To Drink Or To Lose... (What's Your Answer)

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Replies

  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    And I've *never* heard this business about not eating and drinking at the same time. I too would love to see the evidence!
    I can think of evidence to the contrary - the French pretty much only drink wine with meals and they're notoriously slim!
  • wendyg311
    wendyg311 Posts: 239 Member
    Thanks for asking this....I like to come home on a Friday night and have a beer or two. I switched from regular calorie beer to MGD 64. So I can have 2 (or three:bigsmile: ) for the evening and not feel guilty. I have been more mindful of what might be empty calories too so that has been tempering how often I might partake.

    CHEERS!
  • calmlywilde
    calmlywilde Posts: 47 Member
    For me, it's not the calories in the wine - it's the calories in the hangover cures the next day!

    If a glass here and there fits into your calorie goals, do it! If a glass turns into a bottle once in a while, don't beat yourself up, as long as that is the exception, not the rule. Don't beat yourself up over it!

    Gosh, I only have one child and my "stress" glasses turn into bottles. Does that mean,i f I have two more kids, my bottles will turn into crates...?!
  • taeliesyn
    taeliesyn Posts: 1,116 Member
    I've lost around 30lbs (didn't start MFP at my highest) and for a while I was going through 1L of bourbon a WEEK!
    Now that I'm more focused on fitness & health than weight loss, I haven't really lost much but I have cut down my alcohol as it really sucks trying to do a 10-20km hike while hungover!

    Really though if you can fit it in, go for it. I do like the idea of only drinking out of the exercise calories :)
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    Like others have said, so long as you stay under your net calories, no problem. One idea is to only drink out of your exercise calories - that way you get all the nutrition you need out of your food first rather than skipping something you shouldn't for a drink.

    Check out my MFP tagline: "Will run for wine" :drinker:

    What Berry said - except I will zumba for wine!!

    I've not given up wine, beer on G&T (and OK I did put on 5lb on holiday but I lost it again!!), but by being good with my exercise the occasional "over-spend" has balanced out and I'm now at my new goal weight.
  • Cruxthemystic
    Cruxthemystic Posts: 149 Member
    It's my one vice and I won't give it up. I have a glass of red wine mostly every night. A dirty martini here and there. On nights before a 5k run I don't indulge, I wait till after the run. :)
  • elsdonward
    elsdonward Posts: 81 Member
    When Jason made his way across the wine dark sea - he was sustained by wine Wine was the measure of the people. We just do not pay homage to it now. But we should - because it is one of the things we should live for. It helps us to enjoy life and also to party - which is important for any young man or woman. We need pleasures even if wine dark!!

    So no contest there - venerate it and look into the God of wine. Enjoy your next cup
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    As I think I have mentioned elsewhere I drink red on a disGUSTingly regular basis and plenty of it.

    And I look awesome. ;)
  • pseepferdchen
    pseepferdchen Posts: 11 Member
    Hi, I love my wine and still managed to loose a good amount of weight so far. Like you I drink a few times a month, but then it will be a bottle or 2.. If I alternate my glasses of wine with glasses of water I feel less hungover the next day.

    Here is a terrific article about fat loss and alcolhol. Since I found this blog from Martin Berkhan I changed my eating patterns a bit and find sticking to my calorie allowance easier.

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

    Keep up your good work:-)
  • olehcat
    olehcat Posts: 92 Member
    I'm just like you -- I can give up just about anything, but I do look forward to my red wine! I really don't drink other alcohol that much at all. But I have a glass or half glass of wine nearly every evening as I'm cooking dinner. On weekends I might have a lot more (up to 3 glasses). Now, I'm just at the beginning of my weight loss journey this time, but I can tell you from past experiences that wine does not seem to affect my weight loss one way or another (evidenced by a summer when I didn't drink any wine all summer and I completely was unsuccessful at weight loss vs. a time when I had wine every single night and quite a lot on weekends and lost 10 pounds within six weeks) and in fact, I think it helps me because I will sip on my glass of wine instead of wanting a sweet for dessert or something! It's all about calories. If you can fit it into your day, then go for it! For me, the wine is probably going to be the last thing I look at as a problem if/when I stall!
  • sunsetzen
    sunsetzen Posts: 268 Member
    Drink AND lose. Especially wine. I havent cut anything out. There's no way I'm going to forego wine for the rest of my life! I have to teach myself now how to eat well for the rest of my life, including alcohol, sweets and not so healthy but oh so yummy foods. Otherwise I'll end up doing what a good friend of mine did: lost over 100 lbs and gained it all back because she couldnt sustain how she ate on her diet (or her ridiculous exercise regimine).
  • momof2boyz832
    momof2boyz832 Posts: 682 Member
    I love my wine as well...but I also know that I have little willpower or pretty much a care in the world once I have had a couple of glasses which leads to making choices I would not otherwise make.. The sugars in the wine are enough to keep me from over indulging. I still enjoy a glass here and there so long as it works with the rest of my numbers..
  • somerisagirlsname
    somerisagirlsname Posts: 467 Member
    Work out extra that day, eat extra well that day (fill up on veggies, etc.) Also, try skinny girl wine if you haven't already. With only 3 times a month, you shouldn't have to give it up entirely.
  • Amitysk
    Amitysk Posts: 705 Member
    I have no interest in giving up my wine. I make it fit, and if it doesn't I work out!
  • The MFP system works pretty well generally, but it's no bad thing to have, say one day a week off. If that includes food and or drink you don't have normally, why not! Personally I love wine, but find it hard to stick with one day a week, so for now I am abstaining until I reach my goal, then will reassess things. Best of luck with your journey :drinker: :wink:

    I'm interested in other wine-drinking friends to share experience with, friend me if you wish..

