College Students? Drinking?

missxlaur

Hi everyone!

I was wondering if there were any college students that could help me with tips or techniques to staying within your allotted calories per day when you're drinking, or in finding the strength to just say no to drinks when all your friends are out drinking. I feel like it's hard for me not to want to drink with my friends when they all go out, but I really want to lose this weight. Also when I drink I tend to eat, which also blows my calories for the day.

Help?

Thanks!
Lauren

RedneckWmn

Okay I'm not in college but I use to have this same problem. It's hard!! The first thing I did was force myself to not eat after the bars. Everyone was to snack on food while their at the bar and hit up Taco Bell or something on the way home. They go hand in hand right? When I know I'm going to be drinking I try to eat less during the day. Or lower calorie items that are still going to fill me up. I used to drink Bud Light but have switched to Budweiser select 55. That cuts down on your calories big time! Or try coke zero and some type of rum or vodka maybe. Depending on which you prefer. The best thing you can do is cut out the food. Throw in extra workouts if you know you will be drinking a lot. And drinks lots and lots and lots of water to flush it all out!

kellykat

When I know I'm going to be drinking I try to guestimate how much and what I will be drinking so that I can build it into my calories. I've been drinking 55 calorie Bud Light or rum & diet coke's and staying away from mixed drinks that are super yummy. If you know you eat when you drink, plan that as well. Also, if you can, workout to try and earn a few extra calories to give yourself more of a buffer. Hope that helps.

ceciliam23

I'm not in college anymore, but on nights I'm going out with friends, I make sure to get a good long cardio workout that day. That gives me an extra 300 or so calories to drink later that night.

RedneckWmn

Yes definitely stay away from the fruity mixed drinks. One of two of those are more calories then you should have in a day!

christinagriffith

Try, Bud Select 55 they are only 55 calories... just remember that while they are drinking and expanding their waistlines the goal that you have in mind. I know it might sound lame but being your friends DD while you are on this journey is a very noble thing to do. You will learn that you can have just as much fun without drinking and will see your GW in no time!

bukozki

I am in college right now, but I usually drink alone. That doesn't help, but it saves money.

Just do cardio, or cut out some of your other calories. Skip on the meat portions and maybe do a protein supplement. I like the Muscle Milk 100 Calories, 15g of protein and... you guessed it, 100 calories. Then again my daily caloric limit is probably baseline 500 more than yours, add in an 800 calorie run and you can see how I fit beer in.

missxlaur

Thanks everyone for your input! Knowing you've all been there and have different tricks is really going to help me next time I go out.

Does Bud Select 55 or whatever it's called actually taste ok?

missxlaur

Then again my daily caloric limit is probably baseline 500 more than yours, add in an 800 calorie run and you can see how I fit beer in.

haha correct

badgers1089

Avoid the "drunk munchies" like the plague. We all know how tempting it is to eat everything in sight when you're drunk, but do everything you can to avoid doing so. Also, HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE! Alcohol is a diuretic. If you stay hydrated and don't go too overboard with your drinking, that will keep you from becoming dehydrated and retaining water. Honestly, I have a few glasses of water and a multivitamin at night before I go to bed after a night of drinking and dancing, and I almost always lose at least a pound in the morning! It's surely just water weight that's disappearing but a smaller number always makes me happy I went out many times during my freshman year of college but kept up with my exercise and good eating habits and I still lost 30 pounds, so don't worry; you don't have to completely cut fun out of your life to still lose weight.

Also, it's proven that it is good to shift your calorie counts around every once in awhile. It's OKAY to have a bad day as long as those bad days are spaced far enough apart. It keeps your metabolism active and guessing. When it gets used to the same number of calorie all the time, it will eventually slow down.

I am NOT suggesting you use partying as a diet tool, just trying to give you some tips to lessen the negative effects you often experience

RedneckWmn

It depends what you normally drink. Like I said I used to drink Bud Light and that was all I would drink. It tastes good to me now and Bud Light now seems "heavy" to me. I prefer it over MGD 64. But if you were a miller drink MGD 64 you would like better.

bukozki

I wouldn't touch any of those aforementioned beers.

My advice: get a beer with higher alcohol. A craft beer is worth it no matter what your goals are. If you're just drinking to be there and social, then drink something that tastes good instead of high calorie water. If you're drinking to get drunk, then remember that your average light beer is coming in at about 4.2... those extreme low calorie beers are even lower. MGD 64 is 2.8% alcohol at 64 calories. Bud Select 55 is 2.4%. Their respective light brews, Miller Light (4.2% and 96 cal) and Bud Light (4.1% and 110 cal)... all they really did is cut the alcohol in half to give you a vaguely beer flavored bottle of water.

I would suggest getting a higher ABV beer like... umm... Delerium Tremens which comes in at 8.2% and 185 Calories. Generally speaking, regardless of what beer you drink you're usually going to get calories proportionate to the percentage of alcohol in the drink, usually somewhere in the neighborhood of 22 calories percent alcohol. So I guess the real question is... how much do you like to pee?