Alcohol...

Use a shot measure as its really easy to poor more then you think. A vodka and diet coke is only 56 calories ... when i am in a pub i ask them to poor a single shot into a pint glass of diet coke. it takes me a lot longer to drink it so your not feeling like your sitting with an empty glass

Hello fellow boozer :laugh: I did used to drink alot more, but have learned to tone it down quite alot! I have a drink almost everyday! Pish posh, I know it's bad, but like you, I'm not giving it up. Anyway, my food diary is set to public if you want to check it out. Most of the time I put what I'm drinking at the end of the day first thing in the morning so I know where I stand on food. I also have been working out ALOT! I must say though, if I'm not drinking alcohol, I'm only drinking water! I drink sooooo much water during the day! Then a few cups before bed.

Here is what my doctor told me...lay off beer and wine. I love good beers especially Belgium's. I like to come home from a hard day teaching high school kids and have 2-3 drinks. Scotch and water is ok, or 1 shot of vodka mixed with 1 6.75 oz. of Topo Chico Mineral Water (per drink) and a twist of fresh lime.

Did your doctor give you a reason to lay off the beer and the wine. Why is scotch or vodka better? Just curious!

When I drink I enjoy drinking darker beers which have more calories. But my default drink is a vodka tonic with lime. It's clear which means it's less calories. I also drink Mojitos again the clearer the drink the better. Of course I also drink wine, reds, whites whatever I'm in the mood for, but I just drink it all in moderation.

I enjoy everything you do! The most effective system that I've implemented has been vodka& club soda with a lime wedge. If I'm simply 'over' VCS I will alternate booze & water.

I hate to be the party pooper here, but this post opened my eyes. I used to drink alcohol within my calorie limits, but I wasn't losing weight. I knew my body was processing alcohol differently than other foods, and this post explained it all to me. Now, I still have alcohol, but I really think twice about it.

SHBoss1673 wrote this around New Year's Eve, and my further research has proved it true.

"Notes about alcohol calories. They are far worse for the body than even processed carbs or straight processed sugars are. Why? Because alcohol is processed differently from other energy sources. Essentially, in layman's terms, alcohol supplants all other energy sources, relegating carbs, fats, and proteins to secondary and tertiary sources of energy. when this happens the body still continues storing extra energy as fat. In other words all the food you ate and are processing when you introduce alcohol, instead of being burned during the course of normal activity, now becomes fat (well, not ALL of it, but a lot), and fat is far harder to burn off than ingested glucose (carbs and sugar). so in essence, by drinking, you're making it harder to work off any food you ate that day. It's not that big of a deal if this is a once or twice a month thing, but if you do it a lot, yeah, you're gonna have problems getting rid of fat. Thus the prevalence of "beer belly" for people who drink a lot of beer. That freshman 15? You guessed it, it's generally because of the alcohol, and usually not because of the "bad" food in the cafe (well, to a degree). "

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/74136-extra-calories-and-alcohol?hl=alcohol&page=2#posts-1008844

I really slow down my weight loss efforts if I drink regularly, but dang it, I'm not giving it up either! I have given up on having any alcohol on work nights (Sunday through Thursday) but on Friday and Saturday nights, I will have a few glasses of wine. Last night I had 3 measured 4 oz servings of white wine. I make a white wine spritzer with ice and lots of flavored seltzer. It hits the spot!
I truly believe that alcohol is fine in moderation. My 24 ounces of wine a week is not impeding my weight loss efforts.

I've managed to lose about a pound a week while having my daily glass of wine. It was hard at first not having more than one glass on Friday and Saturday nights. That's when I used to let my hair down and have a few (by few, I mean several). So that took some discipline, but I really don't miss it now. In fact, I feel a better sense of balance now that I treat weekend days the same as weekdays when it comes to my eating and working out. And, speaking of balance, I feel like part of that is having a glass of wine as well as a little dark chocolate every day. Those are things that give me pleasure, and while I might lose weight faster without them, there's something to be said for having some pleasure. I'm in this for the long haul, not some quick fix, so it's important to me to make changes I can live with for the rest of my life — not just to get to some arbitrary goal.

I am with you! I could probably lose 10-20 pounds easy if I gave up the wine at night and weekend drinking. I have started eating better and working out, and losing weight SLOWLY. You would think for my health and weight loss journey, I would give it up, but no. Oh well, at least I am having fun losing weight slowly because I haven't given up all my indulgences.

