Do you drink wine/alcohol and still maintain?

Options
245

Replies

  • PegMoffat
    PegMoffat Posts: 24 Member
    Options
    I'm not a big drinker but when I want it I just make sure it fits my calorie budget for the day. I've been maintaining go about a year.
  • frankiesgirl21
    frankiesgirl21 Posts: 235 Member
    Options
    Heck!!!!! A former skinny girl gone FAT now down 30+ with 17-20 to go and married to an Italian there better be wine at the end of the rain bow! it has taken me forever but here I am but I haven't given up wine.... Learned to temper it some but quit altogether? Ummm... No.... Wait till you meet my in laws!Lol.....
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    Options
    Huge drinker here. I lost all my weight while drinking at least 5 drinks a week. I always fit it in.

    I'm sure I would lose weight faster if I didn't drink, but you can pry my wine from my cold dead fingers!
  • raindawg
    raindawg Posts: 348 Member
    Options
    If you want to drink wine and you aren't tracking your calories on maintenance you should start. As long as it fits within your calories it shouldn't be a problem. I'm losing currently and I still fit in my nightly cocktail.
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    Options

    I'm sure I would lose weight faster if I didn't drink, but you can pry my wine from my cold dead fingers.

    Lol! Glad I'm not the only one
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    edited March 2016
    Options
    Cheers to all my wine loving friends! You are cracking me up.

    I do think part of my problem is definitely figuring out daily calories for maintenance. How many cals do you try to consume? Do you track macros? Ive heard that if you track macros an alcohol carb should be multiplied x7?
  • frankiesgirl21
    frankiesgirl21 Posts: 235 Member
    Options
    looney9708 wrote: »
    I'm sure I would lose weight faster if I didn't drink, but you can pry my wine from my cold dead fingers.

    Lol! Glad I'm not the only one

    U me and Asher need to meet up! Lol!
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    Options
    caurinus wrote: »
    broseidonkingofbrocean wrote: »
    It's not just about the calories in the alcohol, its the effect it has on your body for fat loss.
    ...
    It is possible for you to still succeed losing weight, but it definitely hinders progress.

    Absolutely. Also Google "leptin alcohol" for another way it slows progress and stimulates appetite too. I drink 2-3 nights a week. Definitely getting better results than when I was drinking every night.

    Thanks! This is what my nutritionist was referring too. For some reason I'm very sensitive when I have wine. Maybe I'll try it half the nights and see if that makes a difference.
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    Options
    broseidonkingofbrocean wrote: »
    It's not just about the calories in the alcohol, its the effect it has on your body for fat loss.

    "Because your body sees these by-products as dangerous, it wants to use them as fuel. This means your body will significantly blunt fat-burning close to 75% after just one and a half drinks.2 And it will stop using carbs for energy. Therefore, although very little alcohol will be stored as fat (less than 5%), the fat and carbs you are eating have an increased risk of being stored as fat."

    From http://www.builtlean.com/2012/11/26/alcohol-weight-loss/

    Not the best article on the subject but just something I found on the fly. It is possible for you to still succeed losing weight, but it definitely hinders progress.

    Thanks for the info! This is what my nutritionist referred to. I'll watch my fat macros. I am very carb conscious but probably have too much fat. Thanks!
  • KareninLux
    KareninLux Posts: 1,413 Member
    Options
    Asher_Ethan wrote: »
    Huge drinker here. I lost all my weight while drinking at least 5 drinks a week. I always fit it in.

    I'm sure I would lose weight faster if I didn't drink, but you can pry my wine from my cold dead fingers!

    Very funny. Completely agree.
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,862 Member
    Options
    I found it a lot easier to lose when I drastically cut back on wine, even when it fit my calories for the day. Now I drink (quite) a few glasses a few times a month on maintenance. I get the buzz I like, but don't drink it routinely enough to have it affect maintenance. If I could just drink one glass, I'd do that. Unfortunately, moderation has proved to be elusive!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Options
    I couldn't drink two glasses of wine a night without gaining. But I do have a glass every couple days. It's a lot of calories. I'd rather have ice cream with nuts.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Options
    I lost drinking nightly wine. I maintained for 14 years drinking nightly wine. Right now I'm cutting back because maintenance/menopause/wine is a little harder for me. Once my hormones settle, I hope to go back to nightly wine. I don't have dessert. Wine IS my treat.
  • KareninLux
    KareninLux Posts: 1,413 Member
    Options
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    I lost drinking nightly wine. I maintained for 14 years drinking nightly wine. Right now I'm cutting back because maintenance/menopause/wine is a little harder for me. Once my hormones settle, I hope to go back to nightly wine. I don't have dessert. Wine IS my treat.

    Post meno and wine is fine! ;)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    Options
    looney9708 wrote: »
    I've been on maintenance about 6 months and have gained a few pounds. My nutritionist says it's because I have two glasses of wine nightly. She has suggested I cut alcohol completely except once per week. I really don't care about other macros/junk food and otherwise eat a very clean diet but want to incorporate my wine but still maintain.
    Curious what others have had success with. Do you have alcohol? Do you adjust your macros?

    Advice needed from The Looney Wino

    If you're gaining weight, you are consuming more than your maintenance calories period, wine aside.

    Personally, I find maintenance to be a lot easier if I only drink a few nights per week but that's simply because alcohol has a lot of empty calories that add up really quickly in a night...not to mention your blood sugar drops which signals your brain to eat.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,339 Member
    Options
    I drink and have had no issue maintaining....mind you my poison is vodka, and I usually drink one or two nites a week, three or four drinks each time. But I rarely go over the calorie goal (usually around 1900 thanx to working out)....if I know I'm going to be drinking highly caloric drinks that nite, I'll usually "bank" my calories for a few days before, it all evens out by the end of the week ;)
  • 5stringjeff
    5stringjeff Posts: 790 Member
    Options
    I've got a separate "meal" in my food diary set aside just for beer. All my beer calories go in there. Typically, it's 1-2 beers in a night, 2-3 nights a week. If anything, MFP helps me to drink in moderation - not that I have an issue with that, but seeing the calories in each beer makes me more conscious of how many calories I get from beer.
  • MrsMoviestar
    MrsMoviestar Posts: 115 Member
    Options
    I rarely drink, so it's a non issue for me. Therefore, if I have an occasional cocktail, I don't stress about the excess calories. However, people that drink alcohol daily should be aware that they are consuming a great deal of calories. I rather eat, than drink my calories!
  • faramelee
    faramelee Posts: 163 Member
    Options
    I would be lost if I couldn't have wine! I lost weight and have maintained now for 18 months whilst still enjoying (most likely too much) wine! I drink three times a week but one of those in particular is a lot of wine drinking. Luckily it doesn't affect my appetite so I'm not more likely to search for snacks/nibble on anything any more than I normally would. I have dry months, March being one of them (it's nearly over!), and it makes no real difference to my weight but yeah, the government recommendation is to have two consecutive nights off after a night drinking.

    No wine? I'm with @Asher_Ethan, though I don't think you could even pry it out then ;)
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,339 Member
    Options
    MrsMoviestar wrote: »
    I rarely drink, so it's a non issue for me. Therefore, if I have an occasional cocktail, I don't stress about the excess calories. However, people that drink alcohol daily should be aware that they are consuming a great deal of calories. I rather eat, than drink my calories!

    The joy of MFP is that most drinkers are very aware of how many calories they're consuming in alcohol...Thank goodness for weighing, logging and knowing you can afford a drink or two ;)

Categories