anyone trying to take control over beer?

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  • Cameron_1969
    Cameron_1969 Posts: 2,857 Member
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    Boy do I miss beer. . but it tried to kill me so I had to kill it first. .
    It wasn't easy but after a couple of weeks I started feeling much, much better. . Not just physically, but mentally as well. .
    And If you end up finding it REALLY difficult to stop drinking. .well. that's a red flag. . Don't let it rule your life. .
  • JosephineBella305
    JosephineBella305 Posts: 2 Member
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    wow, timely topic. i am on day 2 of breaking a nightly wine habit. i just realized that a) i'm getting older and my metabolism/weight is showing it and b) i'm never going to lose weight, no matter what else i do, by having 3 glasses of wine a night. it's just not going to happen. yesterday was my first no-wine day for as long as i can remember. and really, it wasn't that bad. i made a list yesterday morning of the triggers that i associate with wine (end of the day, cooking dinner, watching TV at night) and then made a list of things i can do instead (drink water, walk the dog, etc.). i missed it, but not that much, and i felt SO much better. i have to figure out how i'll do this going forward, because i'm not willing to give it up completely (nor do i want to) but i have to find a new way to enjoy it. today i'm just taking it one day at a time, until i can get into some new habits. good luck to you.
  • cookiealbright
    cookiealbright Posts: 605 Member
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    I used to drink wine every night and then I would eat a snack with it. That is how I got the extra weight. Now I only do that every couple weeks or so. It's still fun, but so are your pants being too big. Good luck to ya! :flowerforyou:
  • AllieCat1981
    AllieCat1981 Posts: 5 Member
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    Perfect timing for this topic for me as well. I struggle with this all the time. I love my Guiness, wine (red/white), Rye....! My husband and I are very social, are involved in a lot of sports and have a lot of neighbors who like to pop in for a beer or whatever. Usually through the week I'm okay. We live in the country so going out with the team after a game I usually don't drink because I have to drive home. But the weekends are really tough. I few things I've done to help the calorie intake is filling my wine glass with ice (yes it dilutes the taste...but it's still wine) I've been mixing my palm bays with 50% club soda. And I keep non alcohol (labatt's blue is my fav, I drank it when I was pregnant) on hand if I'm only having one beer with the neighbors or after doing some yard work it's really no different. Summer is going to be hard but I'm determined.
  • Lofteren
    Lofteren Posts: 960 Member
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    Enjoying a nice beer/cocktail or two because you enjoy the taste does not make an alcoholic.

    Drinking any amount of alcohol because you need the chemical to cope with your life is where the real issue begins.

    ^This.

    I brew my own beer and I'm not willing to give up that hobby so I wind up drinking plenty of it. When I'm cutting I try to limit myself to 1 beer per day and only after I train. If you are strict about it you will end up drinking less beer and working out more often because you want one! If it's alcohol that you want, not necessarily beer, you can get more alcohol and far less calories by drinking liquor with no mixers. Personally, I prefer a single malt speyside scotch on the rocks for this.
  • husseycd
    husseycd Posts: 814 Member
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    I really enjoy a drink in the evening, and usually do just fine with one or two. It's when I have more than three that it's a problem. It all fits just fine if I want to maintain my current weight of about 130 lbs. It's trying to cut smaller that I'm having difficulty. Honestly, it isn't the daily drink that's the problem, it's the multiple drink nights. Mostly because lately it's led me to ravenous eating and I end up consuming 3000 or so calories that day.

    Which would all be fine and good if I didn't do it two or three days a week. :drinker:

    At any rate, I too am trying to cut back. I reeeeaaallly want to have a 4-pack. Which means the Friday happy hour probably has to stop. :cry:
  • MacRec48
    MacRec48 Posts: 27 Member
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    Just told me husband this morning that his nightly drinking buddy was done. Drinking a couple of vodkas every night has been a stupid thing to do. I am just not going to do it any more. I quit smoking 2 years ago cold turkey after smoking for 40 years. I know if I did that (not that it was easy) I can do this. It is just a dumb habit and I have broken the habit before. Good Luck to everyone!
  • eddiesmith1
    eddiesmith1 Posts: 1,550 Member
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    I was a steady 3-4 pints a day (or a few cocktails or a bottle of wine) most days. I decided to give it a break in December . I lost 8 pounds in a couple of weeks before even beginning to diet. Do I miss it? some days. most days no I don't. I feel better and am less bloated, I drink a lot more water (I subbed no sodium sparkling water with various bitters for the alcohol) I plan on staying off until next Christmas then I'll start with wine or cocktails. Likely beer will be rare despite my love for it- or maybe more because i love beer)
  • fallingken
    fallingken Posts: 98 Member
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    Take up running ... after a good long run, there is nothing better than a cold, carbonated, barley based recovery beverage to restore lost fluids and electrolytes ...at least that's what I keep telling my wife
  • JBfoodforlife
    JBfoodforlife Posts: 1,371 Member
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    Life is about balance. Balance doesn't mean giving up things you love; it means figuring out how to fit it in.

