Blame it on the alcohol..

2

Replies

  • rossinator63
    rossinator63 Posts: 36 Member
    IMHO, light beer is the wrong route to take. It is flavorless and bodiless. Find a good, flavor-full craft beer, then you can really enjoy one beer. Light beers are designed to be consumed in large quantities, it is all marketing.
  • NewMeSM75
    NewMeSM75 Posts: 971 Member
    TMLPatrick wrote: »
    Its tough.... the best way (short of not drinking, obviously) would be to just exercise to make up the difference. I managed it for a while, but its tough because drinking usually leads to bad food decisions... or hangovers, for which the best cure seems to be bad food...

    I agree
  • strueblood
    strueblood Posts: 8
    TMLPatrick wrote: »
    Its tough.... the best way (short of not drinking, obviously) would be to just exercise to make up the difference. I managed it for a while, but its tough because drinking usually leads to bad food decisions... or hangovers, for which the best cure seems to be bad food...

    I'm going to have to disagree with that. They say that 80% or more of what you put in your mouth determines the successful outcome of your workouts.
  • slider728
    slider728 Posts: 1,494 Member
    Personally, I never blamed alcohol for making me fat. The skinniest I ever was, I was a drunk. Funny how that works :)

    Beer has a lot of calories, especially now with the microbrew craze. I had a Revolution Unsessionable last night (10% alcohol) and looked up the calories on MFP. A 12 ounce can had 300 calories....

    If you want to reduce calories from alcohol, move onto spirits and calorie free mixers. Personally, I like a good quality spiced rum and diet cola. I used to drink vodka and diet cola. Play around with spirits and find something you like that has minimal calories. That Get Drunk Not Fat website is a huge help. As a rule of thumb, any spirit that I can make a "rail drink" out of is usually has an acceptable calorie range for me.
  • jrline
    jrline Posts: 2,353 Member
    As others have said as long as you log and track it and stay within your total calories no reason you can't have alcohol.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    TheCerealKiller wrote: »
    I know you want advice on how to drink and still lose weight, and certainly people do it. The options you have been given from others will help, however people tend to avoid the real reasons why alcohol does not jive well with weight loss. Alcohol essentially slows down your metabolism, and limits your body's ability to burn fat. That combined with the fact that it also lowers your inhibitions and clouds your decision making while making you hungry, means often times people are eating horribly after a few drinks. It's just a complete weight gaining tornado. Nobody likes talking about that stuff because let's face it, alcohol is awesome and we all want to drink ... every day ... and we don't like to hear that the things that bring us joy are bad for us. But look it up, do a few googly searches, you will find lots of scientific evidence that drinking and weight loss just don't get along very well. That being said.. you are young, you have every right to enjoy life. If you want to drink and lose weight it is definitely possible, just means you have to work really hard to counter the affects the alcohol is having.

    I think it depends on the person and on the circumstances. I was drinking 5-6 days a week for a large portion of my weightloss, 1-2 on weeknights and 3-5 on Fri/Sat, and I lost 13lbs against a goal of 12lbs in 12 weeks. I just fit it in like any other calories. In fact, I was in vegas for 3 days and drank the majority of my calories (A lot!) and ended up unexpectedly losing weight. Calories from alcohol actually seem to count LESS for me. This is at least somewhat supported by research:
    http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/04/health/why-the-body-may-waste-the-calories-from-alcohol.html
  • strueblood
    strueblood Posts: 8
    Holy crap do any of you people have livers left. Forget the calories, DAYUM!!!
  • dr0707
    dr0707 Posts: 24
    was down 2.5 lbs for my first week of dieting. went out yesterday, 8 beers later and a bowl of chicken noodle soup and some clams, Im back where I started. Im gonna have to give it up if I want to lose weight.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    dr0707 wrote: »
    was down 2.5 lbs for my first week of dieting. went out yesterday, 8 beers later and a bowl of chicken noodle soup and some clams, Im back where I started. Im gonna have to give it up if I want to lose weight.

    That is untrue unless those were 1000 calorie beers. 3500 calories in a pound. You would have had to have eaten ~8700 calories OVER maintenance to have gained that back. The vast majority is just salt/bloating and it will go away.
  • routehero
    routehero Posts: 9 Member
    http://www.thedranktank.com/product/the-drank-tank/
  • jillianedwards
    jillianedwards Posts: 67 Member
    I just dont drink anymore its not worth it to me!
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
    vodka + club soda
  • lawlifehanna
    lawlifehanna Posts: 90 Member
    Alternate between an alcohol drink and a glass (or two) of water. You can still keep sipping with your buddies, but won't drink (or eat) as much and also will be less drunk and thus less hangover -> no skipping workouts the next day because of hangover.
  • amyrunningwild
    amyrunningwild Posts: 6 Member
    1 - 2 drinks per day is actually healthy for you.

    One drink is 12 ounces of beer or wine cooler, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.

    I prefer beer. I love a good lager, stout, and even IPA's are growing on me. Anything other than the watery light beer most people drink.

    Get more expensive taste (then you can't afford to drink more than two) and just run it off.


  • thatgirlkellib
    thatgirlkellib Posts: 150 Member
    I have been dieting for a while probably a year lost a total of 60 pounds...and it appear to me for my body make up... the way I retain water and salt and whatever..I dont lose weight when I drink on the weekends...maybee I dont leave enough deficit but IT just never works for me.
  • crystalflame
    crystalflame Posts: 1,049 Member
    Read this. Spoiler alert: you can still drink, lose fat, and retain muscle. http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html
  • tripchictoronto
    tripchictoronto Posts: 2 Member
    I am a white wine drinker so I stretch it out with ice cubes. Even when they are melting at the bottom it looks like you have something in your glass and you don't get bugged to refill.
    Many people dilute with soda water to make a spritzer.
    When I am being careful I often drink diet soda from a wine glass and don't feel so deprived or like a party pooper.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    I have found since cutting back, I only need 1-2 glasses of bourbon or 1-2 good beers to get me plenty buzzed. I'd suggest cutting out all drinking for a few weeks, and then coming back to drinking only 1-2 times a week. Doing this (plus losing a bit of weight) really reduced my tolerance, so I don't need to drink as much to have the same affects.
  • dr0707
    dr0707 Posts: 24
    I hope so Lila!!
  • nilbogger
    nilbogger Posts: 870 Member
    It helps to limit yourself to a couple drinks. Fewer calories, and you won't get as drunk and want to binge on something crappy.

Categories