ALCOHOL! :/
chinigal789
Posts: 5 Member
I am a college student and drinking on the weekends is a big part of going out. I want to partake in the fun and enjoy my college years, but heavily drinking two nights a week makes me feel like I will never lose the weight that I want to. I try and restrict my calories during the week to make up for the alcohol calories but I then end up eating less thant 1200 and am pretty hungry. Does anyone have advice about what they do? :drinker:
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Replies
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i am having the same problems! I feel like any progress made during the week is completely ruined on the weekends.0
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Story of my life...lol. I have the same problem0
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Try not to ever go below 1200 calories because your body is going to go inot Starvation mode and your metabolism is going to slow way down...if your stomach is growling your body is probably eating muscle and not fat!! Go for light beer or wine....but in moderation....0
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Drink the 55 select beer if you like beer that is what i do or miller light. or diet pop with a lighter alchol. Vodka and diet jucie.0
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You are going to have to decide what is more important, and you shouldn't be going under 1200 calories at all, not even to make up for heavy drinking. That's not healthy at all. So maybe you should try doing it the healthy way and drinking in moderation?0
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That new Bud Light beer with 55 calories ain't bad. It's not good, but if you're like me in college I just drank a case of natty a night anyways so who's to complain about beer?
Anyways.... yeah it might slow you down but you can still do it. FYI the thermogenic effect of ethanol is pretty high so it's really not that many calories if you can drink those low cal beers or vodka straight. The bigger problem is that it ties your liver up completely so you don't process fat for the 6-10-20 hours of alcohol worth that you consumed
It's fine, do it, but don't drink margaritas or bud heavy0 -
Volunteer to be the designated driver. Have non-alcoholic drinks that look alcoholic. Have one or two drinks (which is all that you are supposed to have), then change to non-alcoholic beverages or water. Drinking has become a major problem on campuses, and more and more students are having black-outs and other serious problems because of it. Count yourself lucky to have an excuse not to kill your brain cells and get involved in that.0
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Depends on what you're drinking... beer is easy, stay with light beer if possible. For hard alcohol, it's usually the mixer that gets you. Try to go sugar free whenever possible, diets soda's, things like that. And drink lots of water!! You'll wind up drinking less, plus, if you binge, the head won't hurt so bad the next day0
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I will usually add in an extra workout either Friday or Saturday to help compensate and eat healthfully on the drinking days (as well as non drinking days but not soooo much). And LOL on the "drink in moderation". Have these people been to college? Nothing is in moderation except going to class!0
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I know it's not good for me, but I actually drink about 4 nights a week.. with one being usually being fairly heavy.. I've always been a vodka drinker, so I switched to diet soda.. each drink has about 60 calories.. and is about twice as strong as a 55 cal beer (as those have less alcohol!!!) I'm also former military and used to drink a lot heavier than too.. But I'd still be able to lose weight.. I say it's all about the exercise. I'll workout extra hard to earn a few extra drinks at the bar.. lol!0
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I know from good friends who are fitness trainers, and VERY fit that alcohol will stop progress. It's just a fact that alcohol can put a stop to fat loss and muscle gains. It's toxic and although many Doctors recommend a glass of wine or whatever a day, it's just a physiologically depriving source of calories. There really is nothing good about it. I struggle with the same thing and coming to terms with it is very unsettling for me. Even in my 30's. I don't abuse alcohol, but I do binge drink a couple times of week-and that usually means any amount over 2 drinks. It's something I enjoy and probably always will but it doesn't run my life. If I drink I just make sure I'm still eating those 5-6 meals per day that are "clean" and if I slip up otherwise, I don't let it ruin my life. I move on and work out hard the next scheduled workout I have. I truly believe in balance. Do what makes you feel happy, but I wouldn't suggest skimping on calories because that could put your body into starvation mode causing you to hold on to those empty calories. I'm not a profession just speaking from experience. I have been able to lose weight AND see muscle gains along my journey while drinking in moderation...But the older I get I don't recuperate like I used to, so I am backing off more these days!0
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Luckily, I hate beer so it's easy for me to stay away from beers filled with calories. I just try to get a light or diet juice to mix with vodka and drink that0
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Just stay away from alcohol period. It has far worse consequences than weight gain.0
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at some point, you have to decide whats more important...im a college student and while i would LOVE to go drink and carry on, i dont because my health and weight loss is much more important to me...0
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Blah... I asked this a few weeks back and I got everyone's "have one or two" answer... which, as a college student (or recent grad, working in the city now), going out is a BIG part of your social life and you want to enjoy it. Here's what I do... stick with lighter drinks (my favs = chardonnay (110 cals/glass), cosmos (150 cals/drink), flavored vodkas and soda water (about 100 cals/drink)). Also, make sure that you get in a really good work-out on Friday-Monday to help with any damage that you've done and stay away from pizza, cheeseburgers, and junk food after you've started drinking!!!! Best of luck!0
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asking college students not to drink is ridiculous. it is part of the college experience....
just make sure you are picking the best beverage options. 1. white wine 2. vodka soda.
clear and without sugar.
_also, eat a meal before you go out drinking
_don't get the burger or the chicken pita on the way home, if you have the munchies, have some natural yogurt when you get home
_chug about a L of water before bed
_the next day on a hangover your diet is probably going to be crap while you crave junk. mostly you are craving salt, so have something like instant soup, it satisfies the cravings but is not ridiculo high in calories as hamburgers.
