Cutting out alcohol

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  • angelic1123
    angelic1123 Posts: 45
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    I loveee booze. Jillian micheals says 2 drinks a week......but i cant do that. Sooo for chasers I do crystal light zero calories. Also check out skinny girl drinks. But I love dark booze so i'm screwed, nothings good for you. Just stop or cut it out but I don't have that strong will...yet
  • Lumen1505
    Lumen1505 Posts: 77 Member
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    I only drink if I'm out now (which isnt that often) I get hungover really easily so for me its not so much the alcohol calories as opposed to the awful hangover binges the next day ! - I 'allow' myself a day off from logging the next day and then start afresh :-)
  • LillyBoots
    LillyBoots Posts: 114 Member
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    I've noticed recently that I have been doing well in the week and then ruining it all by going out on the weekends and just completely not thinking. I'm a student in London so drinking is a pretty regular thing but I think it is hindering my results so I'm considering going teetotal.
    I was just wondering if anyone else has abstained from alcohol? If so have you felt the benefits?/ Have you found anything you really enjoy to replace it whilst out?

    Drinking tonic water is a good way to start, it tricks your brain into thinking you are drinking alcohol. I understand the peer pressure, I work as a DJ, my drinks are free and it's expected that I drink, I got a lot of crap from my bartenders....
  • EDesq
    EDesq Posts: 1,527 Member
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    Almost everyone does or did this. It's called "let me reward Myself for being good" syndrome. But in actuality it is Punishment. Reality, people really do not know how to Love themselves, we have grown to believe or have been taught that to Love ourselves is to INDULGE our every desire. Actually it is almost the opposite, but psychologically we are into this syndrome, and NOW we have to fight to get out.

    One thing I did/do is weigh Myself on Monday instead of Friday or Saturday. If you notice, most people, especially on here weigh in on Friday...so they can "Celebrate" the weekend and have time to make up their failures.Yes, giving up/reducing alcohol will help some, but finding different ways to reward yourself is better and more sustaining. I did what you are doing for 10 yrs and became obese and wondered why, in the process I messed up My metabolism, and was nowhere near as successful career-wise as I could have been...I finally realized that it took Me 4 days to get real clarity after drinking alcohol, in the mean time I was sluggish and dragging around the office - just above avg, and when I did get clarity it was "party" time again...a VICIOUS cycle!

    Hope you get off the roller coaster and don't waste 10+ yrs.

    ETA: If you can not be happy or LOL or have a good time without alcohol...that's NOT alcohol's fault, that's wrapped up in you. If you are not borderline alcoholic or alcoholic, you don't need a "substitute" for a mind altering drug (alcohol), just Live Well. If you NEED alcohol, then you are IN deeper than you thought, and it is time to just put it on the bar and back away slowly!
  • Kalielspinner
    Kalielspinner Posts: 13
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    If you have time take a glance at my blog... I cut it (wine, beer) in January. I did it for economic reasons -life's full of trade-offs and trainers cost money. I dropped weight (I had been spinning 2-3 times a week for 2yrs) ...I made other changes as well but the biggy was alcohol.
  • EdTheGinge
    EdTheGinge Posts: 1,616 Member
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    I cut it out completely for the first 5months, in which time I lost the 70lbs I set out to lose and I found that it did have a positive impact as we all know that alcohol is wasted calories and bloats your stomach.

    Since January I have drank, but in 4 1/2months it's probably only been on 4 or 5 occasions.
  • MissFitRocker
    MissFitRocker Posts: 5
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    I think it's okay to enjoy a little here and there. But, then again...drinking the night before doesn't sit well with AM workouts. It's all about priorities :).
  • susiepet
    susiepet Posts: 68
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    I started cutting down in January this year - previously I had at least one or two glasses of wine a day at home - it just became a habit - six o'clock arrived and I had a drink and a snack.
    I counted it in my calories - but I wasn't losing weight.
    I was helped by the fact that I went off the taste of white wine (my tipple of choice) and found myself - farcically - ordering rose wine in a pub because I disliked that less but had to have a drink when with friends.
    So - I found a substitute - 0.5% lager - which is as close as I could get to zero and like the taste - as my six o'clock marker - and now I do that instead. I think it's helped that I've only changed one bit of my routine, rather than cut it all out, as I've hardly veered from that since.

    Having said that, I'm not trying to give up, so I don't beat myself up if I go out and have a couple of drinks, or, as I did on holiday, drink every day for a week. I do find I'm thinking "phew, back to no alcohol tomorrow" though so I might cut back further in time.

    The benefits
    I've lost 5% body fat and the same in weight (got measured at the gym).
    My head is clearer and I don't eat c**p food because of - even though you can't really feel it - a bit of a hangover the next day.
    I can work harder at the gym.
    Much cheaper shopping bills! I reckon I spent a fiver a day on wine - now it's £1.20 for the beer. I really noticed this the other day when I went shopping for a dinner party and the wine was more than half the bill.
    I reckon I've had wine on about maybe 15 days out of the last 90 - which includes the week when I drank daily. Excluding that it's averaging less than once a week. I don't beat myself up about it as I'm cutting down, not out.

    The downside
    None so far - although I'm aware that drinking socially is still a BIG challenge for me. I'm back on holiday in two weeks which will be interesting as it's at the same place with the same boozy friends....

    GIve it a go and see where you get!

    Sue
  • Joehenny
    Joehenny Posts: 1,222 Member
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    It's a poison and it ****s up protein synthesis. Of course though, you can still see great results being a casual to moderate drinker.
  • StArBeLLa87
    StArBeLLa87 Posts: 1,582 Member
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    I only drink 2 days a week max sometimes not at all ht being said not a big drinker to begin with !

    I just stay in my calorie daily goal without any problem and if I do go over Id just exercise a lil extra the next day to make up for it lol
  • clairabellle
    clairabellle Posts: 332 Member
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    What a timely question: was only saying this same thing earlier on to my partner. Great advice and some I'm def going to take on board. I am the quintessential only going to have one wine a day (while making dinner) BUT it never stays that way! I'm going cold turkey from now as I'm serious about my journey to a better more fab body.
    Thanks everyone, you have helped immensely. ;-)

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