Alcohol

Alcohol was a problem for me also when it comes to weightloss. I'm from Wisconsin where drinking is basically a hobby and people drink often and in large amounts. I didnt want to quit drinking completely so I switched to using sprite zero or mio/water. Since then I've been losing weight much easier than when I was using normal soda. The mio comes in so many flavored that you could find one to go with almost any alcohol and I like the sprite zero because it doesn't have that diet taste.

I love my wine and I am not giving it up. I would rather be a little heavier than I really would like to be than give it up. I have lost about 58 lbs so far (since 2012) and I started by limiting alcohol to weekends only (I used to have a glass or two of wine with dinner almost every night). At first, it completely worked and I was losing weight, no problem. Now, as I get closer to my goal, it has been harder. I was in a plateau for over the last year! I knew it was because no matter how good I was at sticking to my calorie goal during the week, I blew it on weekends with the wine. I had to figure something out without having to give up drinking, because I knew that would not work for me as a lifestyle. 5 weeks ago, I created my own way of eating with a mix of 5:2, intermittent fasting, and calorie cycling...with this, I am pretty strict during the week (Mon-Thurs) but it has allowed me to continue to drink wine on the weekends and have one meal out (rest of the time, I continue to eat healthy) and I finally, FINALLY, started to lose weight again! 5 lbs down in the last 5 weeks. I definitely feel like I will be able to keep this up as well. I also suggest to eat some food/your dinner before starting to drink so your body has time to digest the food because as soon as alcohol enters your system, your body will focus on that first. Once I started doing that, I also have found that I don't get the tipsy "I want snackies" feeling :-P

I have lots of problems with food but I'm thankful I don't have a problem with alcohol. If it tasted good I would be in trouble. Fortunately I've never encountered alcohol that I really find tasty.

shinisize wrote: »

cblack8 wrote: »

It's weird, I can fill my beer bottle with water right in front of my friends and they don't bug me about it

I actually learned to do something like this when I was younger and my friends were much worse about putting on pressure to drink. I would sip a beer in a bottle or can until someone accused me of nursing it, then I would take a bathroom break, dump my beer while I peed, and then fill it with water to about the same level in the sink

I used to do the same exact thing! I wanted my friends to think I was drinking, when I really wasn't. I was ultra cautious at high school parties because I didn't want to be the girl who did something stupid or got taken advantage of. It worked like a charm.

Since everyone else already gave the fit it into your diet advice which I think is probably the best answer I'll say the following.

If you don't want to drink at a social event, I've found that if you just pick up a drink and carry it around with you(Don't drink it!), nobody will offer you anything.

I'm with you - I love to drink and because I'm in my early 20s, most events we go to involve alcohol. I decided that I will only drink 2 days a week - usually Friday/Saturday night, but sometimes I will switch a day if it's a special event.

When I drink, it has to fit into my weekly calories - that makes it VERY difficult to drink too much. I go for skinny cocktails - rum and diet coke, skinny margarita, etc. and even then no more than 2 or 3 will fit.

If I'm going on a trip - let's say, to Vegas, where obviously I will be drinking more, I still count everything and try to fit in my calories. If I go a bit over, oh well, it's not a regular thing anyway.