Alcohol - are you feeling guilty?

Well, it is the same thing as eating the sweets for some people. You just need to figure out why you do it and if it is really worth it. If it is - then you need to drop something else that is less important. Personally, I never DRINK empty calories although I will admitt to eating them sometimes. When I do - I just don't consume something else to make up for it and when I do I usually consider it WORTH it for me.

Suggest you do the same - is it worth it out of social context, do you really enjoy it that much, etc. ...

Good luck!

Ooo I definitely just posted a blog post on this yesterday!!

If I know I am going to be drinking, I leave space in my cal count for the day in it. Plus, I never sit around and drink... If I am drinking, I inevitably want to go dancing, and if I'm dancing, I always burn more than I drank.... The trick here is to not eat after you have been drinking, bc alcohol totally slows down your metabolism. Work the alcohol cals away and then make yourself go straight to bed!

I dont feel guilty, I just put it in and go on....I think when I personally see it in my diary I tend to not drink a whole lot..That is what helps me.

I'm the same way. And I try to log it before I drink it, when possible. It gives me an idea of what's really going in my body if I decide to drink more than I allot.

I try not to go "binge" drinking more than once a month and don't really bother with the one or two with dinner.
I try and drink vodka (club) soda with a piece of lime or low carb beer.
Keep counting it, don't lose track - you have to be honest with yourself there can be HEAPS of calories in your drinks.
I make up for it over the week before.
The iphone app is great because it gives you the weekly view. In fact we should talk admin into having weekly view on the website for those withour iphones. It really puts blow-outs in perspective.
Even if saturday night is 700cal over (it was for me this saturday :blushing: ) I still know my weekly average was below my goal which is awesome. It also works for junk food, restaurant or eating at friend's places - I try and aim 100 cal under most weeknights so I have room for some kind of blow out once a week. If I don't blow out - awesome I guess I'm closer to losing 1lb per week instead of the 0.5 I'm aiming for - not sure how well this would work for someone aiming for the dreaded/magic "1200 Cal per day" though!

The few times that I drink alcohol, I don't feel guitly!
It sure means empty calories, but as long as you have spare calories, why not used them up with a good beer or glass of champagne?
There are a few ways to deal with this.
I only drink alcolhol when I'm out, or when I have people visiting me. They always are special social occasions which I enjoy. Gathering together, partying is part of my life which I don't want to miss. So I need to make sure I schedule around it. I can either make it a cheat day, or save calories up for it. Both ways are ok, well at least for me :-)
Even though I want to lose weight, I don't want to give up my life. I just need to find a way to do both. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's impossible. It's the long way that counts, not only one step on or off your path.

Just remember.. the more alcohol you drink, the more water you need to drink to get it out of your body again.

MM

I had wine on friday night, i don't feel guilty , because its about life style change and not a "diet" , i love my friday night wine i have done it for years, i'm not about to give it up


Oh and by the way , yes i did log it, was over , also logged my snacks!

I enjoy every glass just that little bit more. I *may* have had 3 large glasses of a French red tonight... But I had a blast and since I knew I was going out tonight I factored it in to my calories. Plus I walked to the place we were meeting at from work so that burnt some cals (30mins) . I never drink at home - it is very much a social thing for me. So I will enjoy myself when it occurs .

I try and aim 100 cal under most weeknights so I have room for some kind of blow out once a week.

This is exactly how the diet (Rosemary Conley) that I follow works - it alows you a number of calories (200+) daily, which you can then bank to use for a night out (meal/pub).

They recommend that you must use those saved clalories by then end of the week, even you're not going out, so your weekly calories intake doesn't end up being too low.

Alcohol sabotaged all my clean eating efforts. It started out with just a glass of wine, then a beer with pizza, then going to a friend's party. All that over an extended period of time, mind you. Then I started making my own drinks on the weekend. I loved getting that slight buzz. Then it was every day. A light bulb hit New year's eve. Long story short, it got out of hand to the extent that it was effecting my marriage and then I realized that all that sugar in my drinks was making me crave sugar and junk food. I was slowly hating to eat clean. I gained 15 lbs within a 2 month period and only thought about eating junk.
I decided to quit all together. And after 2 months I've lost 10 lbs, feel great, love eating clean and have gotten back on track with everything. Actually, I am so much more motivated now.
All sugar does is make you crave more. So I've cut that out too as much as humanly possible. I don't even think about junk food anymore.
Just want you guys to be aware that the sugar in alcohol can effect what you eat.

I never feel guilty

I don't feel guilty. I budget calories for alcohol (usually red wine) then make sure I log whatever I drink. I don't drink soda or anything nonalcoholic besides water, green tea, or the occasional coffee, so I have room for some empty calories here and there.

I do one of two things.....enjoy a drink when my calories allow...I pass it up when I don't have the cals to spare. That happens on a weeknight or run of the mill weekend...etc...sometimes a beer with pizza is so good etc but I for one am content with water or diet coke if I don't have cals to spare.

Otherwise, I drink alcohol on a predetermined "free" day. I had a wonderful date night with my dh thisweekend. That onle happens onceevry few months....I worked out, ate reasonably all day then just enjoyed my night. I didn't count calories,ate dessert and had dri ks. Yes we danced and walked a lot but that was to enjoy each other. If those dates happened once a week however I would probable make sure I saved some calories and danced the night away to burn off the empty cals

I had one of my rare nights out with empty alcohol calories. After I was dropped off back at home, I started
having empty food calories. A rough one-two punch

i dont drink often, only like once a month, maybe twice...but i do nothing differently...i get back on track and on with my life the next day.