Can you lose weight without cutting alcohol/coffee with sugar?
jlcbooth
Posts: 35 Member
Hi all. Fairly new mom here, been using MFP for a while but for the first time I am REALLY trying hard to lose. I am hoping to lose 20lbs by my son's first birthday, July 1. I'm 5'7" and 160 now and on a 1200 cal diet. Trying to do Jillian Michaels' beginner shred videos 5x a week mixed in with some Leslie Sansone walking videos.
I am trying to eat very clean, weighing all my food, but I do love a glass of red wine or a beer with dinner. I also love tea or coffee in the morning (just one cup), but I absolutely cannot drink it without sugar (1tbsp) and a tbsp of half and half. Are these things going to stop me from losing? If it's one or the other, which should I lose - the tea/coffee with sugar? (I've tried honey and maple syrup and agave, and none do the trick.) They fit in my calorie count most days, especially when I exercise, but I'm wondering if the sugar from either the wine or the coffee/tea is still harming my ability to lose. Been at this hard core for about 2 weeks and haven't lost a pound. (Or if I do, it's back the next day.)
Thanks for weighing in. I am trying to do my best without depriving myself completely. These things are my only vices and I'm curious to hear what you all think.
I am trying to eat very clean, weighing all my food, but I do love a glass of red wine or a beer with dinner. I also love tea or coffee in the morning (just one cup), but I absolutely cannot drink it without sugar (1tbsp) and a tbsp of half and half. Are these things going to stop me from losing? If it's one or the other, which should I lose - the tea/coffee with sugar? (I've tried honey and maple syrup and agave, and none do the trick.) They fit in my calorie count most days, especially when I exercise, but I'm wondering if the sugar from either the wine or the coffee/tea is still harming my ability to lose. Been at this hard core for about 2 weeks and haven't lost a pound. (Or if I do, it's back the next day.)
Thanks for weighing in. I am trying to do my best without depriving myself completely. These things are my only vices and I'm curious to hear what you all think.
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Replies
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They fit in my calorie count
For the coffee sugar and cream, this is all that matters, they are no different than any other calories.
Regarding beer and wine, there are some sources that suggest that alcohol inhibits fat lost (links below) but many people here are successful while still including alcohol in their diets. If you continue to drink and lose weight, then keep drinking. If you find your loss stalled, then re-evaluate.
The bottom line is, if you're not losing weight you're either under-counting your food or over-counting your expenditure. The listed calories burned on MFP are way too high for most exercises.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson194.htm
http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/the-negative-weight-affects-of-consuming-alcohol.html#b0 -
The only thing that matters is a calorie deficit. If those fit into your calories, keep them in. Just make sure you log everything accurately and use a food scale. Those tablespoons could easily be much more than you believe once you weigh them out.0
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What they said.
/thread0 -
Hi all. Fairly new mom here, been using MFP for a while but for the first time I am REALLY trying hard to lose. I am hoping to lose 20lbs by my son's first birthday, July 1. I'm 5'7" and 160 now and on a 1200 cal diet. Trying to do Jillian Michaels' beginner shred videos 5x a week mixed in with some Leslie Sansone walking videos.
I am trying to eat very clean, weighing all my food, but I do love a glass of red wine or a beer with dinner. I also love tea or coffee in the morning (just one cup), but I absolutely cannot drink it without sugar (1tbsp) and a tbsp of half and half. Are these things going to stop me from losing? If it's one or the other, which should I lose - the tea/coffee with sugar? (I've tried honey and maple syrup and agave, and none do the trick.) They fit in my calorie count most days, especially when I exercise, but I'm wondering if the sugar from either the wine or the coffee/tea is still harming my ability to lose. Been at this hard core for about 2 weeks and haven't lost a pound. (Or if I do, it's back the next day.)
Thanks for weighing in. I am trying to do my best without depriving myself completely. These things are my only vices and I'm curious to hear what you all think.
if that is the case then ditch the clean eating.
Like others said calorie deficit is what matters. so as long as the occasional beer, creamer, etc does not put you over then you will be fine.