    Best regards,

    David
  • juliemouse83
    juliemouse83 Posts: 6,663 Member
    I love this thread.

    I have a habit of having an adult beverage each evening after I work out on weekdays because it's a nice way to wind down from a wicked day at the office and then a workout after.

    I'm a wine lover from way back, and it used to be wine every night, but OMG the calorie content in wine is SO high, so I've taken to having a gin and diet tonic with lime as my go-to for a fraction of the calories on weeknights, and save my wine calories for the weekend when I ordinarily eat less than I do during the week.

    I really haven't given up anything since I started this, and am finding the key is in moderation and balance.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    why does it have to be an "OR"....it can be an "AND"...

    Drink and lose weight...

    *note in my profile Pic I have a bottle....:drinker: blueberry lemon-ade with Vodka......:drinker:
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    And I've *never* heard this business about not eating and drinking at the same time. I too would love to see the evidence!
    I can think of evidence to the contrary - the French pretty much only drink wine with meals and they're notoriously slim!

    Granted, I'm an outlier, but as a genetic mutant with Hemochromatosis, I have been advised by my doctor to have a glass of red wine with meals involving red meat, as the tannins in the wine block the absorption of up to 80% of the iron from the red meat. (Oolong/Black tea will too, but shhhhh. dont tell my wife). And hey, if a glass is good, a bottle is better....

    To the OP: I'm a drinker. Used to be a heavy drinker. I still throw down a few from time to time. My diary is open, you can mosey on over to many Friday/Saturday in there and see it. I log it. Sometimes I make room for it. But remember "over" your goal is really just "Less under" maintenance.
  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
    As long as you fit it into your calorie and macro's there is no harm in having your wine.

    I shoot pool once a week, and with it being at a bar.... HECK YEA I drink :wink: Some nights I will have 1-2, others I will have way more. I just make sure that I include it in my logging, and plan for it during the day. There have even been times where after these nights I have actually lost a pound or two.... I think the key is making sure it fits, and being active.
  • I am college age but I took alcohol out of everyday life..... but still get drunk as a skunk at parties (maybe a handful of times a year)
    tumblr_mdba9fP0de1qc8ot5.gif
  • kbolton322
    kbolton322 Posts: 358 Member
    the glass or 2 (or in my case bottle or 2) of wine a few times a month


    This is so me!!! I drink on Saturday nights... It helps with my stress... stress = no weight lose... so I drink wine... or my rum... in a month I have lost 6.5lbs so it can be done with drinking...I have to daughters age 4 and 6.. my drinking is my life saver...
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    I still drink and still lose.

    win win.
  • jayrudq
    jayrudq Posts: 475 Member
    I drink wine regularly and with meals. I also have cocktails. And I am losing weight. The real thing to watch is what you eat AFTER drinking. Wine is good for you.
  • debants
    debants Posts: 38 Member
    I drink my red wine faithfully - absolutely love everything about it! I can pass on everything else - but not my red wine. I have decided though I will be sober for October - no particular reason - just another challenge to make sure I am still the driver and the wine isin't it. I did this in February and don't think by not drinking it made me loose weight faster - felt better not so bloated but the scale didn't move like crazy. I have 10 lbs to go - so its hard I am not sure if its just because its the last 10 or is it my wine consumption. I'll let you know Nov 1st the outcome - however it is Friday so the weekend will be tough.
  • 58Rock
    58Rock Posts: 176 Member
    Yes, most definitely. I have a glass of red every night. Ont the weekends I have two (sometimes three). Anyway, it is a part of my diet, period. I allow for it. I still get plenty of protein and and complex carbs and I have contiued to drop weight. It just needs to be worked as another piece of your diet puzzle.
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,923 Member
    I have some kind of booze (wine or beer) everyday...limited quanities...plan for it...still lose .5-1lbs a week for the last 6 weeks. I only have 2lbs to go to goal. You just have to plan it into your day.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Ok... from reading the subject please try to refrain from judging me. I want HONEST answers from people who still have a love of wine (in my case) or alcohol. On my weight loss journey I found that I can quit cookies. I can quit cake. I can quit "Bad" Carbs. I can quit pop. I can quit all the "BAD" things out there.. besides my Love of Wine!! :drinker: I just want to know if anyone has been able to keep up with exercise and good eating habits and still enjoy the glass or 2 (or in my case bottle or 2) of wine a few times a month? PLEASE don't start judging me and calling me an "alcoholic" like I've seen on threads in the past. I don't "drink" every night. I might drink once, twice or 3 times a month, but when I do... It's a good time. :happy: I'm still faithful to my workouts (hungover or not) and my daily "diet". Like I said, I don't want the feed back that I'm a BAD bad person. I want feed back from people like me that had results. And if you didn't, I would like to hear that too. Is this something I should quit? Or can i make it work? And again... Honest yet non judgmental feedback would be nice. I'm the most judgmental person in my life... I don't need 100 more. I can't be the only one who wants answers for this. Input??

    Wine is not "bad". Drinking or eating certain foods is not "bad," but drinking or eating too much of anything WILL make you over calories. Just make room for it in your daily calories.
  • Nice!!
  • mitzvahmom78
    mitzvahmom78 Posts: 64 Member
    This might not work for you if you are a true wine aficionado, but here's what I do: choose a drier wine than I would normally enjoy, and mix it with club soda or Diet Sprite. It's still enjoyable, but cuts the calories in half.
  • husseycd
    husseycd Posts: 814 Member
    I drink often and maintain my weight (at 128#) and 19% BF, so it can definitely fit into your weight loss goals. In fact, I find a glass of wine in the evening keeps me from craving baked goods.