alcohol and your weight loss?

I still drink when I want to weather Im within my calories or not. I have worked hard to get where I am now so if I want to splurge and have 3 redbull vodkas I'm gonna do it and I'm gonna log it! I do try and workout a little more if I know Im going to be drinking just so I can have a few extra calories back. :drinker:

I have a glass of wine or... four most Fridays and it hasn't held me back as far as weight loss. I do plan ahead for it and log though, if it meant going way over for the day I'd skip it that week. Honest logging is key, there's no reason to completely cut it out if its just a question of weight loss and no other health issues.

I drank away 75 pounds in 18 months (I am up a little right now due to a surgery 4 days ago and the associated swelling/saline solution IVs, etc.)...I just watched my total calorie intake, including the booze.

Of course, I lost weight faster when I did not imbibe in adult beverages...but how boring is that???

Today is 17 days without a drink. I usually drink on the weekends (beer and vodka sodas) Although I am doubtful that I can put down booze all together cold turkey, but I am going to try and consume less, and drink less often.

I have stuck to my work out and diet for (today is day 28) and I have lost 10.5 pounds since my Saturday morning weigh in. I am sure since I have stopped drinking alcohol for the past 2.5 weeks that this has contributed a little bit to my weight loss. not only is alcohol empty calories, I make horrible eating decisions when I drink (eating pizza at 1 am, or eating a bunch of chips) For the most part I can control food decisions if I have a few beers, but if I am drunk I will eat whatever.


Frankly, I am sure alcohol is most likely the main contributor to my weight today, wether it be the alcohol its self, or the decisions I have made that come a long with it.

I am really going to try as hard as I can to refrain from drinking, or take 2 weeks off after the last time I drink. It is Labor day weekend so I am most likely to have some drinks. I just need to have better control.

IMHO, 2 things are key:
1) Moderation - binge drinking adds WAY too many calories, but moderate drinking (2 - 3) at a time can be factored into your daily calorie limit.
2) The effect alcohol has on your appetite - it kills mine, so I don't eat when I have a drink or two, but if it causes you to eat everything in sight, then that is trouble.
As with everything else, it depends on each person and how it affects you.

I also try to keep it within my calorie goals as well, and it's not that hard since I also drink on a Friday or Saturday night.

It's all about moderation; I probably have a drink every few weeks, but I never was a big drinker.
When I do something like camping, where I do drink a fair bit, I'll plan to eat maitenance for the weekend so that it'll fit in my calories but won't cause weight gain. I'm certainly not going to give up food in favour of booze haha

I have had the odd glass of wine at home with dinner whilst using MFP but whereas before I would have had a large glass and probably had another one later on, I've been sticking to one, measured glass. I also had a couple of single gin and slimlines which fit OK into my calorie budget.

Nights out are another matter. One night I went round to a friend's house and had 2 double gin and tonics (not slimline!) and 1 single (I was measuring that one and more conscious of calories!). I logged it for the following day and ate less and exercised to fit it into my calorie goal, but I couldn't do that if I had a busy day ahead. Last weekend I drank well over 1,000 calories and felt rubbish. I felt too ill to eat much the following day so overall it didn't add that many calories to my week, but I don't think that makes it OK.

I've set myself a challenge to go 2 weeks (maybe more, I'll see when the time is up) without alcohol and am currently 4 days in!