Adding alcohol

Libby283
Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
Hello, I have not been around for awhile. Life got busy. In 2014, I lost lots of weight and was down to 120-125lbs. Which is a great weight for me. I have gained since then and now back up to 140lbs. I refuse to get heavy again.

I have not been logging food but eat fairly well.. Last summer I reintroduced alcohol back into my life. I really think this is the issue. I try to stick to 1200-1400 calorie daily diet, which does not leave much room to eat well and drink.
Obviously it is not healthy to just not eat and drink alcohol instead. I am Irish.. So needless to say I am not just trying to squeeze in a glass of wine, one shot or one beer. I drank two bottles of wine Saturday. o:)

How does everyone else handle this?
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Replies

  • Sassie_Lassie
    Sassie_Lassie Posts: 140 Member
    Libby283 wrote: »
    Hello, I have not been around for awhile. Life got busy. In 2014, I lost lots of weight and was down to 120-125lbs. Which is a great weight for me. I have gained since then and now back up to 140lbs. I refuse to get heavy again.

    I have not been logging food but eat fairly well.. Last summer I reintroduced alcohol back into my life. I really think this is the issue. I try to stick to 1200-1400 calorie daily diet, which does not leave much room to eat well and drink.
    Obviously it is not healthy to just not eat and drink alcohol instead. I am Irish.. So needless to say I am not just trying to squeeze in a glass of wine, one shot or one beer. I drank two bottles of wine Saturday. o:)

    How does everyone else handle this?

    If you're not logging then how do you know the calories you're consuming are accurate? It sounds like you're eating a lot more than that. You need to weigh and measure your food and log everything accurately.

    As for the alcohol, I know I'm going to have wine in the evenings -- 2-3 glasses depending on the night -- so I pre-log it first thing in the morning so those calories are already accounted for then I work my day around what I have left.
  • Libby283
    Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
    I know that my food is good because I generally eat the same rotation of meals and logged them log enough I know the exact calories.

    I did not log alcohol when I started drinking again last year. I could guarantee this is the issue that caused the 15lb gain.
  • Sassie_Lassie
    Sassie_Lassie Posts: 140 Member
    I know that my food is good because I generally eat the same rotation of meals and logged them log enough I know the exact calories.

    Which is fine but you could also be underestimating your portion size. You'd be surprised at how small portions actually are when you start weighing.

    But yes, if you know you're going to drink pre-log those calories.
  • Libby283
    Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
    My meals are measured. Like I eat an individual size yogurt for breakfast, salad purchased at same restaurant every day, etc.. My diet does not vary much. I know it is the alcohol. I cant fit food and alcohol into my daily log. It seems to be an either/or issue.

    It is not so much a logging issue, because I can easily log the alcohol in the morning, but then I would have no calories left to eat. How can you fit food and alcohol into the daily calorie allotment?
  • Libby283
    Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
    For instance, my favorite beer is 165 calories a bottle. If I drink 3 or 4 a night, that is 495-660 calories out of my 1200. How can I eat three healthy meals with the remaining 540 calories? I cant squeeze it all in.

    Saturday I drank two entire bottles of wine. I should not have ate saturday or sunday with all those calories.
  • Sassie_Lassie
    Sassie_Lassie Posts: 140 Member
    Why can't you just cut down on your drinking?

    Two entire bottles of wine? By yourself?? Honestly if that is the case then perhaps you need to seek help.
  • dancing_daisy
    dancing_daisy Posts: 162 Member
    I too like a drink, I believe it had a lot to do with my weight gain. I had to do some experimenting to find out what worked into my log. Now I usually have a bottle of wine on Friday and one on Saturday. I balance it out with exercise: 35 - 40 minutes swimming for one bottle and a 2 - 3 hour walk for the other bottle.

    I also found that dry white wine has way fewer calories (~450 per bottle) than the sparkling rose (~600 per bottle) I used to drink. Don't quote me on those figures, its hard to find the right nutri info as there so many brands and they mostly don't come with all the info on the label.


  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,288 Member
    That's a lot of wine in one day. Just taper back your intake or spread it out over a weeks time instead of all in one day. Sounds like you may have a restraint problem. If you can't limit yourself, don't drink at all or drink lower calorie. Drink enough low cal watered down beer and it'll put you off drinking beer for a while.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited June 2016
    Libby283 wrote: »
    For instance, my favorite beer is 165 calories a bottle. If I drink 3 or 4 a night, that is 495-660 calories out of my 1200. How can I eat three healthy meals with the remaining 540 calories? I cant squeeze it all in.

    Saturday I drank two entire bottles of wine. I should not have ate saturday or sunday with all those calories.

