Alcohol!

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tartansheep
tartansheep Posts: 122 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi there,

so I have been following my plan really well and stuff, and ate perfectly yesterday. However, I went out with friends and caved and drank - and the thing is, I don't know how much I drank, because we were playing drinking games and things so we kept having top-ups.
I am worried that since alcohol is so high-calorie, it has jeopardised all my efforts for yesterday. Does anyone have any tips for avoiding drinking? My friendship group is very alcohol orientated.

Should I write it off and start afresh, or try to burn it off in the gym?

One last question - if you are sick from drinking, do the calories still count? Was talking to a friend who says that yes, when you're sick it's as if you never drank - but I don't think this can be right!

Many thanks.

Replies

  • Anita_hoar12345
    Anita_hoar12345 Posts: 82
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    I never log alcohol I don't want to know how much booze I can ingest on a weekend. It depennds how much you puke I guess if you're puking the whole night and can't eat the next day it evens it's self out If it's just one puke and you're ok you might have to work it off
  • overcominglazy
    overcominglazy Posts: 19 Member
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    If you were even slightly drunk, then yes, you digested alcohol. Unless you're saying that immediately after every drink, you threw up? I doubt that, really! I think it's important to log things even if you're scared of what it could be. It's better to be disappointed by the guesstimated amount and face up to that the next time you drink than to avoid the whole thing and just be in denial.

    When you drink, it's also important to make sure you've eaten sufficiently beforehand, so yes, drinking can often make a day a bust.

    I'm in uni and my friends are also very boozy and play a lot of drinking games. Things I do are to fill my cup with what looks like a mixer but is actually just some squash or diet coke or something. Also, water looks just like clear spirits! If your friends aren't horrifically pushy, you can also just be assertive and say you're not drinking. Play the games but get a buddy who doesn't mind getting sozzled to drink for you.
  • AverageUkDude
    AverageUkDude Posts: 371 Member
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    caved and drank? you drank. Dont worry about it, hit the gym a little harder or eat a little less the next day.

    I dont understand this issue of never having anything bad thats preached around these forums. I drink, go out with my friends and enjoy myself and why? Because im not a fitness model, im not standing on a stage flexing for a living, so I dont have to worry about that 1% extra fat i may carry because of this. But thats just my opinion on it.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    Make a good faith guesstimate of how much you drank; don't beat yourself up too much if it put you over calories for a single day. Today is a new day. This site might be useful to you if you like to go out drinking with your friends: http://getdrunknotfat.com/
  • overcominglazy
    overcominglazy Posts: 19 Member
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    caved and drank? you drank. Dont worry about it, hit the gym a little harder or eat a little less the next day.

    I dont understand this issue of never having anything bad thats preached around these forums. I drink, go out with my friends and enjoy myself and why? Because im not a fitness model, im not standing on a stage flexing for a living, so I dont have to worry about that 1% extra fat i may carry because of this. But thats just my opinion on it.

    I don't think this is about not having anything bad. If you're like me and you have the option of going out five nights a week and potentially consuming 500 calories of alcohol a night, you would never get anywhere if you drank every day. It's possible to enjoy yourself without ten shots of vodka. And for some people, the pressure of other people drinking excessively is hard to overcome/ignore. So while you may be able to be moderate withdrinking, others can't and need ways to mitigate/offset it.
  • vanguardfitness
    vanguardfitness Posts: 720 Member
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    this was a nice read
    http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/10/cocktail-science-do-alcohol-calories-count-digesting-spirits.html
  • FattyFatsoMcTubby
    FattyFatsoMcTubby Posts: 170 Member
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    No calories in marijuana :)
  • soldiergrl_101
    soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
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    Hi there,

    so I have been following my plan really well and stuff, and ate perfectly yesterday. However, I went out with friends and caved and drank - and the thing is, I don't know how much I drank, because we were playing drinking games and things so we kept having top-ups.
    I am worried that since alcohol is so high-calorie, it has jeopardised all my efforts for yesterday. Does anyone have any tips for avoiding drinking? My friendship group is very alcohol orientated.

