A 22 yr old's worst enemy...ALCOHOL

aknep3
aknep3 Posts: 9
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, so being that I am 22...you could say alcohol definately exists in my...stomach. I enjoy it and don't really wanan give it up, but if it's genuinely making a difference, i can try! So these are my questions...

1.) Has anyone cut it out to see what a difference it would make? Did it truly make a difference?

2.) Has anyone found a way to enjoy a drink and no let it affect your goals?

3.) Has anyone made any slight changes in their favorite drink that made it better for you (certain drinks that aren't bad, etc.)?

Any insight would be much appreciated! Thanks!
«1

Replies

  • craft338
    craft338 Posts: 870 Member
    how much and what do you drink? if u drink every weekend, maybe cut down to every other weekend, or something like that. beer is pretty bad too, no matter how well you eat or exercise, beer is not good for a diet. i can't have red bull n vodka anymore which sucks, so i'll have a couple glasses of wine instead. plus, it makes me look classy lol :)
  • thecanface
    thecanface Posts: 1,180 Member
    cutting beer out has made the BIGGEST difference!!!
  • Abells
    Abells Posts: 756 Member
    Hey girl -- story of my life!! I am 26 years old. I gained a crap ton of weight through college and still outta college. I hit 151 on February 6th and I was like that is it! I was also always super bloated. I exercise a lot so I knew I had to do something else. I play 4 sports (rugby, softball, soccer, volleyball) and I go to the gym. I knew alcohol was a factor so I stopped drinking. I lost about 10 pounds. Now I rarely drink but once in a while I do but learned to cut it and I am still losing weight for sure.

    Some people say it doesnt help but trust me it does cause I saw a difference. And I am less bloated. If I do drink now I stick to straight liquor. I used to drink a lot of beer, now I'll have something like Jack on the Rocks. Also, if you drank for that "drunk factor" it's good to stop drinking. I have on jack on the rocks and I'm feeling it. Plus you'll see how much money you save ;)
  • marthamae813
    marthamae813 Posts: 70 Member
    Limit yourself to like 1 or 2 drinks. If you know your gonna drink, exercise more. Try and limit drink to special parties or once or twice a month.
  • JPod279
    JPod279 Posts: 722 Member
    Alcohol is very bad for your gut and *kitten*. No two ways about it. When I was in college I actually didn't care for beer much so I was always drinking mixed drinks and I saw myself put on a lot of weight. Cut it out and saw a drop off. You do at least now have the option of low carb beers that weren't around when I was in college, which was 90-96 (Yes, I was on the 6 year plan but at least I eventually graduated :) ) and those are good alternatives.
  • angryguy77
    angryguy77 Posts: 836 Member
    Avoid beer. Mixed drinks like Capt and diet, screw drivers, I guess would be the best bet. At 22, you should be ok as long as your not eating bad and drinking. I'm not an expert, but it worked for me in college. I had a lot of fun, but I didn't get the beer belly because I worked out and didn't eat too bad.
  • Hey! I'm 24 and I love my drinks :) Mainly for a way to socialize. I did cut out alcohol my first month of my exercise program, and I went back to drinking the last two months. I am currently not drinking again. So far I've lost a total of about 38 pounds. 17 pounds came from the first month. I'm not saying it was all due to not drinking alcohol, but I can say it helped. If you try it, take it a month at a time and slowly bring it back in. If I drink now, I will have a glass or wine (100 calories for red wine) or a rum and diet coke (80-100 calories).

