Do you drink wine/alcohol and still maintain?
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looney9708 wrote: »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?
A gram of alcohol has 7 calories (as opposed to carbs, which have 4 cals/gram). I think it makes the most sense to think of those as "carb" calories if you're tracking macros.0 -
I wouldn't be able to fit 2 glasses a day into my maintenance. One is manageable. Not having it every day is even better.0
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MrsMoviestar wrote: »JustMissTracy wrote: »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
Yes! Providing they are tracking! Ha!
OMG you're gorgeous!! Great work!!! YOU are definitely tracking!0 -
I have mixed drinks a couple nights per week. I usually have a loss after drinking. I don't eat when I drink so that may be why.0
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I drank 5-7 days all the way down. Now that I am in maintenance, I get the extra calories for whatever I want plus the same drinks. Maybe I could have done it faster (although I did do it fairly fast), but it was always about my future lifestyle and not about what I will do to lose weight for a certain time period.0
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Well depending on the wine, you may be underestimating how many calories you're packing in at the end of the night. Wine is fairly calorie dense because it's all sugar (like all alcohol really). I'd also venture to guess you aren't carefully measuring "two glasses" so there goes half a bottle of wine, 600+ calories. The effect alcohol has on the metabolism are also well documented. As others mentioned, your body immediately stops burning fats and carbs. It instead rapidly metabolizes the alcohol into Acetaldehyde (technically a poison) and then processes it through the Krebs cycle to burn as energy. Since your body has a new found more efficient energy source, it packs fats and carbs into your fat cells to be stored for energy later. If you consumed more calories than you burned that day, welp you just gained weight.
With that said I do still drink, more often than I probably should but I stick to very simple low calorie drinks that are easily measured. I usually have lighter meals that day and make sure I had a good cardio session in the gym to "earn" it. I think the real serious body people would say you're crazy to drink, and maybe they're right. but I'm not getting on a stage anywhere lol.0 -
Well depending on the wine, you may be underestimating how many calories you're packing in at the end of the night. Wine is fairly calorie dense because it's all sugar (like all alcohol really). I'd also venture to guess you aren't carefully measuring "two glasses" so there goes half a bottle of wine, 600+ calories. The effect alcohol has on the metabolism are also well documented. As others mentioned, your body immediately stops burning fats and carbs. It instead rapidly metabolizes the alcohol into Acetaldehyde (technically a poison) and then processes it through the Krebs cycle to burn as energy. Since your body has a new found more efficient energy source, it packs fats and carbs into your fat cells to be stored for energy later. If you consumed more calories than you burned that day, welp you just gained weight.
With that said I do still drink, more often than I probably should but I stick to very simple low calorie drinks that are easily measured. I usually have lighter meals that day and make sure I had a good cardio session in the gym to "earn" it. I think the real serious body people would say you're crazy to drink, and maybe they're right. but I'm not getting on a stage anywhere lol.
Where are you getting these numbers from? Two 5 oz glasses of wine is approximately 250 cals, not 600.
The rest of it also makes no sense.
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WinoGelato wrote: »Well depending on the wine, you may be underestimating how many calories you're packing in at the end of the night. Wine is fairly calorie dense because it's all sugar (like all alcohol really). I'd also venture to guess you aren't carefully measuring "two glasses" so there goes half a bottle of wine, 600+ calories. The effect alcohol has on the metabolism are also well documented. As others mentioned, your body immediately stops burning fats and carbs. It instead rapidly metabolizes the alcohol into Acetaldehyde (technically a poison) and then processes it through the Krebs cycle to burn as energy. Since your body has a new found more efficient energy source, it packs fats and carbs into your fat cells to be stored for energy later. If you consumed more calories than you burned that day, welp you just gained weight.
With that said I do still drink, more often than I probably should but I stick to very simple low calorie drinks that are easily measured. I usually have lighter meals that day and make sure I had a good cardio session in the gym to "earn" it. I think the real serious body people would say you're crazy to drink, and maybe they're right. but I'm not getting on a stage anywhere lol.
Where are you getting these numbers from? Two 5 oz glasses of wine is approximately 250 cals, not 600.
You seem to be confused. There is no measurement called a "glass" therefore, no one can say how much a "glass" of wine is. That's why atjays specifically said "half a bottle" as approzimately 2 glasses, and ~600 calories total (or 300 per glass). This is very close to the 250 calories you mention.WinoGelato wrote: »The rest of it also makes no sense.
