Alcohol

You have to budget for it, just like any other "treat"...Wine is my downfall as well, but I try to limit myself to a couple nights a week, mostly weekends and just eat a smaller lunch so I can have wine later. I allow myself a splurge every once in a while, but try to stick to my plan as much as possible, best of luck and cheers!

For me, it was one of the first things to go. Drinking only increases my appetite anyway!

I struggle with this.... daily. But I find when I quit drinking wine, I'm more likely to sleep better and my morning workouts the next day are so much better. To me, it's worth giving up the wine to have a stronger workout.
(But ask me again tomorrow because this is something I deal with every day.)

I have sad news which I, too, am struggling with. Metabolism of alcohol is not straight-forward, thus alcohol is not a straight caloric trade-off: drinking essentially shuts off the pathway one's body uses to access and burn stored fat. Simplified: one of the liver's jobs is to support the metabolism. When alcohol is in one's system, the liver’s number-one job becomes to detoxify and remove that alcohol from the body. And one standard drink takes about ten hours to be completely detoxified. During that time (for example while one is asleep, if one drinks in the evening), fat burning abilities are on hold or at best significantly reduced, which delays the body from dealing with other nutrients—which is why drinking alcohol causes blood sugar to go down and blood fats to go up temporarily. This is because when alcohol is metabolized, one by-product is acetate, which the body will use as fuel preferentially - ignoring all the good fats, proteins, and carbs from food. With nowhere to go and nothing to do, those fats, proteins, and carbs can get stored as excess body fat. This is why many people still find themselves stuck when trying to lose body fat while still enjoying a lovely glass of wine in the evening. So I may be able to lose fat while enjoying the occasional drink, but it will be a slower path. Sniff-sniff :-(

Well I apparently needed to see this thread.... I've been doing well and only having drinks one to two nights a week, but I wonder how much better I could have been doing if I had skipped those drinks?

Definitely a struggle!

I used to have a glass or two a night after my kids went to bed. Over the course of a year, that glass that turned into two of them, eventually turned into a whole bottle. And even further...a whole bottle turned into a whole bottle PLUS a couple nips. Of course that isn't to say that you'll become as dependent as I did, however I do suggest stopping the habit sooner rather than later, as it doesn't get easier to stop. I'm two weeks sober, which is the longest I've ever been sober as an addict.

Some things I noticed, that will hopefully be of motivation to you:
My skin looks great!
I sleep much better at night
My weight has stopped going up, and with a little effort it will come down
My tummy is flatter, despite my weight pretty much staying the same
I have more money!

Its ultimately your choice whether you cut it out completely or just try and limit your intake. Either way, feel free to add me! Also, hellosundaymorning.org is a great community for those looking to moderate or stop their drinking.

I've started having alcohol as a treat and not drinking a bit of beer or wine as a way to wind down every day from work. At first the main reason I cut back on alcohol was because the easiest way to cut a few calories from my diet was from cutting liquid calories. But now I feel better not drinking as often, which has kept me motivated to stay this way. I'll still have a glass of wine or a beer here and there because I enjoy it. But I don't miss it like I thought I would.

Now that I see alcohol as a treat, I find that I enjoy it more. It was my birthday a few weeks ago and even though I would normally never order sugary cocktails, I ordered a two and thoroughly enjoyed them. Was it a lot of calories? Yeah, but it was more worth it to me now that I've removed alcohol from my daily life. Also, the number of calories from those two drinks was not more than the calories I was taking in on a weekly basis from every day drinking anyway. I

Of course the other upside is that my alcohol tolerance is in the toilet, so it takes a lot less to start experiencing the desired effects lol.

Finally, subject matter that qualifies me as an expert!

I switched from my beloved beer to Bacardi Light Rum and Diet Pepsi. I budget it like anything else.

ninerbuff wrote: »

Maybe this will help:
When alcohol is in the system, it has to be metabolized because it cannot be stored. So any other energy source, (carbs, fats, proteins) WILL NOT be used until all the alcohol is gone from your system. The worst time to drink alcohol is at night before bed. Why? Because we burn the most body fat AT REST and the most fat is burned SLEEPING, unless of course you still have alcohol in your system.
Hope that helps.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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this totally helps. Thank you!! I have also noticed a huge increase in my energy if I don't drink at night...

% of Alcohol X Ounces X 1.6 = Calorie Content