    I hope this helps!
  • aknep3
    aknep3 Posts: 9
    Thanks for much for the advice! I have been tryin to cut down on beer but I really like it so it's tough! but your post may be the motivation i need! Thanks again!
  • amielcampbell
    amielcampbell Posts: 36 Member
    it makes a HUGE difference, i stopped drinking and lost 10 pounds almost IMMEDIATELY! Now I am exercising more and counting calories and i would rather eat something YUMMY than waste my calories drinking all the time! Save the alcohol for special occasions!
  • Geminieve24
    Geminieve24 Posts: 364 Member
    I like to get my drink on and when I do I will have like sugar free red bull and vodka and rum and diet coke. Don't drink those "girlie" drinks, they are loaded with sugar! I also like my wine (umm the bottle please) and I will have white wine. Drink plenty of water and for me I have found that if I go out and drink too much it about what you eat the next day. If you're hung out, have a fruit smoothie and maybe a whole bagel to soak up the alcohol in your system. Stay away from late night Denny's!
    And stay away from beer and other carbonated alcohols like Zima's and Smirnoff (lots of sugar)
    Hope this helps
  • chantel14
    chantel14 Posts: 128
    I would cut it down but still enjoy it once in a while. I limit myself to drink once a week and there are better options out there. I usually drink either a low cal beer like Bud 55 select, a glass of wine, diet coke and vodka, or they have this skinny girl margarita that's really good. :)
  • YEah i an attest to the the post above. I used to be a pretty heavy alcoholic, but after giving it up and working out a lot (and i mean a lot) i lost 40 lbs. Of course i probably could have lost weight while still drinking, but not at the consistency that i did without it. I still enjoy some brewskies now and then, but i do notice some water weight the next morning and of course the inevitable feeling of being bloated. I am about to switch back to drinking some pure liquor instead and just on occasion, to see if that effects the water weight as much and the bloatedness. Good luck!
  • Yeah, Im 22 and in my final year of my 2nd degree. Ive cut it out for 2 weeks now, not really seeing a difference weight wise but I am definitely feeling less sluggish and bloated and I must admit its nice not to think 'ug Im gonna feel this in the morning' or thoughts that come with it. Dont get me wrong I love ale and miss it sooooo much but I have substituted my beer alowance with fruit and veg so even if I wanted to I have made it so I cant afford it! Its difficult by I must admit Im feeling better for it, if not lighter yet. I say try it and see :)
  • Geminieve24
    Geminieve24 Posts: 364 Member
    Side note: OH TO BE 22 AGAIN! ENJOY IT! :)
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    there's two ways to really make a difference without completely depriving yourself, 1st way is to drastically reduce the amount you consume at any one sitting, I mean like going down to 1 or maximum 2 drinks (and I mean really 1 or two, not 1 or 2 triple shots), if you can do that, and keep your weekly consumption to two times a week, or maybe 3, then that would work, once you get to where you want to be, you could probably increase that to 2 to 3 drinks twice a week with little consequence. The other approach(more agreeable approach for a 20 something IMHO) would be to limit yourself to one night every two to three weeks, if you know your trend is to have four or more drinks in a night, fine, but limit the damage by limiting the frequency. Yes you'll probably stop losing weight for a day to three days after, but as a young person, your body is much more resistant than us 30 and 40 somethings (and so on) and can rebound from a bad night far faster than we can.

    that's my take on it. Basically, be sensible, complete deprivation is only going to play with your head and move you closer to failure, so don't deprive, decrease, that's my motto.
  • Nanadena
    Nanadena Posts: 739 Member
    Do you watch NCIS on television? The guy that plays McGee, Sean Murray, cut out all alcohol and is half the man he was. He lost over 25 pounds from cutting it out of his diet. I have cut it out because of the calories and it really slows down your metabolism.
  • njean888
    njean888 Posts: 399 Member
    I LOVE ALL FORMS OF ALCOHOL!!!!! I love my beer, my wine, and my vodka. I have no intentions on giving it up, but yes I have cut back significantly. I no longer drink wine every night. I have wine usually on the weekends. Also I try to get low calorie beer when i'm in the mood for beer. Vodka is the absolute best if you use a mixer like tonic.

    I know eating right and looking good is important but so is having fun and doing things you enjoy! Drink up my friend!
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
    Everything in moderation. I am a big wine drinker (use to drink it evry day) and I did try to cut it out for a month just to see if it made a big difference. I did lose 7lbs. and so I cut it the next month and lost another 7lbs.

    So I began drinking and the weight loss was slower. I cannot cut drinking out of my life but I have learned to control it and drink in moderation. I just calulate it into my calories. And I pretty much just drink on weekends
  • jamiemh
    jamiemh Posts: 39 Member
    Alcohol DOES make a difference. It also depends on what’s your vice. A glass of wine is about 4 points (1 point per ounce). If your doing Atkins a great option is gin or vodka. Try to mix with “diet” sodas or diet tonic. Also what is good… Skinny Girl Margarita! My fav is a twist to a Double O 7…. Tropicana 50…diet Sprit and vodka.,, yummy. Or if you can take it do shot or two of tequila and drink diet coke the rest of the time.
    (I probably sound like a raging alky LOL)
  • I can understand that alcohol can be your worse enemy when trying to lose weight. Three of my fellow Marines lost 10 pounds in the first two weeks after we arrived here, although they were heavier drinkers. I myself lost 5 pounds in the first two weeks and have continued to lose weight by exercising daily and maintaining a better diet.

    The key with alcohol is to keep it to a minimum. One a week is a good goal to achieve, if you drink a lot. If you're looking to really cut it out, try to keep it to once every month or two. The two main types of drinks that will really pack the weight on are anything with hops, aka beer, and sugary drinks. Cut the majority of those out, and you'll be well on your way to keeping the weight off.
  • Moderation is the key. I was heavy social drinker before December. I cut out alcohol entirely. I had my first drinking event this weekend during a friends bachelor party. Took two days after before I felt better and went to the gym.
  • Dawntodusk
    Dawntodusk Posts: 262 Member
    If you quit you may find yourself replacing it with another form of carb. So beware of what you eat/drink instead of drinking otherwise it won't make any difference to your weight goals.
  • mkennedym
    mkennedym Posts: 253 Member
    i find that i can drink a few glasses of scotch (which is really strong but doesn't have a ton of calories) and it doesn't affect me too badly. beer is the real enemy to many people's weight loss goals. for one, it requires a lot of beer to get someone drunk. you drink 1 scotch and you are already buzzed. plus, scotch is so overpowering in its taste and smell that once you are done with 1 or 2 glasses you can't think of drinking any more. maybe try drinking 2 glasses of red wine (which is good for your heart). at least then despite getting alcohol calories you are promoting heart health (more than 2 glasses and you start losing the health benefits).