The rest of it is also accurate, but irrelevant (as atjays implies) because, when you drink 500-600 calories of wine, you still need to include that in your calorie count and eat accordingly no matter what other biological functions are occurring.0 -
xmichaelyx wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Well depending on the wine, you may be underestimating how many calories you're packing in at the end of the night. Wine is fairly calorie dense because it's all sugar (like all alcohol really). I'd also venture to guess you aren't carefully measuring "two glasses" so there goes half a bottle of wine, 600+ calories. The effect alcohol has on the metabolism are also well documented. As others mentioned, your body immediately stops burning fats and carbs. It instead rapidly metabolizes the alcohol into Acetaldehyde (technically a poison) and then processes it through the Krebs cycle to burn as energy. Since your body has a new found more efficient energy source, it packs fats and carbs into your fat cells to be stored for energy later. If you consumed more calories than you burned that day, welp you just gained weight.
With that said I do still drink, more often than I probably should but I stick to very simple low calorie drinks that are easily measured. I usually have lighter meals that day and make sure I had a good cardio session in the gym to "earn" it. I think the real serious body people would say you're crazy to drink, and maybe they're right. but I'm not getting on a stage anywhere lol.
Where are you getting these numbers from? Two 5 oz glasses of wine is approximately 250 cals, not 600.
You seem to be confused. There is no measurement called a "glass" therefore, no one can say how much a "glass" of wine is. That's why atjays specifically said "half a bottle" as approzimately 2 glasses, and ~600 calories total (or 300 per glass). This is very close to the 250 calories you mention.WinoGelato wrote: »The rest of it also makes no sense.
The rest of it is also accurate, but irrelevant (as atjays implies) because, when you drink 500-600 calories of wine, you still need to include that in your calorie count and eat accordingly no matter what other biological functions are occurring.
Which is why I specified a 5 oz glass of wine, which may have some variability but is roughly 125 cals, two of which would be 250 cals...
No one said alcohol calories don't count and that you don't have to log it. What we have said is that it is possible to drink alcohol and still lose/maintain weight. Logging accurately is important for everything an individual consumes...0 -
I have 3-4 glasses of wine every Friday. I tend to be over on the weekend anyway, so I just eat less than my maintanance on the other days.0
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Yes.0
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Yes, I drink and maintain. Also stay hydrated.0
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I switched from wine to vodka & sodium free club soda with lots of fresh cut/squeezed limes. I usually only drink on the weekends, and have been able to lose weight (lost almost 30 lbs) as well as maintain my weight as well. I love wine and do drink it occasionally still, but the vodka sodas are the way to go for me.0
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Yes, I do. See my pic <--0
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xmichaelyx wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Well depending on the wine, you may be underestimating how many calories you're packing in at the end of the night. Wine is fairly calorie dense because it's all sugar (like all alcohol really). I'd also venture to guess you aren't carefully measuring "two glasses" so there goes half a bottle of wine, 600+ calories. The effect alcohol has on the metabolism are also well documented. As others mentioned, your body immediately stops burning fats and carbs. It instead rapidly metabolizes the alcohol into Acetaldehyde (technically a poison) and then processes it through the Krebs cycle to burn as energy. Since your body has a new found more efficient energy source, it packs fats and carbs into your fat cells to be stored for energy later. If you consumed more calories than you burned that day, welp you just gained weight.
With that said I do still drink, more often than I probably should but I stick to very simple low calorie drinks that are easily measured. I usually have lighter meals that day and make sure I had a good cardio session in the gym to "earn" it. I think the real serious body people would say you're crazy to drink, and maybe they're right. but I'm not getting on a stage anywhere lol.
Where are you getting these numbers from? Two 5 oz glasses of wine is approximately 250 cals, not 600.
You seem to be confused. There is no measurement called a "glass" therefore, no one can say how much a "glass" of wine is. That's why atjays specifically said "half a bottle" as approzimately 2 glasses, and ~600 calories total (or 300 per glass). This is very close to the 250 calories you mention.WinoGelato wrote: »The rest of it also makes no sense.
The rest of it is also accurate, but irrelevant (as atjays implies) because, when you drink 500-600 calories of wine, you still need to include that in your calorie count and eat accordingly no matter what other biological functions are occurring.
Well half a bottle is about 12 ounces and therefore 250-300 Cals, so...0 -
On occasion, if it fit my calorie goals for he day.0
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The effect alcohol has on the metabolism are also well documented. As others mentioned, your body immediately stops burning fats and carbs. It instead rapidly metabolizes the alcohol into Acetaldehyde (technically a poison) and then processes it through the Krebs cycle to burn as energy. Since your body has a new found more efficient energy source, it packs fats and carbs into your fat cells to be stored for energy later. If you consumed more calories than you burned that day, welp you just gained weight.
