Alcohol

I might as well! I'm a poor, jobless nursing student. Alcohol costs too much...

The diet I was following had some decent rules regarding alcohol, as in: NONE during Cycle 1 (detox), up to 2 glasses of wine and 2 lite beers per week during Cycle 2, and up to 2 glasses of wine, 2 lite beers, and 2 mixed cocktails per week during Cycle 3.

Now, I'm a wine-o. When I first started the diet and went balls-to-the-wall strict, everything worked out great. I saved my two glasses of wine for an evening out on the weekend (and might have had three on occasion), but I never drink beer and I might have an occasional cocktail at home. I lost 15lbs in the first two and a half months.

Enter lacksadaisicality: I kept following the diet, but was re-introducing more and more alcohol into my week. A glass on Monday night, then two on Friday, and, okay, I guess since we're going out on Saturday too, one or two more won't hurt (as long as it's just this one weekend, right?). Over the next two and a half months, I only lost 4 lbs, and that was a struggle, and I gained it back really quickly after one "off-diet cheat week" (which wasn't a crazy binge or anything, but I ate pasta (gasp!) and pizza (gasp!) and drank a few cocktails amongst my wine (gasp!)). That's when I started doing MFP, and including all of those wine calories...HELLO!

I went back to cutting it out completely again and lost 5.5 lbs in two weeks. (which I gained back during my honeymoon...which I regret not).

Moral of the story: I don't think I will ever cut wine out of my diet 100% for an extended period of time, but I really need to be careful with my consumption. Moderation is key.