I will say that you may want to change your thinking and not view foods as clean/unclean...there is no clean/unclean food there is just food that your body uses for fuel itself. So yes you can eat pizza, ice cream, etc; but make sure that is in the context of an overall diet that hits macro/micro/calorie targets and incorporates nutrient dense foods.0 -
Sorry, I'm no expert on this other than what worked for me. I stopped both alcohol and coffee caffeine (drank some green tea plain) for 10 or so days to give my body a break. With the healthier eating plan I went on the pounds quickly went down. I didn't exercise at that time due to being a lazy *kitten* (I exercise now yay!). I added back red wine and then white wine a few times a week but being a coffee and milk with sugar lover- I switched to coffee or swiss water decaf with unsweetened almond milk. My tastes just gradually adjusted when I omitted all 'added' sugars and minimized processed foods. I rarely crave anything, including that sugar in my coffee. Which is wild and I'm happy about. Some people like the liquid stevia, but I've never tried it.0
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1200 is pretty low for you. Why are you eating so little? I'm shorter than you, much older, and with less weight to lose and I'm on a bit more than that and still losing steadily.
Also, look at the foods you love and give you the most satisfaction, and keep those. Ditch the mindless eating or stuff you don't really like but tend to eat because "it's around" or "the kids are eating, I guess I will, too." How do you manage your money? If it's wisely, you spend much of your budget on needs (shelter, heat) and then allocate wants in the ways that reflect what's important to you. Do you paint your own toenails to save money for an expensive haircut? Or, maybe you carry a bag from TJ Maxx because you prefer to splurge on shoes. Think about food the same way. What's truly worth the calories and what isn't? So, to me, I'll happily work in a good Craft brewed IPA. But, no way am I suffering through a BudLite, even if it is lower calorie.0 -
You can lose weight eating nothing but Twinkies if you wanted to. You will probably be miserable and end up diabetic...but it is possible!
You just need a calorie deficit. Eat whatever you want. Trial and error is the best teacher in learning how to properly fuel your body with the calories you have to consume.0 -
The short answer is yes, you can if it fits in your calories. I ended up adjusting how I prep my coffee to lower the cals (1 tbsp light cream, 1 tbsp flavored creamer, 1/2 tbsp sugar and 1 packet sweet and low. Tis delicious and came to 89 calories BUT my limit is higher at 1590) and pretty much stopped drinking but that was because at the end of the day, I needed to chew something, not drink it. The other unexpected side effect? Total lightweight now...in more ways than one.
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Haven't read through the other reply's so sorry if this is a repeat.. but for me when starting out I had to cut things gradually. To just eliminate everything I love would have been a definite setup for failure. Even now that I eat mostly clean and healthy I still allow myself a treat a few times a week. My fitness coach says, " a food is only as good or bad as the diet it is contained in." I so love that quote!! We don't have to be perfect but we should try to fit our "treats" into our health/fitness goals. I track my calories and macros using MFP, and as long as my treats fit my macros/calories for the day then I dont feel guilty about it. Also love my friend Aimee's philosophy of eating 80/20 during the week. She has 80% of what she eats as strictly whole "Clean" food, and the other 20% is to help her stick with it and stay human lol
Let me know if you want more info about tracking macros, and feel free to add me as a friend, would love to help.
PS: I am a mom of 2 - 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 girls 0 -
I agree that 1200 calories sounds low for you - especially if you're doing the Jillian Michaels 5 days a week. Make sure you log your exercise and eat back all your exercise calories. If the wine and creamer fit into your caloric allotment, then enjoy them.
The biggest hump in a lot of diet plans is COMPLIANCE. If you can't find something that's going to work for you long term, then it's probably not going to work very well at all.
I'm 5'5, eating 1650-1700 calories a day, (including coffee creamer that don't really bother to log) and losing about a pound a week, doing nothing more elaborate than 10,000 steps per day.
I encourage you to do some of the "diet math" (TDEE, etc) as you get started to avoid wasted weeks of starvation and frustration. There are a ton of different ways to calculate everything, and MFP does a pretty good job of helping you, if you log your exercise and keep all your stats up to date.0 -
Drinking some of your calories won't hurt you. Drinking a lot of your calories is a very bad idea. As long as you stay at a deficit, you will lose weight. The problem with alcohol is that it is detrimental to your willpower. It would be better to avoid it, but it isn't impossible to lose weight while drinking it.0
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OP as others have said, what matters for weight loss is that you consume less calories than you burn. Also as others have said, 1200 cals seems pretty low for someone of your height and activity level, and new mom's tend to have quite a bit of non-sedentary daily activity too!