This I have seen in a variety of sources. It will take time to go through the alcohol. However, if you are in a deficit, there is no need to store energy ( at least over time).
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I rarely drink less than a half a bottle when I drink wine, and there's no way I could maintain if I did that every night. I'm not willing to cut my food calories to allow for that much alcohol. Besides, I'd feel like crap if I didn't consume enough calories to compensate for the way I feel when I drink too much. So for me, the answer is I can't maintain if I drink 2+ glasses of wine a night. I have a harder time maintaining if I drink more than 1 or 2 nights a week. Right now, I'm off drinking entirely, and the deficit in calories has caused the weight to come off -- and I feel better overall.
Besides, it messes up the body composition. It's harder to maintain or add lean mass when I drink alcohol. What good is maintaining weight if you still manage to have more fat and less muscle when all's said and done?0 -
Besides, it messes up the body composition. It's harder to maintain or add lean mass when I drink alcohol. What good is maintaining weight if you still manage to have more fat and less muscle when all's said and done?[/quote]
Yes this is me. Even if I maintain my body comp is thrown off. I'm glad I'm not the only one. Thanks! Good luck on your journey
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I certainly find maintenance (and weight loss for that matter) more difficult when drinking wine regularly. But I think that is because I probably underestimate the amount that I am drinking. I certainly lose faster if I don't drink.
If you enjoy wine with dinner, maybe cut back to just one glass a night?0 -
I'm currently pregnant, but I was maintaining before and drinking 2 glasses of wine a few nights a week. If I don't have a glass of wine I have dessert instead so I find the calories even out. However I am careful to not have more than two glasses because I end up overeating afterwards or the next day and it messes with my workout schedule. Also - from a health perspective it's best to have less than 10 drinks a week and have a few dry days.0
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I lost 140 pounds and have been successfully maintaining for three months. I couldn't live without my wine, mostly red, 2 to 3 nights a week. I log it and plan for it.0
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I have always had to limit alcohol to lose or maintain weight. A single pint of non-lite beer is ~225kcal, ~11% of my base calorie budget on maintenance. The real problem is that beer doesn't abate my hunger. Also, has anyone else noticed that beer is even better with fatty and/or salty snacks? (mmmmmm... nachos...)
No judgement of other people's choices, but I think it is harder to lose or maintain if you drink even moderate amounts of alcohol daily (e.g., one drink). One tiny 6oz glass of wine is 144kcals, which is ~10% of many people's daily maintenance diet. Worse, it doesn't fill you up and you will be hungry soon after.0 -
sooo what if I just drink it out of a bottle with a straw does that count?!?!?!?!?!0
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Yes, every single week!0
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Lost all my weight and had wine every day for the most part and have maintained very well but I am trying to squeak off these last few pounds finally and just can't get the scale to move. I'm actually realizing its time to stop imbibing. Maybe when I truly am on maintenance I can enjoy a little more frequently but until then, see ya Malbec.0
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Yup, not daily, but I do on the weekends. Haven't had any problems so far, as long as the rest of your diet is pretty healthy you should be alright.0
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Lost all my weight and had wine every day for the most part and have maintained very well but I am trying to squeak off these last few pounds finally and just can't get the scale to move. I'm actually realizing its time to stop imbibing. Maybe when I truly am on maintenance I can enjoy a little more frequently but until then, see ya Malbec.
Oh, my. I am with you on this! Day three no wine and the scale has budged a little every day.
Gotta get these last 10 lbs OFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0 -
I gave up alcohol mostly as it stifled my goals.
Of course, I was a heavy boozer, and today it's gone from my life except a beer out grilling or wine with a fine meal.
As saintly as I am, a few vices won't bend my halo too badly...0 -
When possible I try to find room in the calorie budget on days I have alcohol. It does tend to make me hungrier when consumed and more prone to going slightly over budget though. However...
Switched from drinking beer or wine over to scotch/bourbon and it's made a difference in helping maintain while occasionally enjoying. I think this has helped because:
1. Tend to enjoy it outside of meals as it's a slow sipping beverage and tastes better w/o food. Beer and wine are very easy to have with dinner and snacks/appetizers!
2. Less calories per drink as no carbs in it vs wine or beer which have carbs.0
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