Hi all

amberxy
amberxy Posts: 35 Member
Hi No Winers! I'm new to the group.

Alcohol is a detrimental part of my life and I'm giving it my best go to cut back. I am a binge drinker. I can go Monday to Friday without the stuff, but come Friday night it's ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT! I binge, I eat crap, feel awful the next day, eat more crap, etc.

I had done well this month; went without alcohol completely until last night, when 'just one glass' turned into almost two bottles and several thousand calories of crap food (all logged - I'm not running away from this)

The scariest thing at the moment is the cravings. I NEVER experienced alcohol cravings until I made a conscious decision to not drink in April. It is akin to when I quit smoking years back; didn't have cravings and could 'stop anytime', until I actually tried to quit and the cravings hit like a ton of bricks.

My kryptonite is wine. I can take or leave beer and spirits.

I am determined to nip my drinking in the bud before it becomes a bigger problem. My mum is a relapsing alcoholic, and while I love her, I DO NOT want to be where she is health wise by the time I'm her age.

I tend to lurk in the forums but I will make an effort to post regularly. Thanks for reading :)

Replies

  • Liz71459
    Liz71459 Posts: 15 Member
    I just joined this support group because I have decided to try and stop drinking wine temporarily so I can loose weight. I just cannot get the weight off while drinking. It's all or nothing for me. 1 glass will not do it, and neither will weekends only. I eat healthy all day then I drink about 3 glasses of wine during the course of the night (which I love and look forward to) and sure enough the will power not to eat goes out the window. I feel awful about my weight and can't stand it any longer. I know it will be tough but I am hoping to get some and give some support here, but I notice there aren't many recent posts. Where is everyone? Not drinking I hope. : )
  • deelydog
    deelydog Posts: 8 Member
    Hi there,

    I'm similar to you liz....but just recently tried to cut back. It's hard because I love wine!
    I eat healthy and workout 4 x week but find it hard to shed even a LB...SO I figured that cutting back is the only way.
    I'm happy to give and take whatever support is required so feel free to add me.
  • Liz71459
    Liz71459 Posts: 15 Member
    Hi deelydog

    How are you doing with cutting back on wine. Is it working out?
  • LadyMud17
    LadyMud17 Posts: 193 Member
    hello,,
    I totally understand the cravings. I am working on that right now. I need to lose the weight ( a good 15 to 20 lbs) and I know it is my wine and gin that is the problem. I am a workout fiend, I love veg, but I also love wine, esp the stress relief part of it. I am here if you need me, I am far from perfect, but I am trying
    Sarah O
  • saragus77
    saragus77 Posts: 1 Member
    Hi all from me too! I am so glad I found this group right now, I find it really hard to give up "MY TIME" once the kids are asleep. I eat and exercise very well (sometimes running 6 miles a day)...but at 8pm when all is quiet...pop swish drink. I do more damage in 2 hours than I did all day long. Along with the wine is the cheese and crackers that come out at 9pm. It's an awful habit and a hard one to break. Plus I am now 36 and, while I never had a weight problem in the past, I am now seeing my metabolism slow down at a rapid pace. ARGH! I will confess to actually eating LESS calories in the day so that I could still drink the rest at night. (1200 calories total, 600 of them food) TOTALLY dumb and I knew it.

    I have tried "no wine in the week", but along comes Friday (which is TECHNICALLY not the week...excuse #1). Then my husband makes me margaritas on Sunday (because it's TECHNICALLY still the weekend and hey, the sun is out....excuse #2)

    I am going clean and sober living as long as possible until this habit is kicked. The thing that has worked so far when I do make the effort is making tea right before my kids are in bed. THen it steeps while tucking them in and is ready when I am ready for my ME time. This way I can avoid our bar.

    Looking forward to some other tips...or confessions...to help me through this time. Thanks! Sara
  • Ghengis65
    Ghengis65 Posts: 7
    Hi All,

    I have the same problems as some of you, wine = "me time" at the end of the day. I know that if I don't have wine in the evening I will sleep better and wake refreshed, but when 7.30pm rolls around I reach for the corkscrew.

    I have just started the 5:2 fast diet and the plan is to abstain from wine on my fasting days (today and Monday). So, no wine tonight and none on the wine rack just in case! Great to have this group to help me stay strong.
  • Ghengis65
    Ghengis65 Posts: 7
    Well I completed my first fast day on the 5:2 diet and had no alcohol - hooray! Only one day but it's a start and I am very pleased with myself. I slept so much better and felt more awake this morning. And a little smug!
  • NYCbaby28
    NYCbaby28 Posts: 12
    Hi everyone! I have been on MFP off and on for a few years but haven't posted in a while. I began exercising and eating better in my 30's when I realized simply eating low-carb will no longer bring on the magical 20-lb weight loss in one month as it did when I was 20-something. Although my body has responded well to JM workouts and Insanity (I'm more toned, energetic and "feel" smaller), I continue to lose then re-gain the same darn 5 lbs every week since the start of this year. SOOOO depressing as I'd like to lose 30 lbs total (I'm only 5'1, busty and carry it well but trust me, I have that much to lose). It's GOT to be the alcohol that's impeding my weight loss...

