Wine drinkers out there

http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html

^^^ I just read this.

I'm a fairly big wine drinker (by UK standards, I'd say more moderate) and I have put most of my weight gain down to the drinking and associated eating. Drinking a bottle of wine and then tucking into a delicious restaurant meal 4 to 5 times a week was my life for about 3 years and I obviously put on a ton of weight...

I moved to the UK and people are big beer drinkers here, so restaurants were then swapped for pubs, so it was usually a pint or two of beer or cider (or two), followed by half a bottle and probably another glass of wine and then whatever pub food or takeaways I could find.

Being a fairly big drinker, I decided that for this (calorie counting + MFP) to work for me, I could not do this again with cutting out alcohol altogether. I've done a healthy eating plan before and lost all the weight, but it was by severely limited alcohol and following a strict healthy eating plan. The moment I started adding alcohol back and thinking I could just eat as I wanted, it stopped working for me and I ballooned. So this time, I had to find a solution that would work in the long term too.

I've not cut out alcohol at all and it's worked perfectly fine for me. I have had to cut down quite a bit recently though, because of my lighter weight and healthier diet, the amount I can handle has become quite a bit less!! I've done this by simply fitting in the calorie content of the alcohol I'm having with my daily plan and trying to make sure that I plan around it.

Some rules I've had to stick to:

1. Accurately weigh/measure it and log it! For best results, I use a scale to weigh it otherwise if I'm in a pub, at least they don't just fill a glass - they measure it for you. But be 100% accurate.
2. If you can't find the same brand of wine/beer on MFP, just find another with the same % alcohol. (Unless you are having sweet wine, I think the sugar content might increase the calories - I don't have sweet wine, so don't have that problem). Usually it's 510 calories for a bottle of 14% ABV. (Obviously the higher the % alcohol, the higher the calorie content).
3. Have your food planned out!!! Do not go drinking without knowing what you are going to be eating. Or at least remember that you have to stay in control no matter how much fun you are having. Limit the damage as far as possible - I've had some good nights out without actually going over!! Obviously if you've had a bit to drink, rules are easier to bend, so just do whatever you can to stop yourself from doing that. I have put into my mind that my weight problem was due to food + drink (both together), so when I have had a bit to drink, I'm generally more determined than ever to make sure I don't go over my calories!!
4. I actually learnt this from a colleague of mine, because she's skinny and told me she joined MFP a while ago, because she wanted to put on weight. She showed me her calorie chart and the interesting thing was that if she had a heavy night before, her calories would be way down the next day - she would crave fruits and veggies and healthy things if she was feeling a bit under the weather (the opposite to me, but I've tried it and it's okay). Do not go for the greasy stuff if you've had a rough night - your body needs nutrients, so go for the healthiest stuff you can find - it actually makes you feel better and ensures that you don't have one disastrous day turn into two!

I have cut down my alcohol intake probably to two or three bottles of wine a week, sometimes just one. I've consistently lost weight, so it's had very little impact as long as you remember not to do all the other bad things associated with it (like having burgers, chips and other greasy pub food).

Something else to note:

After a night of drinking, I am ALWAYS 1kg to 1.5kg down and I always hit a new record low. It's a good feeling, but don't celebrate yet. It's only because of dehydration. The bigger the night before, the bigger the loss the next day. But, you WILL put it all back on the very next day as your body re-hydrates itself. This can be a super-low feeling, because over three days, it will feel like you've lost nothing and it's not worth it. Be aware of this and let your body sort out your hydration levels - know that your body will do this if you still feel like having a glass or three...