If you haven't already, read this:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
Anecdotally, I am 5'2. When I started, MFP set me at 1200 cals. I was over almost daily. I started reading more on here about setting appropriate goals and having reasonable deficits along with IIFYM and flexible dieting. I raised my cals first to 1400, then to 1500, and kept losing. I got a FitBit, realized just how "active" I am, and raised my calories up to close to 1700. I still lose about 0.5 lbs/week at that level. I've lost 30 lbs total and am transitioning to maintenance. I am about as far from a clean eater as you can find. I drink coffee with flavored creamer in the morning, wine almost every night, gelato a couple times a week.
Good luck!0 -
Like they all said calorie deficit is all that matter, I eat pizza, ribs, fried chicken, burgers, beer etc.0
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First off, don't set yourself a target date for the weight loss. That's a huge trap, and it sets you up for failure (if you don't reach the magical date or lose slower than you think), or regaining the weight you lose (if you do, and then mistakenly think you're "done"). Instead, commit to changing your lifestyle.
Secondly, I agree with what others have said, that 1200 calories is too low for you. With your stats, your sedentary TDEE is estimated around 1700-1800, so a 20% deficit from that would give you a base calorie goal of at least 1400 calories. If you exercise, you should eat back a portion of those exercise calories on top of that, so you may well be eating 1600-1800 calories/day, which should give you a weight loss of between 0.5-1lb/week -- which is a healthy rate for someone with only 20lbs to lose. At 1200, you're just depriving yourself of vital energy, and you're more likely to feel too restricted and not be able to stick with it.
Third, this "clean eating" mentality has gotta go. Think of it this way: Could you reasonably keep up "clean eating" for the rest of your life? Like, forever? No? Well, then don't start something that you can't sustain. Instead, focus on making healthier choices but still allow yourself some balance and room for the things you love, whether they be coffee with creamer, a glass of red wine or beer, or a slice of your son's birthday cake now and then. If it fits your calories and macros, it's all okay.
Good luck!0 -
They fit in my calorie count most days, especially when I exercise
This is all that counts. If you are eating at a deficit, you will lose. It doesn't matter where the calories come from. You may feel better (healthier?) when you eat at a nutritionally balanced level, but that doesn't matter for actual weight loss. However, weight loss is slow, especially if you are close to your healthy weight. Patience is a virtue! Weight loss is also not linear and over time, most people's weight loss graph ends up looking like a roller coaster! it is not uncommon to go one or two weeks without a loss and then have a big dip, or have a big dip and then a slight increase, or any variable of loss, flat and gain that you can imagine! New exercise is also infamous for causing water retention to help heal sore muscles. That water retention can show up as a gain on the scale. To combat this, continue to be consistent in your exercise, drink lots of water and yes, be patient.
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Oh, and I'm also going to add that since your son is still a baby, you are likely still carrying a portion your fat and fluid stores from pregnancy, which will naturally dissipate. Also, if you are breastfeeding, you need to add 200-800 calories per day to your TDEE (depending on your nursing style. I did BF on demand around the clock and I swear that practically doubled my TDEE. Just once or twice during the day or supplementing and you might not be burning as much to produce milk...but you still need to keep your deficit small so that you don't lose your milk.)0
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Wow, lots of good info here. Let me clear some things up though.
1. I'm using 1200 cal/a day before exercise as my goal, as set by MFP, to help me lose 1.5lb/week. I could change it to 1lb/week. I track exercise here (jillian michaels and also things like cleaning, carrying the baby, etc) and eat those calories I gain, so this means that most days of the week, I am eating about 1500 calories.
2. I have eaten "clean" for about 5 years now, as a lifestyle change. Even before that, I was never a junk food/fast food lover. I am not a processed food kind of person so it's not hard for me to eat fresh, whole foods. I cook at home 5-6x a week and rarely have anything from a box except for rice or cereal. I'd say I eat clean 80% of the time - not because it's trendy, but because I know it's better for me, because I can eat more food that way and because I do not like the taste of processed foods. Sugar, alcohol and the occasional ice cream are my vices - and ice cream I enjoy rarely.
3. EWJLang, I am not nursing any more. I nursed for 6 months and then weaned. It was then that I saw a change in the way my clothes fit - as in, they didn't anymore - and when I decided it was time once and for all to watch portion sizes and drink less and get back to a comfortable weight for me. I am at the same weight I was when I first got pregnant, but as we know, pregnancy changes your shape.
Thanks for the TDEE info too - I will be looking at that more. I am also getting a fitbit soon to truly track what I expend. I have a feeling that the calories given to me by MFP for doing 20 min of circuit training - which is what I put in for Jillian Michaels work - isn't right. Could be too much, could be too little.
I think I will continue to have my wine at night, and drop the coffee/tea with sugar. I am drinking a protein shake daily with coffee in it, so I've got my caffeine fix there.
Thanks again!0 -
For myself, it IS possible to loose weight when I'm drinking... but it's definitely a lot harder and a lot slower process.0
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Yep, I had ice cream almost every other night during weight loss and booze on the weekends. Lost 53 lbs in 9 months after having my second kid.0
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Wow, lots of good info here. Let me clear some things up though.
1. I'm using 1200 cal/a day before exercise as my goal, as set by MFP, to help me lose 1.5lb/week. I could change it to 1lb/week. I track exercise here (jillian michaels and also things like cleaning, carrying the baby, etc) and eat those calories I gain, so this means that most days of the week, I am eating about 1500 calories.
2. I have eaten "clean" for about 5 years now, as a lifestyle change. Even before that, I was never a junk food/fast food lover. I am not a processed food kind of person so it's not hard for me to eat fresh, whole foods. I cook at home 5-6x a week and rarely have anything from a box except for rice or cereal. I'd say I eat clean 80% of the time - not because it's trendy, but because I know it's better for me, because I can eat more food that way and because I do not like the taste of processed foods. Sugar, alcohol and the occasional ice cream are my vices - and ice cream I enjoy rarely.
3. EWJLang, I am not nursing any more. I nursed for 6 months and then weaned. It was then that I saw a change in the way my clothes fit - as in, they didn't anymore - and when I decided it was time once and for all to watch portion sizes and drink less and get back to a comfortable weight for me. I am at the same weight I was when I first got pregnant, but as we know, pregnancy changes your shape.
Thanks for the TDEE info too - I will be looking at that more. I am also getting a fitbit soon to truly track what I expend. I have a feeling that the calories given to me by MFP for doing 20 min of circuit training - which is what I put in for Jillian Michaels work - isn't right. Could be too much, could be too little.
I think I will continue to have my wine at night, and drop the coffee/tea with sugar. I am drinking a protein shake daily with coffee in it, so I've got my caffeine fix there.
Thanks again!
By all means do whatever makes sense for you.
But if you're hitting your calorie goals (most of the time) and can fit your cream + sugar into those calorie goals, then no real reason to drop it.
If you feel like you need to make a little more calorie room for solid foods, or the calories devoted to your liquid enjoyments prevent you from getting the nutrients you need / want, then good for you on realizing that sometimes a change is in order.0 -
I drink every weekend and had no problems losing or maintaining weight. If it fits within your goal, you're good.
I wouldn't log cleaning and carrying the baby as exercise, though. That's just part of your daily routine. And beware of MFP telling you've burned more than you have. I usually cut the calories they give me in half, because they're notorious for being too high.0 -
NikiChicken wrote: »New exercise is also infamous for causing water retention to help heal sore muscles. That water retention can show up as a gain on the scale. To combat this, continue to be consistent in your exercise, drink lots of water and yes, be patient.
Thank you - I did not know this!
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Yes, you can!0
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hollyboremaly wrote: »Haven't read through the other reply's so sorry if this is a repeat.. but for me when starting out I had to cut things gradually. To just eliminate everything I love would have been a definite setup for failure. Even now that I eat mostly clean and healthy I still allow myself a treat a few times a week. My fitness coach says, " a food is only as good or bad as the diet it is contained in." I so love that quote!! We don't have to be perfect but we should try to fit our "treats" into our health/fitness goals. I track my calories and macros using MFP, and as long as my treats fit my macros/calories for the day then I dont feel guilty about it. Also love my friend Aimee's philosophy of eating 80/20 during the week. She has 80% of what she eats as strictly whole "Clean" food, and the other 20% is to help her stick with it and stay human lol
Let me know if you want more info about tracking macros, and feel free to add me as a friend, would love to help.