So I'm a college student and I know alcohol has a LOT of calories but I drink every weekend (some thursdays too). I'm nervous that this will ruin my weight loss plan but at school with friends who party and drink or a boyfriend who likes to go to the bar every weekend it's not really that easy to not drink (or to only have like 1 drink while everyone else is drunk). Plus I enjoy drinking. Beer is never a problem for me because I can't stand it. I usually drink vodka, southern comfort, or light rum. Is there any ideas for a way to make what I drink not as bad? Should I just consume less calories throughout the day to cover what I'll drink?

I am not sure what is standard where you are from but in Aus a standard shot is 25ml thats .84 oz if your drinking 1.5 oz thats actually what we would refer to as a double shot.

so 56 calories in a single shot or 104 in a double

Well, like the vast majority of people using MFP I'm in the US. So, it's actually important for most of these folks to be informed that "a (US) shot" of vodka isn't 56 calories, but really closer to twice that.

I like beer more so than a lot of people. I get that alcohol is a good way to relax after work, or when you're going to a sporting event, party, out with freinds....etc.

However, For me it comes down to priorities. Right now my priorities are to get into the best shape I can be in.

This doesn't mean i don't partake anymore. I most certainly do. However, I know that when I do I'm setting myself back a few days from reaching my fitness goals. Most of the time it's a trade off I'm not willing to make.

So, what's more important? Drinking, or reaching your fitness goals. Only you can answer that question.

So I'm a college student and I know alcohol has a LOT of calories but I drink every weekend (some thursdays too). I'm nervous that this will ruin my weight loss plan but at school with friends who party and drink or a boyfriend who likes to go to the bar every weekend it's not really that easy to not drink (or to only have like 1 drink while everyone else is drunk). Plus I enjoy drinking. Beer is never a problem for me because I can't stand it. I usually drink vodka, southern comfort, or light rum. Is there any ideas for a way to make what I drink not as bad? Should I just consume less calories throughout the day to cover what I'll drink?

I would not recommend cutting out healthy food so you can drink more. If you get into the habit, it really IS easy not to drink or to have only one or two. Sure, it's easier to drink more, so you have to decide ahead of time what your plan is and then stick to it, which will be much easier if you've eaten all your GOOD calories to feed your body and your brain.

I'd suggest ordering a drink mixed with a low- or no-calorie mixer, and drink it slowly. Then drink water after that for a couple of hours. Then order another drink if you want to, followed by more water, etc. You'll learn to appreciate not feeling impaired, and you'll feel tons better the next day than you would if you indulged.

Good luck breaking old habits and making new ones!

So, here's the thing.

Nobody needs to explain to me that they like partying, or like alcohol, or they're in college.

Trust me, I was in a fraternity for 5 years (part of the reason I was in college for 6 years was because of the drinking), AND I was captain of my rugby team in college.

and so I imagine both the US people and many of the Europeans (and some of the other countries) will understand the level of drinking involved with these two activities. And OH YES I was full bore in both. 3 to 4 nights a week drinking for about 4 years or so, it's a miracle I made it past college. I was always the anchor man in boat races, always the guy they called on when doing keg races...etc. I could handle my liquor.

So nobody can come to me and say "You just don't understand." Oh I do, I really do.

It comes down to this, you can either choose to believe that drinking "a couple of drinks a few times a week" is going to hurt your weight loss and health, or you can choose to live in denial of that fact.

It won't change the fact, I'm not going to yell at you, or preach to you or whatever defense mechanism you will use to tell yourself that the facts of drinking don't apply.

Alcohol is a drug, it's poison to your body. Just like cigarettes, just like cocaine, just like many other bad things, you can either choose to accept that, and work out a reasonable plan or you can choose to live in a quasi-denial state.

I am, BY NO MEANS, saying you need to give up alcohol. I drink sometimes, and I accept that, but I drink realizing the consequences of it. You can't "build drinking in" to your diet, that's just silliness, you CAN however, give yourself a break every couple of weeks and use alcohol moderately as a social mechanism (or what ever you want to do with it). Ease up on yourself, don't get angry if you have a night of drinking, just limit yourself.

It worries me more when people say "I can give up sweets, but not my <put your drink of choice here>". Analyze what that means, really dig in and think about it. What is the definition of the inability to stop doing a specific activity?

that's all I'll say.