    THIS!! Spot on... :)
  • kuolo
    kuolo Posts: 251 Member
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    I've been in this position... a few times now. First thing, I find it really hard to break the habit without upping my calories temporarily, and I will tend to eat a lot more in the evenings to try to suppress the cravings (I don't know if you will get cravings. I did). But if you are serious about it and you do get cravings (which is probably a sign that you really do need to take a break) it's going to be worth upping you calories temporarily and allowing yourself a little wriggle room. And it is only temporary, in my experience. Also, I think it can make it easier if you change your routine, keep occupied, substitute something else (another kind of non-alc drink), etc. It's hard but it can be done, and it does get easier - good luck! If I think of anything else I will add it...
  • ZOOpergal
    ZOOpergal Posts: 176 Member
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    I pretty much could have written this post. I love beer, and to be honest, I've kept my diary closed because I don't want people to see HOW MUCH I love beer. Lots of people have said to stop drinking so much, or choose something else to do instead of drinking, etc...And those are probably the best answers. BUT, if you're like me, these aren't the answers that you are looking for. I personally don't drink because my life is awful, or I'm stressed, or I want to forget about things. I drink because I like to. It's that simple. I'm sure I probably shouldn't drink as much as I do, but right now its what I feel like doing and its not ruining my life or weight loss. I've lost 14 pounds since January 2nd, all without changing my drinking habits. I do acknowledge of course that drinking beer so much isn't good for my long term health...but for right now its what I like doing. I eat great during the day, I'm not hungry, I'm not starving myself. That being said, I typically have almost 1000 calories left when I go home from work. (I earn a lot of those through exercise.) That leaves me some play to eat a little and also enjoy some beer. Sometimes I just drink the thousand calories. After a few beers any hunger I felt goes away.
  • Mar_11
    Mar_11 Posts: 35
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    WOW! I'll be honest.. I didn't expect so many supportive responses!! I truly expected a huge bashing from people. MFP'ers really surprise me. I would love to comment on everyone who posted but if I did that I wouldn't have time to ride my bike to make room for beer. LOL

    After reading all the posts, I have to say it is part habit that I drink daily and part that I just enjoy drinking beer, not to mention, hubby drinks daily so I'm not sure I could be around it and not drink. His job is very active so he doesn't have a weight problem. Plus I'm not sure I want to get rid of that part of my life. That may sound bad but it's the truth. Just thinking about cutting it completely out or even cutting down to Friday and Saturday nights stressed me.

    I have decided that if I want to continue drinking, I will now EARN my beer vs cutting calories from nutritious foods during the day. Currently, I'm allowed 1,470 calories a day (without exercise) and was eating about 800-900 to leave room for beer. It's rare that I felt hungry but when I did, I didn't want to eat so I had those calories in reserve. Now, I will make sure I get on my bike or treadmill to earn those indulgent calories.

    Thanks again for all the support!
  • Mar_11
    Mar_11 Posts: 35
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    I pretty much could have written this post. I love beer, and to be honest, I've kept my diary closed because I don't want people to see HOW MUCH I love beer. Lots of people have said to stop drinking so much, or choose something else to do instead of drinking, etc...And those are probably the best answers. BUT, if you're like me, these aren't the answers that you are looking for. I personally don't drink because my life is awful, or I'm stressed, or I want to forget about things. I drink because I like to. It's that simple. I'm sure I probably shouldn't drink as much as I do, but right now its what I feel like doing and its not ruining my life or weight loss. I've lost 14 pounds since January 2nd, all without changing my drinking habits. I do acknowledge of course that drinking beer so much isn't good for my long term health...but for right now its what I like doing. I eat great during the day, I'm not hungry, I'm not starving myself. That being said, I typically have almost 1000 calories left when I go home from work. (I earn a lot of those through exercise.) That leaves me some play to eat a little and also enjoy some beer. Sometimes I just drink the thousand calories. After a few beers any hunger I felt goes away.

    You and I could have been siblings separated at birth!
  • Mar_11
    Mar_11 Posts: 35
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    Life is about balance. Balance doesn't mean giving up things you love; it means figuring out how to fit it in.

    THIS!! Spot on... :)

    Yep, that is what I have decided to do!
  • Mar_11
    Mar_11 Posts: 35
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    Enjoying a nice beer/cocktail or two because you enjoy the taste does not make an alcoholic.

    Drinking any amount of alcohol because you need the chemical to cope with your life is where the real issue begins.
    This. I try to fit beer into my calories. Guinness is only 120 calories, although I tend towards IPAs and higher calorie beers (250ish). Because of that, I go out with friends for trivia once a week and try to limit my beer to that night. I usually eat around 1500 calories that day and then the beer. I'll usually be a little over for the day. The rest of the week, I try to really only have a beer if I have the calories left (and then it becomes a toss up with ice cream).

    We drink watered down beer here aka Busch light.. 95 calories for 12 ounces :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Life is about balance. Balance doesn't mean giving up things you love; it means figuring out how to fit it in.

    THIS!! Spot on... :)
    I agree. In some cases, we tweak them (choosing the lower calorie guinness over the IPA sometimes) and in some cases we imbibe in moderation.
    I love wine. I skip the bread baskets. Some folks would have a little bread, a little wine. We make our priorities, and we figure out how to make it work for the long haul.
  • beachylove
    beachylove Posts: 137 Member
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    My husband and I are self proclaimed beer snobs (we frequent several of our local breweries and love our beer) I don't think I could ever fully give up beer. Hell we plan vacations around breweries we want to visit.

    We cut it back no drinks Monday-Friday, we still enjoy our beer on the weekends and when we hit up a brewery we get some samples and share them. It gives us the taste without drinking the entire pint. Or when friends come over with beer they have purchased we bust out small glasses and split one bottle. We will have a pint here and there or will do 1/2 pints which a lot more places have started offering....we keep our intake lower so we can still enjoy the deliciousness that is food. :drinker:
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
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    Fit it into your day?

    I started getting into craft beer and trying a different beer each time and enjoying the complex tastes etc...

    Theres nothing quite like a cold beer after a day of mowing the lawn in the hot sun though!
  • 1stday13
    1stday13 Posts: 433 Member
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    Right there with ya'll! Someone mentioned closed diary, not wanting friends to see how much she drank. My friends can tell when I'm on a binge because I do not log anything :noway: On those days I end up drinking all + of my calories for the day. I am /have been /will be again in the same places as many of you.:drinker:

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