Do you count alcohol in your calorie goal?

I've given up alcohol as there's too many empty calories, I've found in the past that I notice the loss more when I haven't been drinking. This is an extreme measure, but hey it works for me. For 5weeks I've drank purely water.

Log the calories, and cut down on the beer habit.
Switch to light beer, and have less. Or do what i did and just switch from beer to Gin. :drinker:

Seriously????

I had the exact same reaction. I am hoping this is a joke

Calories are calories are calories. But getting only 800 kcal from food isn't sustainable. Up your workout calories and cut your beer calories. It really ain't rocket science

Not everyone is prepared to give up alcohol altogether. I personally plan my calories (in and out) so I can have a nice drink or two over the weekend. Denying yourself things you enjoy altogether will come back to bite you.

Moderation and balance is the key to long-term success.

Best of luck! :flowerforyou:

Sorry but you have your issue all wrong!
You are simply drinking too much and eating too little.

Make alcohol "special" rather than normal would be my advice.

Increase yourativity AND decrease your alcohol consumption I know that sucks but unless you are willing to burn th extra cal daily, i's a must.

I count them ....... it would be pointless not to. I try to make sure I have enough exercise calories to cover the booze

I don't see why you shouldn't. Would you say that a muffin is 400 calories but if you counted it you would have to starve? When you want to lose weight you have to be honest with yourself. Alcohol is second only to fat when it comes to calories.

How difficult is it to drink water instead of beer?

How difficult is it to drink water instead of beer?

Not hard as such, unless someone has a real problem, just boring sometimes!! I think we need to be realistic that drinking is part of some people's lifestyle and there is nothing wrong bout that, just trying to manage it so you can still manage your health and also enjoy yourself!

edit: totally agree yksdoris, drink really impairs self control sometimes, I don't know how much is habitual (the nuts are just THERE, and it is the done thing to get a kebab on the way home, no?? heh) and how much is that drink makes you want to eat but that can be a danger to watch out for!
xxxx

i drink alcohol once or twice a week. usually i drink over 500 kcal. and then when i wake up-i log everything. and then i think, damn it, this would be a good piece of chocolate cake that i haven't had in weeks.

Of course I count it - I have tried to cut down, and make do with maybe a glass of wine with my meal in the evening occasionally, but I still make sure I count it!

You definitely have to count it........you would definitely benefit from not drinking that everyday though. Your body burns off the alcohol before it burns off fat. I used to drink A LOT of wine - mostly at the weekend. I exercised so I could have it in my diet, was under cals most days, but not losing any weight. I have now stopped drinking temporarily (about 3 weeks) to try to kick start the weight loss and also to get out of the habit. I am drinking 2-4 litres of water per day, eating 1400 cals plus some exercise cals if I need to and since Monday last week I have lost 4lbs! This was all on the advice of a personal trainer.

Hi. I stopped drinking beer the day I joined this site a few weeks ago and believe it or not I don't miss it at all. When my husband is having a few beers I have a couple of vodkas with soda or a diet drink instead. I save many calories in this manner. I know that spirites are not good for the liver but I don't drink that much of them. I never thought that I would give up beer as I absolutely loved it but when I realised the "empty calories" I was consuming I realised that something had to give. I had always known that beer was high in calories but it wasn't until I joined this site that I realised what a waste of calories it is. You must count those calories because you won't lose weight otherwise. Best of luck.

1/3 of your daily caloric intake in beer?

Just what I was thinking. :noway:

Not a dumb question at all. I think a lot of people wonder about this, so I'm glad the question was asked. One of the easiest ways to cut back and drop extra weight is to stop drinking your calories. It's not just alcoholic drinks, but also juice, pop, coffee drinks, etc. Did you know that some Starbucks drinks have like 700+ calories?

When I started learning about calories and nutrition, I was like "hell no am I gonna waste 300+ calories on a beer!" But it wasn't that important to me, so it wasn't a big deal to drop it. But as others have said, you also need to have a life and socialize with friends. So if having a couple of beers on Friday night is your ritual, go for it, but plan around it by making sure the rest of your day is healthy and active. Don't waste calories on chips for lunch if you know you'll be having a couple of drinks later that night! lol

Looks like you're pretty small already, so it might even be that you could reach your goals by concentrating on a maintenance calorie goal and doing focused weight training. 1200 is pretty low, so just double check that is right for you.

yes you count it!! I drink wine and always count it, it accounts for alot of calories .....empty calories :frown: