Dieting......Can I drink booze?

oh p.s. i drink bud 55 now with a crap ton of jager shots....but only once a week....or once every 2 weeks.

Well for me once summer hit I started having one light version of Mike's Hard Lemon-aid during the day and Captain Morgan Parrot Bay Coconut Rum mixed with low calorie Koolaid (Hawaiian Punch!) or orange Benefiber at night. Of course my body, strangely enough, actually uses alcohol to cope with my disability so it's kind of required, lol. I restarted my diet 2 weeks ago and I've lost 2 pounds so far. Pretty decent considering I don't have too much to loose.

Agreed.. I will end the day with a few glasses of wine and have been steadily losing. Moderation is important but so is enjoying life, to me anyway.
:bigsmile:

This!! I'm in the process of trying to cut back the wine, but I'm not going to give it up. I personally stick to red wine, preferably organic or at least of a high enough quality that it's not loaded up with chemicals (you'd be amazed at what the cheap makers put in to bulk out the taste - steer clear of anything really cheap - there's a reason it's that cheap). I'm conducting an experiment at the moment to decide which glass of the evening is my favourite - the "chef's prerogative" glass that I have whilst cooking is winning over having one with dinner or having one after dinner, so that's my aim - one glass and then switch to sparkling water.

Try going without for 2 weeks. Eat healthily, exercise, then see how you feel about drinking. I used to like a drink most evenings, but since getting healthier, I just don't feel like it now. I sometimes have half a glass of wine, but it doesn't interest me any more. My body doesn't want it. Take a few weeks off to kick the addiction, then listen to what your body wants. If it still wants a drink in the evening, then work it into your calories.

My method of cutting out the alcohol was to buy sparkling mineral water and drink it from a nice wine glass. You canbuy the expensive stuff if you want. it's still a lot cheaper than wine anyway. I generally put a couple of thin slices of lime or lemon just to give a slight taste. I think it satisfies the psychological need. You can drink as much as you like!
I have a glass or two if I go out for dinner. I just don't drink alcohol at home.

As others have said if you count the calories on MFP you find the alcohol really adds them up and there are other things you'd rather have.

My one friend drinks vanilla vodka and diet coke and its only 60 calories per glass... And I drink Captain and Diet and it is also 60 calories per glass... so you may be able to do something like that.

How small is your glass? I've done the homework and a 1 ounce serving of Smirnoff vanilla rum is 70 calories. Since a shot is 1 1/2 ounces, a drink at a bar would be 105 calories if mixed with diet coke.

The calories in 1 jigger of vodka (1.5 fl oz, 42g) is as follows:

Vodka

---

Calories
80 proof

---

97
86 proof

---

105
90 proof

---

110
94 proof

---

116
100 proof

---

124

I love to drink, but I don't allow myself everyday anymore. Maybe once a week, sometimes once every other week (I'll have several drinks, but only on one day). If you're looking for low carb, make sure the mixer is diet. Tonic water has a lot of carbs, but diet tonic does not. I often drink a gin and diet tonic or vodka and diet ginger ale. Beer is almost non existent for me, since even a few low carb beers can add up (I'm on a low carb diet). But I incorporate planned cheat days into my diet, and that's when I allow myself some good beer.

It may come down to what you want more...a few drinks everyday or consistent weight loss. Some people can still lose while drinking; others might not.

As others have said if you count the calories on MFP you find the alcohol really adds them up and there are other things you'd rather have.

Ahh, I think that is the big question. Is there really something else you'd rather have? For me the answer is a big fat NO. I'd much rather have wine in the evenings than dessert or protein shakes or huge chunks of meat. I do aerobic exercise for an hour almost everyday (usually Zumba or moutain hiking) and eat a healthy diet and wine is my reward. I rarely go over the MFP calorie limit (which I actually find a little high).

I don't eat puddings at all. When I drink I tend to have wine instead of my evening meal, rather than with it.

alcohol is going to hinder your dieting, period.

The only solution is to cut back and save it for one day a week if you need to drink at all while cutting down on weight.

IT's not the calories that are bad, but the alcohol itself. It essentially a poison that your body needs to metabolize. In the meantime the other calories you've injested get stored.


A drink once a week won't derail you but three a night is completely counter productive to weight loss.

i think if you need to drink that much daily, you may have some other issues...

alcohol is going to hinder your dieting, period.

The only solution is to cut back and save it for one day a week if you need to drink at all while cutting down on weight.

The first sentence is true. It will "hinder" it, as in one would certainly lose more if they did not ingest extra calories from alcohol. But I personally AM losing weight and drinking nearly every day so ... I'm going to have to say only drinking one day a week is not the "only" solution. Not for me, but everyong is different. :drinker:

yes, you can lose weight while drinking. but if you're dieting for the right reasons, you shouldn't even want to put something so unhealthy into your body in the first place. dieting shouldn't strictly be about calories and pounds, but about overall physical and mental health as well.

alcohol is going to hinder your dieting, period.

The only solution is to cut back and save it for one day a week if you need to drink at all while cutting down on weight.

The first sentence is true. It will "hinder" it, as in one would certainly lose more if they did not ingest extra calories from alcohol. But I personally AM losing weight and drinking nearly every day so ... I'm going to have to say only drinking one day a week is not the "only" solution. Not for me, but everyong is different. :drinker:

yes, you can lose weight while drinking. but if you're dieting for the right reasons, you shouldn't even want to put something so unhealthy into your body in the first place. dieting shouldn't strictly be about calories and pounds, but about overall physical and mental health as well.

I don't know what these "right reasons" you refer to are. I like to live well, and for me that is going to include wine (or beer if it goes better with dinner) on most evenings. I don't really consider myself to be "dieting" though, I had slipped into too many bad eating habits and, more importantly, only exercising about once a week (okay, sometimes less). But I'm not after a temporary change that will get me into a size 8 (where I want to be) quickly. I'm looking to live a healthy, satisfying life. If at some point the wine starts affecting my health then I would cut back or quit, and I'd be a little less satisfied. But right now I've got my blood work (rising LDL's are what pushed prompted my change) back under control even with the wine, and just yesterday my daughter said "Are those the jeans you just bought? They are gettting loose already". They are size 10, so I believe size 8 is coming (admittedly probably slower that it would without the alcohol).

Nothing wrong with having an occasional (occasional mind you) indulgence. The problem with alcohol is that no matter how you drink it it's empty calories and extra sugar. Wine was always my preference, then I switched to vodka or tequila with diet. However I noticed that switching to the diet brought on a general feeling of, well, crappiness. Diet soda and crystal light is all around just not good for you. We are all on a mission to get healthier right? What has worked for me, (and I know that doesn't mean everyone) is switching to tequila or vodka with sparkling or tap water and either lime juice or lemon. It's not my super drink of choice, but I feel much better about drinking it so it makes me happier.