    Should I write it off and start afresh, or try to burn it off in the gym?

    One last question - if you are sick from drinking, do the calories still count? Was talking to a friend who says that yes, when you're sick it's as if you never drank - but I don't think this can be right!

    Many thanks.

    I went out drinking last night had 4 Long island ice teas, Jack and coke, an adios, and 2 screwdrivers. I logged all of it in at over 1000 calories, I woke up this morning and checked the scale like I do everyday...and I LOST 3 pounds. I need to drink more alcohol!!!!
  • D_squareG
    D_squareG Posts: 361 Member
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    This is a definite problem for me and I credit my three daily super sized gin and tonics for the 60 pounds I need to lose. I had all the normal excuses, stress, socially expected, I just wanted it. I've been monitoring for about forty days and have greatly reduced. I log all of it. Some days are good. Some bad. Last night went with friends and drank 16 oz of wine, 3 light beers and one normal sized gin and tonic. This turned out to be almost 1000 calories and almost half of my daily input.

    Track your alcohol if this is a regular thing for you and if you still need to lose weight. In fact, I don't think it us a bad thing to track for all imbibers. It was eye opening to me.
  • kuntry_navy
    kuntry_navy Posts: 677 Member
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    I usually just quick add 1500 calories. If I don't reach it, I had a dang good time trying
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
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    It's hard to answer this question for another person. You don't have to go to the gym and work it off, but if you are feeling motivated to do so, why not? In any case, log the drinks and if it puts you way over for the week, cut down a bit this week to make up for it (assuming you aren't at a very low calorie intake already).

    A few drinks once in a while won't hurt, but if you find you are drinking just because people around you are and you want to fit in, you could always just drink mixers (diet coke, club soda, tonic water, etc.) and no one will know there is no booze in your drink. I drink club soda all the time, it's got a really nice crispness with no calories or artificial sweeteners.

    I don't weigh myself the morning after drinking because the dehydration makes me drop a few pounds and I tend to get overconfident. Plus it's a bummer getting on the scale the following day and seeing it has gone up 2 or 3 pounds in one day.
  • chezjuan
    chezjuan Posts: 747 Member
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    One day of overindulgence will not affect your overall plan. Log whatever you think you had and move on.

    If this is a regular occurrence, then you need to either rethink drinking, or find a way to work it in to your plan. I personally enjoy one or two drinks a day (gin and tonic, beer, scotch and soda, or wine are my go-tos), and I don't plan on stopping, so I make sure to get my macros in while leaving a few hundred calories for my adult beverages.

    Note that since I am at maintenance and pretty active (4-5 hours a week working out), my daily calorie goals are pretty high at more than 2,700 calories a day. When I was actively losing weight, I limited my drinking more so I could fit my macros (one lower-calorie drink a day). I would still have some weekend fun, where I would definitely go over due to drinks, but that was maybe once a month or so.

    If I were to drink so much I was sick, I would probably count those calories anyway, since there is no way of knowing what the body has already consumed and what is getting thrown away.
  • ktob
    ktob Posts: 12 Member
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    I think it's really important to still be able to have fun in between all the healthy eating.

    Log everything you drink (as much as possible) just so your have that accountability.

    Being sick is never good, so instead drink as much water during the day before you go out and during the evening, and take an alka seltza (or whatever suits you best) to minimise the hangover effect. I usually have a pint of orange juice (I know! More calories!!) Plus a pint of water with alka seltza and sleep it off as much as possible and hit the next day with healthy food and a good hard workout. Definitely do not beat yourself up over one night of over indulgence. Life is about balance yes, but also about having some good fun with good friends. That's invaluable.

    One other thing - if you're going out, go dancing! It burns a shed loads of calories! As does standing up (rather than sitting watching TV), and running for the last train home! ;)

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