    I love love love alcohol in any form, especially good craft beers and fine wine. But holy crap, someone here posted that one pint of craft beer can yield up to 650 calories!!! That made me take a 2nd look at my lifestyle. I hardly ever eat junk/fast food and for the most part eat well; love salads and consume good proteins. I never eat excessively; my family and loved ones joke about what a "cheap date" I've always been my whole life...until you take me drinking!! Lolz. I don't even eat before/during/after I drink. Anyhoo, after reading many inspiring posts, I decided to do a little "experiment" and not drink AT ALL for a while. I'm a Scorpio and we just don't do moderation--everything in excess...hahaha. So today is 7 days sober (began after a month of vacationing and LOTS of boozin') and doing okay, save a few withdrawal headaches and some fits of snappish crankiness which I'm sure are attributed to not drinking. My bf and I even went to our favorite local pub/restaurant on Saturday and I was nervous heading over there. Still, I managed a pint of seltzer with lots of ice and slice of lime while watching him enjoy a couple of good pints...and I was FINE! He's been extremely supportive; I had to "force" him to order a beer. Others around me don't have to suffer just because I'm a hot mess and can't stop at two...

    To be clear, I don't drink every night but may have some wine/beer during the week with my boyfriend while watching a movie...let's say maybe once/twice per week, a few (2-3) per night. But it's the weekends when I binge and there's no stopping me. I enjoy vodka with club soda when I'm doing low-carb, but again, even drinking this along with exercise seems to be stalling my weight loss, whereas 10 years ago it went well with my Atkins plan and I lost like I never drank at all...

    Sorry for the long-winded bio but I've been tinkering with posting for some time, just to get it out there and hold myself accountable since it's in print! I will try to continue my newfound sobriety at least until a big weekend, June 21st-23rd, and plan on beginning again after that. It's Monday so the rest of the week will be "cake" since my bf and I are training for a run and had already vowed to not drink during the week. The toga party on Friday will be challenging, however! Please feel free to reply with any encouragement or war stories, but since this topic is "old" I may only get crickets...lol. Good luck to each and all! :flowerforyou:
  • jmelindy
    jmelindy Posts: 34 Member
    Checking in after many months gone!
    I finally did stop drinking wine months ago..after a 5 year nightly habit.
    It took a few false starts, just like when I quit smokling years ago. but I am now offically "off the wine"
    HOWEVER.. a few weeks after I stopped drinking wine, and of course just when my weifght was starting to go down again,
    I popped a cold beer... well that was it again!
    And I have never really liked beer!
    Then for many months I would have a tallboy Tuborg every night, to relax of course.. and like wine, made it so hard not to nibble...
    there went my weight loss again
    BUT I told myself, so much less calories and alcohol than wine, its ok.
    Well 4 weeks ago I started logging my food and doing FP properly again, and after the first week I stopped buying beer and hey, guess what?
    I have lost 5lbs in the 3 weeks since then, Thats HUGE for me, that most I have ever lost in that period of time, and I am not hungry.
    I think the evening alcohol also made me hungry the next day..
    anyways 3 weeks no alcohol and i don't care. I have a bottle of cold water at night for TV and I am happy...
    especially when I get on the scale.
    EVERYONE CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!

    :happy:
  • GoGretel
    GoGretel Posts: 2 Member
    Hello. I'm new to the MFP groups (but not MFP). This group encouraged me to try them, because this is exactly what I struggle with. I eat quite healthily, exercise pretty much every day, but I do love my nightly glass(es) of wine. I want to try to limit myself to only having drinks 2 or 3 eves a week and would love to get/give support from other people who understand how hard this can be - AND how hard it can be on the waistline. I'm 39 and finishing my ph.d. this summer. Just coming out of a year on a writing fellowship, which was an amazing gift, but a lot of the external things (schedules, alarm clocks) that kept me from overdoing it haven't been there. Anyway...I'm not sure how to get the most out of this sort of thing.
  • New member, and I am like you Amber, except I am a menopausal women, like your mother, and the craving on weekends and junk food!!!! OMG I hope this site will help me realize what I am doing to my body and brain.....
  • it can and will be done... try teas also