_return to healthy eating as soon as possible0 -
Bud Light 4.2% 110 6.6g
Bud Light Lime 4.2% 116 8.0g
Budweiser 5.0% 145 10.6g
Budweiser Select 4.3% 99 3.1g
Budweiser Select 55 A 2.4% 55 1.9g
The heavier the beer.. the higher the alcohol content.. So you have to drink 2 bud select 55 to get the same effect as a budweiser, while still slightly less calories, your drinking more liquid (which causes that nasty beer bloated effect). When I do drink beer, I stick to bud light... But I'd rather drink vodka diets when watching my calorie intake as they are 60 calories and the same strength as a full bud.0 -
Definitely don't restrict the calories during the week to make up for it. You can't "bank" your calorie deficit. What your proposing will lower your metabolism without reducing your calorie intake = bad.
A better approach is that if you know you're going out for a drink in the evening, make sure you get a big run in during the day, but also make sure you drink a lot of water so your not actually thirsty when you go out. You need to try to hit your target daily, not weekly. Of course its ok to have one day a week where you change your target to maintenance levels instead of loss levels if you're willing to accept a slightly slower weight loss.
Second, drink a lot of water or diet coke between alcoholic drinks. That slows down your consumption rate. If you're at a pub sitting down its easy to get a beer and a water at the same time to avoid criticism from mates by getting a water only (if you alternate).
Third, have a mind for the next day. Often drinking isn't what ruins your calorie target but being hung over sure can! If you crave greasy crap to get through a hangover, best to plan to avoid hangovers. Even if you eat healthily the next day, its easy to eat excessively.
Remember, if you drink a lot, it slows your metabolism even if you stick to your calorie goal. That's ok if you're willing to accept that, but it will make it very hard to loose the last couple of pounds.0 -
I agree with the vodka and diet soda, or captins and diet coke. Hard liquor is going to be the lo :)west calories. I was always a shot girl. Tequila shots and a glass of water0
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Workout more during the week or atleast one day on the weekend
Drink Vodka and Zero Cal Mixers
Try to incorparate something active with drinking, e.g. Frisbee Golf, Sloshball, etc.
Eat a good early base to stay full and don't gorge at night0 -
You can have a lot of fun staying sober! Just have 1 or 2 drinks and laugh at all the funny stuff the drunk kids are doing. You may find that you weren't having as much fun getting drunk as you thought you were. When we have a girls night out we rarely drink anything and we always go home with our sides hurting from laughing too much.0
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yep. this is hard. and the calories are only part of the issue...for me at least the next day my cardio (usually a run) SUCKS. im just slow and tired and it can even last up to two or three days. so drinking excess calories and losing the energy to burn them off. if you do drink, stick to lighter colored beers, vodka or tequila shots or mixed with diet tonic or diet soda. thats really the only way to keep cals down. as a college-student-lover of sweet mixed drinks, dark beer and wine, its a struggle0
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i feel the same way. i don't even want to go out and drink but as a grad student/ in my mid twenties its the ONLY thing anyone does. ughhhh. then i just feel awful the next day for guilt reasons but also for just feeling drained/like i treated my body poorly..because i did i'm not sure what to do about it either, except drink only vodka soda and then only a couple because hard alcohol isn't my thing. no wonder i gained so much weight last semester, it's obvious to me now but i never counted the calories in a pbr before. yikes!0
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Work out on the days you plan to go out. Stay away from the fruity drinks. This might sound gross but I use to mix EVERYthing with diet coke... or sometimes I would drink gin & tonic. On the days that you plan to go out, eat really light during the day with a meal an hour before I go out, that way you wouldn't have consumed too many calories that day, but at the same time I would not be drinking on an empty stomach.0
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Simplest and healthiest thing to do here is to increase exercise on the weekends. Basically walking 3MPH (brisk but not fast) for 15-20min = 1 beer. Go for a 2hr walk Friday afternoon and you can drink 8 beers for free :-). Jogging for 5 min (10min mile) gets you a beer, so 40min of running gets you those same 8 beers.
consider changing what you drink. different drinks have vastly different calorie content. Beer alone is all over the map.
bud - 145 calories.
bud light - 110 calories.
miller lite - 96
mich ultra - 95.
MGD64 - 64.
same is true for hard alcohol. Do some investigation and find a new drink that is lower calorie.
On a side note, it is not healthy to restrict your calories to 1200. In fact it will probably make you gain weight as your body will start to basically hoard calories.0 -
at some point, you have to decide whats more important...im a college student and while i would LOVE to go drink and carry on, i dont because my health and weight loss is much more important to me...
This. It IS possible as a college student to have fun with friends while keeping the drinking to a minimum... I would know! I used to drink a lot but now I drink very rarely and only in moderation and I'm actually able to have more fun with no regrets after.0 -
VODKA and Soda or flavored sparkling water is not a bad choice - drink a glass of water between each drink (and of course keep the number of drinks to a minimum). The idea of eating before you go out is a good idea, this prevents the snacking while drinking.0
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drink vodka waters! haa, sounds nasty BUT it is very low cal. The taste just takes some getting used to.0
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Right there with you!!! I turned 21 in June, and went from binging out on beer to strictly staying at vodka sodas. I've drank it for so long now that I'm just used to it and actually prefer it over other drinks, because I find it refreshing (especially with lemon!!!). Also, I try to limit myself to drinking one night a week (usually Fridays so i can nurse my hangover Saturday, and do schoolwork Sunday without being totally useless), but I make sure I don't eat any garbage along with that. Not only did this help me calorie wise, but it helped my grades in school too!!!
I know it's hard, it sucks, but hopefully all the advice your getting will make it a lot easier for you!!0
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