Alcohol & losing weight

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I started a thread a little while back regarding alcohol. I LOVE to have drinks with my gfs......go out and get silly and rowdy :-P. The reality for me is ,on a typical day, I can really take it or leave it (booze). However, I dig the buzz I get from having a few brews. Truthfully, without that, I would really choose to forgo the liquor calories entirely. That 'groovy' buzz leaves a pretty nasty wake of carb craving, and as a previous poster alluded to- I'm just not quite right for a few days afterwards. It totally buggers up my eating/exercise regime. So for me, I choose not to 'drink' my calories on the average day. I would much rather eat my calories. And because it has such a detrimental affect on my overall progress (admittedly due to excess) I choose to put it in a category with other fatty/salty/yummy foods. So ultimately, it's not the face value calories that impede my progress- but indeed the aftermath. As such, I will save it for the odd occasion and thusly preserve my ability to make good dietary choices while getting my workouts in.

LOL Good Question! I can do really good all day but then I drink a couple drinks and there go all the calories...

It is much easier to lose weight if you don't drink

Perhaps you meant "It is much easier to lose weight if I don't drink"??? It would not be easier for me because I would feel deprived.

drinking alcohol consumes a lot of calories that can be used for food instead. If you mean only one or two drinks then that is different.

Most days it's one or two (usually two) but some days it might be 2 bottles of wine or several beers. It's no different than eating candy or junk food while losing weight. An entire bottle of wine has about the same calories as a Big Mac. I'd rather have the wine. But cutting alcohol out without a medical need would lead to diet failure for me.

*shrug* whatever works for you, most people don't NEED the drink though.

What does NEED have to do with anything? I don't NEED to drink alcohol either. I like to. People don't NEED to eat cookies, or ice cream, or bacon, or chocolate either. It doesn't mean losing weight would be easier for them without it.

You said depriving yourself of drinks will lead to diet failure. I see that as a need.

Need for happy,yes. Happy need for long term success, yes.

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Would it be a good idea to cut out alcohol in order to lose weight??

I know most of you would agree that it isn't necessary if you drink in moderation, but I really...REALLY...like beer

Is it a good idea? Yes, absolutely.

Is it absolutely necessary? No. As long as you are taking the calories in the beer into account and staying under your calorie goals, and especially if you are making sure you are meeting your protein goals, you can still lose weight and have a reasonable amount of beer.

Good Advice

Alcohol & losing weight? I'm all for it!

Here is a little weight loss secret of mine....

you can have ANYTHING you want as long as it fits your calories.

(oh, and that means if you intend on drinking, a good hard workout beforehand helps).

Not to mention when you eat less, your buzz kicks in faster, so you don't need to drink as much anyways.

edited to add: oddly enough there are a lot of studies about this topic. most of them prove that alcohol isn't that bad on your waistline (some have even found that alcoholics have lower body fat than typical americans) but I can't quote these sources at the moment. I've also read (not sure how accurate, obviously) that alcohol calories aren't always completely "consumed" by the body so when it says it has ___ amount of calories in the drink, your body usually registers a lower amount. I've also heard that watching your carb content on the days you want to drink is crucial to ensuring that it doesn't effect your fat loss.

I am a Guinness junkie. I have one a night because I like it. I just make sure to make allotment for the calories in my day. yummy!!!

I used to drink a lot. I gained a lot, too. I tried hard to just drink and count my calories but for some reason, I still wasn't losing weight. Once I stopped, I almost immediately dropped 10 lbs. I may be wrong but I'm totally convinced that the alcohol was keeping me from losing weight.