Demon drink - what do you do about alcohol?

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Replies

  • tanyaslosingit
    tanyaslosingit Posts: 178 Member
    I've stopped drinking alcoholic beverages for the most part; but when I do indulge, I count the calories. It's weird: I used to love to drink; but as I've progressed in my weight loss campaign, I've started making different choices and alcohol has been losing out FTW :-)
  • laurenellenmarie
    laurenellenmarie Posts: 331 Member
    I just make sure I'm within my daily intake.



    ...also don't go to get breakfast/fast food/drunkchies afterward.
  • meldaniel
    meldaniel Posts: 111
    I stick to low cal drinks and I only drink 3 nights a week (this includes a glass of wine at dinner). I used to have at least a glass of wine almost every night, so this cut the drinking in half. I either have a couple glasses of dry wine or a vodka/club soda/splash of juice or lime. No more margaritas or lemon martinis til I hit my goal weight! :) I just can't be sooo restrictive and never have a drink. Where is the joy in that? I would just end up breaking my diet if I tried! :)
  • pstarrr
    pstarrr Posts: 1
    share recipe?
  • Melroxsox
    Melroxsox Posts: 1,040 Member
    Only once a week either a couple shots or glasses of wine with friends....since starting low carb....and not even that often since starting low carb...lol ...why? because my cravings have all but dissapeared! Thankyou low carb.....you have done wonders for me personally:)
    Before that...I'd tend to binge drink...I was what they would call a "weekend warrior"..it was all peaches and cream until I finally had a spark in my brain .....that said.....it REALLY made me feel incredibly dehydrated and made crave all the horrible processed foods I had tried(during the whole week) so hard and worked out so hard to get rid of. yeah..lol duh. Moderation is KEY.
  • paleirishmother
    paleirishmother Posts: 242
    If I actually have time to sit back and have a few drinks, I won't let it stop me. HOWEVER, that happens MAYBE once a month but I am not going to give up on a good time if its presented. I am a big fan of drinking and having a good time, when I can. I lost 60lbs before MFP and 11lbs in the last 3 weeks since joining, hasn't set me back yet.
  • NZhellkat
    NZhellkat Posts: 355 Member
    I drink no more than once a week and then maybe 2 or 3 if I'm drinking at all. I count the calories and up the exercise. At the moment I could take or leave it cause it's just not that important.
  • yaddayaddayadda
    yaddayaddayadda Posts: 430 Member
    Exercise more, eat less, and drink less... most of the time. It is hard, and sometimes I just go over. I'm in maintenence, so it is easier now. If I were trying to lose lots, I would probably exercise more, eat less, and NOT drink.

    My husband and I also have no drink weeks where we don't drink for a week to bring calories down...

    Its totally a numbers game. If you want to drink, the calories must come from somewhere else. Good luck!!
  • Linda_Darlene
    Linda_Darlene Posts: 453 Member
    All I can is: All of the above.
  • KWNurse
    KWNurse Posts: 45 Member
    I save up all day and workout extra if I know it will be a big drinking night. I switched to miller 64 for my daily beers and skinny girl vodka is only 75 cal for 1.5 oz and it is 60 proof. Use zero cal mixers and get lots of water in during the day... Drink up!
  • clstrange01
    clstrange01 Posts: 1
    First I changed the type of drinks I consume. For example instead of dark I drink light and I eliminate the juice which usually adds double the amount of calories. So I can have a shot of 1800 silver and that's only about 136 calories.
  • vavaral
    vavaral Posts: 5 Member
    Cut right down. One or two glasses of wine at weekend, but cut out the mixed drinks, calorie laden! I like sparkling mineral water with a slice of lime as a substitute.
  • NoxDineen
    NoxDineen Posts: 497 Member
    Drink waaaaay less often (I went from beers after work a few times a week to maybe drinking once a month), drink less booze per session, drink spirits in diet soda for minimum calories, don't use a hangover as an excuse not to work out the next day.

    Seriously, once you've gone running with a hangover you suddenly find the idea of getting super drunk way less appealing.
  • mkenz1
    mkenz1 Posts: 20
    I use this website! it's great:

    http://getdrunknotfat.com/index.php
  • trunkfish
    trunkfish Posts: 81 Member
    This is a problematic issue for me. I really enjoy alcohol, particularly beer and wine. I live right next to Wine Country in California and I love getting out and tasting some wine, particularly in Sonoma County. My problem is that I do not drink in moderation very easily. I am an aging athlete and alcohol does not mix well with recovery from my hard efforts.

    I'm hoping I've figured out the QUOTE or this won't make sense.

    Thanks for all great replies and suggestions. Like this poster I find it hard to drink in moderation, so cutting it out for good could be my best bet. I get that it's harder to recover from when you get older, but if you've developed a tolerance, like me, you can still knock is back and function fully the next day. That's part of the problem, so I'm going to focus on my exercise and hopefully start to lose weight, feel better, look better and SLEEP better.
  • WickedBean
    WickedBean Posts: 244 Member
    I open mouth and consume demons.

    I do this too...mmm I love demons.
  • trunkfish
    trunkfish Posts: 81 Member
    Figured out QUOTE above..... Brain really firing on all 4 cylinders now....:happy:
  • marvelscale
    marvelscale Posts: 135
    I save a little beforehand and just drink a little whenever I decide to... but I tend to get headaches so I don't really drink much or often.
  • microburst20
    microburst20 Posts: 130
    I save some calories all week if I think I might want to have drinks on a weekend evening. Since I already measure food portions it was easy to measure alcohol for drinks. 2 ounces of liquour is a quarter cup and apprx. 160 calories. I mix it with diet soda. I also save some of that days calories for healthy snacks to go with- such as baked corn tortillias-(not chips) and salsa or airpopped popcorn. Then eat, drink, and be merry commences with no regrets the next day. I dont think I could stick to healthy eating long term if I couldnt have some drinks when I wanted. I have cut down on the amount and how often. It just seemed to happen naturally when I started holding myself accountable for what I consume.
  • katiefly86
    katiefly86 Posts: 74
    I'm very new to this, and wondered the same thing. What I did was not eat when I went out, b/c I love to eat and drink, and I drank liqueur instead of beer. Next time, though, I will have vodka n' sprite zero instead of vodka n' sprite, lol!!!
  • Klaks
    Klaks Posts: 37 Member
    I probably should give it up but i can't. At least I only drink, like, once a week and not very much! :explode:
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    <Backs out quietly>
  • Aleluya17
    Aleluya17 Posts: 205 Member
    1-2 drinks a week max for me, and if I want it bad enough i'll budget my calories for it. I found most of the time I want the calories more haha!
  • ccadroz93
    ccadroz93 Posts: 136 Member
    I count the calories for wine.
    If I drink spirits I mix with club soda
    I make sure I don't eat crap while drinking. :smile:

    Back when I did drink I never ate either because the food would take up alcohol room!! LOL :drinker:
    I probably didn't add too many calories either cuz I drank it straight from the bottle-why dirty a glass or water it down? Made sense to me at the time......27 years later it still makes sense! :bigsmile:
  • bazfitness
    bazfitness Posts: 275 Member
    Appropiate topic for me this morning as I have a pretty bad hangover - truth of the matter is I'm an all or nothing person - I don't do moderation in anything I do. I got a friend's stag party and wedding and another holiday coming up over the next 3 weeks. When I'm done with that I think I will give up alcohol for good! I gave it up for 18 months before and made the mistake of opening the door to it again.
  • sheen8r
    sheen8r Posts: 16
    This is such a great forum. I also have struggled with moderation in the last year, even though I have been exercising more and more. I've done long runs with a hangover and blown my calorie intake on red wine. Now that I'm on mfp, I can see how much drinking tips the calorie scale and then provides NOTHING nutritionally, so even if you're saving the calories, you're missing out on valuable nutrients.

    Anyone want to try 15 days, no alcohol?
  • annahuebscher
    annahuebscher Posts: 114
    I made a deal with a friend that we wouldn't drink for 90 days, and it's been two weeks and I'm still alive....I miss the taste of a cold, cold beer, especially after a run....
    I think there is room in a sensible diet plan for alcohol once or twice a week, just be smart and make it a reward...go for a long run or swim and make sure you've worked it off before you put it in your face.
  • monicalosesweight
    monicalosesweight Posts: 1,173 Member
    Hmm. I don't know what I'll do. I have several bottles of a Muscadine wine from Gatlinburg Tennessee that I'd hate to toss. I guess I'll leave them for the Christmas holidays and I'll have to share with the family. :cry:
  • greyhoundbloke
    greyhoundbloke Posts: 10
    I take it out of my calorie allowance for the day + exercise calories. 1 pint of beer/lager/cider = roughly 200 calories. Not eating peanuts, crisps, tapas and a kebab/burger with chips afterwards probably has more of an impact for me.
  • WillowBreeze
    WillowBreeze Posts: 102
    I make sure that I only drink once a week, and eat less during the day so that when I budget in those alcoholic calories I still stay at a somewhat decent intake. I also make sure I get out and do something active during the day or do lots of dancing while out so that I burn up some of those calories. Drinking is like a splurge meal for me- when I drink it's usually 4 or 5 but they are always captain with diet coke so that they're lower in calories and don't do as much damage :tongue:

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