Cutting out alcohol??

I am in the same situation as you are! I am trying to lose the last 10 pounds and am realizing that alcohol holds me back tremendously. It is so hard to resist, especially in the summertime when soaking up the sun on a patio with friends. I find for me that I need to completely abstain from alcohol, because once I have one or two drinks I can easily allow myself to have more to the point where I end up drinking too much, and eating because I am hungry! If you can learn to say no from the beginning there is a better chance of success. I find if I focus on what I want most (look awesome in my wedding dress, wear a crop top this summer, lose some body fat) then I ask myself - would I rather have all of that, or this drink? The answer is usually not to drink!

I never really drank that often, but I always did order a mixed drink when I went out with friends (which was usually twice a week). Yikes, those things hide a lot of calories! More than half of what I should be taking in a day! So in my case, yeah, cutting those out has majorly helped. Ordering "skinny" cocktails on days I still want to drink has helped, but they still have 100-200 calories in them, so I have to be careful. Also - I have rediscovered my love of wine, as you mentioned. I like to drink it a lot more slowly, so I'm usually content with one glass per social event.

Honestly, I'd love to get to a point where I'm only drinking water (and a little coffee in the morning). Flavored drinks of any sort typically land me in trouble at the end of the day.

If I'm going to drink which is very rare I will have a shot or two of vodka at 65 calories per shot mixed with soda water with extra squeezed lime. I've never been one for sugary mixed drinks so it doesn't bother me.

Keep up the great work OP it's awesome you are looking for ways to make it work into your goals!

halfninja2 wrote: »

In my experience, I have more success losing body fat if I don't drink alcohol, even just a beer or two once or twice a week has a negative effect. I can still lose body fat by managing my calories/exercise, but it's just one more thing working against me instead of for me. For perspective, my starting weight was 210lbs, lowest weight was 145lbs. Currently 158lbs after putting on a good amount of muscle.

Agree with this. I find that alcohol may not impare your weight loss if you work it in to your macros but it will make it harder to drop body fat.

When I started my journey I went 6 months without so much as a beer. It wasnt the easiest thing in the world but it helped keep me honest during the process.

Up until a couple of months ago I was drinking vodka nightly after work. I don't normally eat much, but alcohol made me so hungry that I could honestly go through an entire pizza by myself and then some. I didn't exercise anymore and just became lethargic. Now, I'm back to taking my 1-2 mile walks at lunch, 4-8 mile walks on the weekends and, finally, exercising - strength and cardio. I can't remember when I've felt this good. I never want to go back to that dark, lonely place.

I'm not implying that anybody here is like I was, just saying how bleak and non-productive it was.

Alcohol are calories and the first to be evacuated when consumed. I wholeheartedly believe that if you are active...the calories don't count 1:1.

I completely cut alcohol from my diet for a month and I lost 5lbs...changed nothing else. Alcohol is just empty calories; if you're trying to reach your goals...you have to decided how badly you want to reach them. Sometimes letting go of cokes, alcohol, or that dessert...is usually the trick.

Besides the calories alcohol stifles muscle growth. Protein synthesis decreases, for days after consuming alcohol, alcohol lowers testosterone, alcohol slows fat metabolism greatly and it affects workouts.
I lost a fair amount of weight while fitting alcohol into my macros and training but once I quit I got way more fit rather than just thinner. It makes adding muscle and keeping BF% low a lot easier for me but most of us compromise our diets and training in one way or another for guilty pleasures.

I stopped drinking in January and haven't really noticed much change with my weight. I do notice that I feel less dehydrated. I am losing fat and increasing muscle more now than before I was drinking but I can't necessarily attribute that to no alcohol. Too many other variables. I believe they're just calories, fit them in or don't...