    overall alcohol is bad for you, period. some alcohol is better for you than others. you can always make up for it by drinking irregularly (not every weekend and not more than once a week) or restricting your caloric intake for the day you plan to have a few drinks. just don't overdo it. don't drink like 15 shots or 15 beers or something like that. that could destroy several days' worth of dieting.
  • angela828
    angela828 Posts: 498 Member
    I go out drinking once a month with my girlfriends usually and I'll try to stick to the same drink all night so I remember it and log it! My favorite is vanilla vodka w ginger ale (tastes like cream soda!). I stay far away from beer and if we have the opportunity to dance, I go CRAZY! Dancing at the bar/club will help you burn all those drinks off! Also, my friends and I have a habit of getting McDonalds when we're done drinking so I stopped getting anything..I found that that extra 500 cals of a quarter poundr w cheese were just NOT worth it.. not sure if you and your friends get food after as well but skipping it will make a difference!

    Also on a day where I know I'm going to be drinking, I workout like CRAZY and make sure I eat well all day and leave a few hundred calories for the drinks :)
  • Dtho5159
    Dtho5159 Posts: 1,054 Member
    Good grief I must be the only odd ball here lol. Im almost 27 but never got into the drinking scene since I became a mother before I turned 21 so I never went to the bar or club or anywhere. My husband and I did drink out in the orchard when I was 18 till I got pregnant at 20 but I guess after that, it got out of my system lol
  • I'm 34 and still a weekend lush. I steer clear of beer as much as possible. Vodka and Club Soda is a very low calorie drink and will get the job done if you know what I mean. If you find yourself craving a beer, Bud Select and MGD both make a 65 calorie light beer. If you dance as much as I do when you drink, you'll burn it all off and then some.
  • nyctraveler
    nyctraveler Posts: 305 Member
    I used to be SUCH AN ALCOHOLIC in college lol and the year after.

    I am not a beer drinker but LOVE wine at dinner and vodka/tequila/rum drinks at bars. I mix with diet coke or sugar free red bull or club soda.

    I am not big on cocktails as they are too sweet for me. I would say alcohol never made me gain a lot of weight, nor did weight fall of when i cut down. it's more tied to my diet. When i eat crap and drink, that's when i gain weight.

    I cut down A LOT. I used to split a bottle of wine at dinner with my bf...basically 4-5x a week. Not to mention other drinking when going out on the weekend. Now, I have a glass of wine at dinner maybe 1-2x a week. (wow what happened to me?) haha

    If I go out for a special occasion like a friend's bday, I still drink but hte next day hangover/dehydration throws out my workout schedule out the window. I never get hungover in traditional sense but i'm lethargic the whole day - like no energy to do anything but walk at most.
  • a_stronger_steph
    a_stronger_steph Posts: 434 Member
    I wouldn't ever want to give up my beer. About three years ago I started down the dark path of beer geekery... and I've no intention of coming back. A life without Black Oak Brewing's "10 Bitter Years" or a lovely Belgian trippel is not a life I want to lead.

    That said... I've gone from having a beer on four to six nights of the week to having a beer on two to three nights of the week (usually weekends). I try to split beers with my partner whenever I can, so that I'm not drinking the whole thing, but still get the satisfaction of that delicious brew. I also rarely drink enough to get drunk anymore, but that's partly because I'm 25, not 22... ;) And, as much as possible, I try to factor in the calories that I'm going to be drinking into my daily calorie quota. If I know I'm going to drink on the weekend, I will try to be extra careful during the week, and then make sure I work out hard as well!
  • scarletleavy
    scarletleavy Posts: 841 Member
    I'm 23 and just graduated from college last May. Since then I have dropped almost 20 pounds. The first 10 pounds were actually quite easy, they were just alcohol and junk food weight. When I was in college I was going out a lot (especially senior year) and the temptation to eat junk food/fast food during or after drinking was so high. So for me it was a combination of bad food and alcohol.

    When I graduated I made the decision to change my lifestyle and started to eat healthier and cut out a lot of my alcohol consumption. I still have wine or a cocktail every now and then but I rarely drink beer these days. I've also found since losing weight and drinking less I have a much lower tolerance. I went out for a friend's birthday last weekend and over the course of several hours had 2 drinks, a Diet Coke and Rum and a Gin Gimlet. Just a year ago no way those 2 drinks would have had any impact on me, but now they were enough for the night (and even gave me a bit of a hangover the next day). So not only is it now a lot cheaper for me to go out, but I'm pretty happy with my weight and body now. Definitely worth giving up the heavy drinking. When I do go out now I make sure to plan ahead for the extra calories and really tell myself that I can't have fast food afterward.
  • You should check this out. If it's not helpful, it'd definitely at least interesting:

    http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html

    I tested this theory last weekend. Spot on. I'm 21 and in college, so I totally get where you're coming from. But, I lost 2.5 pounds between this past Monday and the Monday previous, so after applying Martin's advice, my Saturday night was obviously not a problem at all.
This discussion has been closed.