PS: I am a mom of 2 - 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 girls
Thank you - I have been trying to do 80/20 too. Love the quote from your coach too!
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simple answer yes...check my diary. I drink coffee everyday.....morning and afternoon, I drink when I want (not a big drinker but wait for summer) and eat chocolate...I fit it in.0
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Wow, lots of good info here. Let me clear some things up though.
1. I'm using 1200 cal/a day before exercise as my goal, as set by MFP, to help me lose 1.5lb/week. I could change it to 1lb/week. I track exercise here (jillian michaels and also things like cleaning, carrying the baby, etc) and eat those calories I gain, so this means that most days of the week, I am eating about 1500 calories.
1500 is better than 1200 for sure. I think you'd feel better on 1lb/week instead of 1.5lbs/week, personally. But that might be closer to your true loss rate, since as others have noted, MFP overestimates calorie burns. So it could come out to about the same in the end. Agree that you shouldn't log cleaning, carrying the baby, etc. as exercise, since that's what MFP assumes you already do as part of your normal daily activity and if you log it, you're double-counting those calories.I have eaten "clean" for about 5 years now, as a lifestyle change. Even before that, I was never a junk food/fast food lover. I am not a processed food kind of person so it's not hard for me to eat fresh, whole foods. I cook at home 5-6x a week and rarely have anything from a box except for rice or cereal. I'd say I eat clean 80% of the time - not because it's trendy, but because I know it's better for me, because I can eat more food that way and because I do not like the taste of processed foods. Sugar, alcohol and the occasional ice cream are my vices - and ice cream I enjoy rarely.
Then by all means, continue. Just count your coffee and creamer and wine as part of the other 20%.3. EWJLang, I am not nursing any more. I nursed for 6 months and then weaned. It was then that I saw a change in the way my clothes fit - as in, they didn't anymore - and when I decided it was time once and for all to watch portion sizes and drink less and get back to a comfortable weight for me. I am at the same weight I was when I first got pregnant, but as we know, pregnancy changes your shape.
Yep, and the media is full of images of celebrity women who have miraculously regained their six-pack abs a month after giving birth. Yeah, right. Without some combination of highly-paid personal trainer, judicious use of Photoshop, and/or plastic surgery, that's pretty unrealistic.Thanks for the TDEE info too - I will be looking at that more. I am also getting a fitbit soon to truly track what I expend. I have a feeling that the calories given to me by MFP for doing 20 min of circuit training - which is what I put in for Jillian Michaels work - isn't right. Could be too much, could be too little.
Very likely. Just be aware that the Fitbit won't necessarily be accurate for things like circuit training either. Fitbits can measure step-based exercise only. The newer models with heart rate monitors can also measure some steady-state cardio. But they're pretty useless for interval training, weights/strength training, or anything other than steady-state cardio. You may have to just guesstimate and then track actual results.I think I will continue to have my wine at night, and drop the coffee/tea with sugar. I am drinking a protein shake daily with coffee in it, so I've got my caffeine fix there.
If that works for you, then go for it. Personally, I couldn't survive without my morning coffee, but then, I drink it black or with a bit of milk, so that's me. We're all different.
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I am about the same height and weight as you are and I love my coffee as well. I have switched from Splenda to Stevia and I now measure my creamer. I just make sure that it fits into my calories. Good Luck!0
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I drink several coffees a day and I'm losing weight. I only have milk with it as I weaned myself off sugar in tea/coffee about 8 years ago. I'm losing after my third baby (she's 10 months) and I lost 66lbs after my 2nd still drinking coffee. I don't really drink alcohol, but if I wanted to and it fit into my calories I would do.
I have MFP set to lose 1lb a week, so my calorie goal is 1660 calories, although I prefer to eat fewer calories.
I found with my other 2 babies that weight loss really sped up once they reached 1, so I hope that's true again!0 -
yep - I've lost 11 pounds in 8 weeks, and I only had 18 total to lose.... I also started at my heighest weight in the normal bmi range. I drink about once a week, and usually have 1 day of lovely desserts. keep your calories in line and it's fine.0
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Yup! No way I could live without my creamy, sweet coffee.0
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