Alcohol!

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mefergus26
mefergus26 Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone else struggle to lose weight because they drink too much? (I'm not an alcoholic, I'm a 26 year old single girl and I like to go out a lot!)

I LOVE wine - I also love spirits and diet mixers (eg gin and slimline tonic) but they work out really expensive. Can anyone recommend a low cal alcoholic drink that doesn't require me taking out a bank loan every time I go out? And tips on how to stop the junk food cravings when hunngover!

Thanks :-)

Replies

  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
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    Lol, thought you were offering me a drink!


    seriuosly though , i only drink one or twice a week , every thing in moderation!For your health & and your weight...
  • rfcollins33
    rfcollins33 Posts: 630
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    vodka with sugar free red bull, vodka with soda water, wine spritzers, anything you like with coke, instead diet coke. Hope that helps. I actually just stick to red wine maybe once a week and it works well for me. Good luck!!
  • hornseagirl
    hornseagirl Posts: 32 Member
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    I don't actually drink alcohol but I find that becks blue non alcoholic lager is tasty and quite low in calories
  • laromeo
    laromeo Posts: 14
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    I enjoy a glass of wine every evening, or a cocktail when I go out, so I just budget them into my calories. Depriving yourself totally just makes you crave it all the more (at least for me). Be realistic, if you can't give it up (and why should you?) just plan!
  • wheels999
    wheels999 Posts: 2
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    There is no easy fix.

    Drinking to the point where you crave junk food the next morning will add around 1000 (double that for men) calories to your daily intake. Multiply that by the number of times per week you go out and the numbers might get scary! Drinks when you are out are never cheap, so think of the money you'll save if you moderate yourself.

    I've gone from two or three drinks almost every night at home to two drinks a week (say two glasses of dry white wine). It made a massive difference to my calorie intake and I'm saving money at the same time ;-)

    A substitue for junk food in the morning; try making your own ham and cheese (go light on the ham and cheese) ommelette on toast. Thats fairly high protein and low GI. It will keep you feel full for longer without a huge overload in fat and salt you get from junk food.

    Hope that helps.
  • JanefromLee
    JanefromLee Posts: 1
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    Hi, you're not alone! Just keep counting the calories and do additional exercise to help counterbalance the hidden excess that comes with an alcoholic drink ... but it is a good idea to water it down a bit. You could try spritzers, adding soda water or low calorie lemonade ... or drinking a glass of water in-between the glasses of wine (which also helps you to avoid becoming dehydrated). You can still lose weight ... it just takes a bit longer. Good luck!
  • hopeforsuccess
    hopeforsuccess Posts: 62
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    I drink about 2/3 glasses of wine a night (also, am not a alcoholic lol!). I find it stops weight loss as I end up eating rubbish after one glass and the urge to eat rubbish continues well into the next day! I somehow have managed to be tough with myself though and have found this week (I know, its only be 2 days!) but I have it under control for the time being and will see how it goes.
  • wingchunrick
    wingchunrick Posts: 267 Member
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    I love my wine too but try to just drink at weekends now and try to keep it within your calories for the day. I had a heavy weekend last week as was away with my mates and had far too many beers. It is difficult when you're around people that drink lots I guess but so long as you drink lots of water and exercise regular you should be ok.
  • becka63
    becka63 Posts: 712 Member
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    I think everything in moderation too. When I started MFP I wasn't drinking a lot, but I noticed that a lot of the good work done during the week was cancelled out by the odd bottle of wine and glass of whisky at the weekend. It wasn't so much the alcohol on it's own, but the fact that after a glass or two, my resistance to snacks was lower and I would actually think along the lines of "oh well, I've already had a drink, may as well have that chocolate bar / bag of crisps".

    So maybe think about lowering your intake when you're out - maybe exercise more during that day so you know you've got 'extra' calories to play with on the night; maybe be ok with the fact that you've gone over on one night of the weekend and try not to the next time. Perhaps offer to be the designated driver, so you can't have a drink, or more than one drink?

    It depends on what you feel able to do, financially and practically. If you really think that you can't do more than what you're doing, then that's ok, just factor it in to your weight loss journey. But good luck with whatever you try - at least you know that there's lots of folk on here who are having the same dilemma!
  • mefergus26
    mefergus26 Posts: 9
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    Wow thanks for all the swift responses! I think I'm going to take a mixture of all your advice - I have been factoring the alcohol calories into my day but when I'm slogging away on the treadmill and realise after 20minutes I've only burned off a small glass of wine it doesn't seem worth it!!!
    I will definitely try to drink vodka and soda water this weekend instead of wine - thanks for all your advice :-)
  • elainio
    elainio Posts: 77
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    I am 24 and love to go out too! I used to drink a load every Friday and Saturday (Fridays I would start drinking after work at 5pm and then continue on to a club till 3am). Since January the 4th I have lost over 30lb and I have to say I think alot of that is down to the fact that I don't drink anywhere near as much! I drink one night a week and when I am drinking I usually stick to Gin and Slim or red wine if I am in the house.

    I drink slower than I used to and can go a whole night with only having 4-5drinks. The nights that I am going to be drinking I log what I want to drink in the morning and then work off at least the amount of cals I think I will drink. Have you ever thought about not drinking on nights out? This is what I have done a good few times and still have a great time. I also find that I get tired easier if I am sober so tend to go home a bit earlier so I'm not only hangover free in the morning I am also fresh and well rested.

    I now can't drink anywere near the amount I used to because I am drunk after 2 glasses of wine or 4 Gins :S. I like to drink a couple of sparkling waters inbetween my alcoholic drinks too so that it is over a longer period of time and not just downing 4 gins then wanting more!

    If you are serious about losing weight you should plan how you are going to allow for going out and drinking so that you are still below your cal intake.

    As for hang over food I would suggest sticking to toast and poached eggs and drinking lots of water. Maybe even a subway for lunch ;)

    Good luck,

    Exx
  • pinksherbert
    pinksherbert Posts: 38 Member
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    Ha - I posted a topic about this already this week!

    The short answer is - only drink once or twice a week and dont make them total benders!

    You have to count them (all of them!) and save up for them during the week.

    Shame as I love a spritzer and I've just rediscovered pear cider which is like pure sugar.

    I am not sure on the exact cal count, but I remember Pimms with diet lemonade is good for slimmers - perfect for the summer, although not sure about ordering it on a night out! (and dont drink the whole jug!)

    HTH

    x
  • mefergus26
    mefergus26 Posts: 9
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    30lb since Jan - that's amazing! Thanks for the advice and good luck with the rest of your weight loss journey x
  • meredith414
    meredith414 Posts: 18
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    I am totally with you! I love my drinks. AT this point it's not stalling my weight loss because if I'm going to drink, I cut back on calories that day or work out more. I love wine, which is pretty low calorie already and if I'm going out I always have vodka and club soda. Another good one that's the same calories but a lot more delicious is vanilla vodka and diet coke. I stay far away from Jack and diet because Jack gives me really bad hangovers but if you want, go for that.

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