'll go over, but some of the choices earlier in the day still help to buffer that.

For instance, I normally try to leave about 600 caloires left for dinner every day when I get home. Tonight, we're going out to eat, and I know I'll also have some drinks (maybe just wine). So I'm trying to save 1200 calories for the end of the day. I've even chosen my entre already for tonight. I'll still probably go over, but hopefully not by too much.

^^^ This. I know I'm going out to dinner and for drinks tonight, so I've already looked at the menu for where I'm going, decided what I want to eat, and done my best to calculate the calories by taking the average of all the similar dishes on MFP. So I've prelogged dinner and drinks (I figure 6oz of whiskey is sufficient, since my alcohol tolerance has gone waay down lately) and have calculated how much extra time it will take me to burn it all off if I work out before I go. Now that I know all that, I'm off to exercise! And then I can enjoy my evening to the full, knowing I've already earned it and won't regret it.

Santerre1984

Rasberry stoli and diet coke. One shot 60 calories.

Anthonydaman

I just make sure I have done plenty of exercise so I can enjoy some cocktails. Plan on seeing a slight raise on the scale, but don't fret it's mostly just water

Erica_theRedhead

If it's just 1 day of going out, I try to eat light the rest of the day, and fix myself food before I go out. That way I'm a little fuller, so I tend to drink less, and don't have the need to order pub food when out. If it's a nice dinner, screw it, it's just one day. Eat, drink, and be merry!

Sometimes I end up drinking multiple times per week, sports, parties, happy hours, etc. In that case I try to burn off the calories before I consume them. So on football sunday, I drag my butt out of bed in the morning and run 6 miles or more, allowing me break even on roughly 7 beers.

Sometimes, the best laid plans aren't enough and I lose track. The only thing to do after that is to drink copious amounts of water, and be on track with diet and go hard at the gym the next day.

vbutterfly12

I read recently that having one cheat day a week actually keeps your metabolism revved up and actually helps you with weight loss. I think as long as you balance it out the rest of the week.

desiv2

I don't drink very often, not even once a month. For this reason, when I do, I can be relaxed about it. I tend to stick to vodka/rum/etc. and diet soda. My problem is i'm a light weight and when I get real tipsy I eat whatever is in front of me too. lmao

olDave

I just count calories. So...it's a simple matter of allowing for the calories in the beer I drink.

spud_chick

I always leave extra room when I know we're likely to go out to dinner so I can have a drink or two then, but may skip the alcohol depending on the entree choice. We don't drink that much anymore, but on weekends when I've got the most time to exercise, it's nice to have earned the wiggle room. On emergency red wine days after/because of work, I sometimes have to make last-minute swaps that aren't great for my health but keep me from going over. Nothing makes a crummy day worse than seeing yourself in the red.

Michelob Ultra (especially Amber) is good but we also like Yuengling Light. Rolling Rock light was good but they must have stopped making it. Someone here posted a link to a good list of beers with carbs, cals and alcohol content--very useful for planning the best buzz for the caloric buck. I'll see if I can find it later and will re-post. I do recall that Mich Ultra and Yuengling Light were both relatively good options on that front.