Ditch the booze!!!

lisambooth2
lisambooth2 Posts: 5 Member
in Motivation and Support
I weighed 10 stone at the beginning of Jan, decided to stop drinking alcohol, stick to 1200 cal diet along with daily 20min cardio excerise. I now weigh 9st 7Ibs. No crash dieting, nice steady pace and feel much fitter :)

Replies

  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
    Wait, so dropping calories to 1200 isn't a crash diet? Why, of all the things you've done, are you attributing your loss to booze instead of the cardio and/or 1200 calorie diet?
  • SisterSueGetsFit
    SisterSueGetsFit Posts: 1,211 Member
    I too, stopped drinking for the month of January. I've lost 10 pounds and feel great. I shooting for February too! Contiuned good luck.
  • SisterSueGetsFit
    SisterSueGetsFit Posts: 1,211 Member
    tincanonastring wrote: »
    Wait, so dropping calories to 1200 isn't a crash diet? Why, of all the things you've done, are you attributing your loss to booze instead of the cardio and/or 1200 calorie diet?
    Maybe she always ate 1200 calories. For some people (like me) giving up booze is a very big accomplishment.
  • KiyaK
    KiyaK Posts: 519 Member
    tincanonastring wrote: »
    Wait, so dropping calories to 1200 isn't a crash diet?

    Women who are not super tall and/or only have a little weight to lose have to eat 1200 to drop weight. For me (5' 6" & 160lbs) maintenance is 1600 cal. I have to eat less than that to lose weight, yes? Generally, I eat less during the week (close to 1200 as I can) & get physical activity in to give me more cals. Then I don't have to be quite as tight on my meal planning on the weekends. So long as you plan and cook at home, it's really not hard to do or sustain.
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
    rchlthompson wrote: »
    tincanonastring wrote: »
    Wait, so dropping calories to 1200 isn't a crash diet? Why, of all the things you've done, are you attributing your loss to booze instead of the cardio and/or 1200 calorie diet?
    Maybe she always ate 1200 calories. For some people (like me) giving up booze is a very big accomplishment.

    I didn't say it wasn't an accomplishment, I'm just questioning the rationale behind determining it as the reason the weight came off when the OP made other changes at the same time.

    KiyaK wrote: »
    tincanonastring wrote: »
    Wait, so dropping calories to 1200 isn't a crash diet?

    Women who are not super tall and/or only have a little weight to lose have to eat 1200 to drop weight. For me (5' 6" & 160lbs) maintenance is 1600 cal. I have to eat less than that to lose weight, yes? Generally, I eat less during the week (close to 1200 as I can) & get physical activity in to give me more cals. Then I don't have to be quite as tight on my meal planning on the weekends. So long as you plan and cook at home, it's really not hard to do or sustain.

    That's not how it works. 1200 isn't a magic number above which the weight just won't come off. Women who are pretty short and/or of an advanced age need to eat close to 1200 to lose weight. Many have to accept a rate of loss that is less than a half pound a week. I know 2 people who are quite short (5'0" and 4'11") and over 65 who shoot for .5 pounds of loss ever 2-3 weeks.

    You could probably eat close to 1600 every day and lose weight at your desired rate, but that would require you to be tighter with your meal plan on the weekends. I'm not knocking your approach (I actually used to do that myself), just pointing out that there's a difference in achieving a daily average of 1200 versus limiting weekdays to 1200 and splurging on the weekends. A 1200 calorie limit simply isn't necessary for most women to lose weight.
  • ShellyBell999
    ShellyBell999 Posts: 1,482 Member
    edited January 2016
    Netted 15-1700 calories per day, had at least a 6 pack of fine Craft Beers and 2 bottles of champagne along with cookies and chocolates over the last two weeks.

    Lost 3lb and 1% bf

    Booze may not have been your problem....
  • lisambooth2
    lisambooth2 Posts: 5 Member
    Interesting comments, alcohol particularly wine contains a large aount of sugar, so if you drink two glasses per evening every evening plus more at weekends I don't think it helps. But all I know is that cutting out booze as made my skin glow, I feel less puffy and bloated and have more energy to do excerise. Plus I halved my chances of getting cancer (particularly breast cancer) So which ever way you look at it, its a win win situation.
  • lisambooth2
    lisambooth2 Posts: 5 Member
    rchlthompson wrote: »
    I too, stopped drinking for the month of January. I've lost 10 pounds and feel great. I shooting for February too! Contiuned good luck.

    Well done you :)
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    KiyaK wrote: »
    tincanonastring wrote: »
    Wait, so dropping calories to 1200 isn't a crash diet?

    Women who are not super tall and/or only have a little weight to lose have to eat 1200 to drop weight. For me (5' 6" & 160lbs) maintenance is 1600 cal. I have to eat less than that to lose weight, yes? Generally, I eat less during the week (close to 1200 as I can) & get physical activity in to give me more cals. Then I don't have to be quite as tight on my meal planning on the weekends. So long as you plan and cook at home, it's really not hard to do or sustain.

    To the bold - not necessarily. I'm petite (5'2) and lost 30 lbs, and never ate less than 1500 calories. I maintain at about 2200 now, and am not a marathon runner or a heavy lifter. Being petite is not an automatic sentence to 1200 calories.

    To the OP - if cutting out alcohol is something that is important to you, great. It can be a good way to cut calories if you drink regularly, and obviously some people have a lot of reasons to cut back or cut out alcohol. As mentioned above, I lost 30 lbs and had a glass of wine pretty much every day while I was losing.

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