    Oh boy.. I get the Irish thing, and i don't get needing to reintroduce alcohol in your diet to this extreme?

    Oh do I love my glasses of wine in the evening or weekend, but two bottles and then considering that you should not eat for two days afterwards...

    Problem maybe?

    IMHO totally unhealthy thinking and clearly unhealthy for the body.

    If you gonna drink then skip the beer and go to spirits.. Lots less calories in shots of whiskey for a much better buzz.
  • Libby283
    Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
    edited June 2016
    Why can't you just cut down on your drinking?

    Two entire bottles of wine? By yourself?? Honestly if that is the case then perhaps you need to seek help.

    Party pooper... ;)

    Seriously, I did cut out all alcohol for a year, but I drink socially and missed going out and drinking with friends. So I reintroduced it and I do want to keep it as part of my diet. I may not drink every night, but we can assume 3-5 nights a week, now that the weather is hot, I will be partaking in some drinks at the pool, bar, games, cookouts or other events.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    Libby283 wrote: »
    Hello, I have not been around for awhile. Life got busy. In 2014, I lost lots of weight and was down to 120-125lbs. Which is a great weight for me. I have gained since then and now back up to 140lbs. I refuse to get heavy again.

    I have not been logging food but eat fairly well.. Last summer I reintroduced alcohol back into my life. I really think this is the issue. I try to stick to 1200-1400 calorie daily diet, which does not leave much room to eat well and drink.
    Obviously it is not healthy to just not eat and drink alcohol instead. I am Irish.. So needless to say I am not just trying to squeeze in a glass of wine, one shot or one beer. I drank two bottles of wine Saturday. o:)

    How does everyone else handle this?

    Moderation. That's the best way to handle it. Eat well, exercise (cardio for a larger deficit and don't eat back those calories throughout the week) and save for the weekend so you don't have to feel as guilty when you socially drink knowing that overall throughout the week you had "leftover" calories.
  • Sassie_Lassie
    Sassie_Lassie Posts: 140 Member
    Libby283 wrote: »
    Why can't you just cut down on your drinking?

    Two entire bottles of wine? By yourself?? Honestly if that is the case then perhaps you need to seek help.

    Party pooper... ;)

    Seriously, I did cut out all alcohol for a year, but I drink socially and missed going out and drinking with friends. So I reintroduced it and I do want to keep it as part of my diet. I may not drink every night, but we can assume 3-5 nights a week, now that the weather is hot, I will be partaking in some drinks at the pool, bar, games, cookouts or other events.

    LOL. I just mean maybe cut down on your drinks per night. My husband and I have about 2 bottles of wine a night (with the exception of Fridays) which is about 4 glasses but I make sure that I add those calories in first thing so that they're basically gone.

    I also workout every day -- not saying you don't -- but there's that balance as well.
  • Libby283
    Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    That's a lot of wine in one day. Just taper back your intake or spread it out over a weeks time instead of all in one day. Sounds like you may have a restraint problem. If you can't limit yourself, don't drink at all or drink lower calorie. Drink enough low cal watered down beer and it'll put you off drinking beer for a while.

    Not so much a restraint issue. I can stop, but I like the taste and I like to socialize. I drank lite watered down beer last summer, but 6 go down fairly easily. I like the taste of beer, and have expanded my horizons to now like the micro brews.
  • Libby283
    Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    Libby283 wrote: »
    For instance, my favorite beer is 165 calories a bottle. If I drink 3 or 4 a night, that is 495-660 calories out of my 1200. How can I eat three healthy meals with the remaining 540 calories? I cant squeeze it all in.

    Saturday I drank two entire bottles of wine. I should not have ate saturday or sunday with all those calories.

    Oh boy.. I get the Irish thing, and i don't get needing to reintroduce alcohol in your diet to this extreme?

    Oh do I love my glasses of wine in the evening or weekend, but two bottles and then considering that you should not eat for two days afterwards...

    Problem maybe?

    IMHO totally unhealthy thinking and clearly unhealthy for the body.

    If you gonna drink then skip the beer and go to spirits.. Lots less calories in shots of whiskey for a much better buzz.

    I don't drink for a buzz and stop long before I am intoxicated.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Libby283 wrote: »
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    Libby283 wrote: »
    For instance, my favorite beer is 165 calories a bottle. If I drink 3 or 4 a night, that is 495-660 calories out of my 1200. How can I eat three healthy meals with the remaining 540 calories? I cant squeeze it all in.

    Saturday I drank two entire bottles of wine. I should not have ate saturday or sunday with all those calories.

    Oh boy.. I get the Irish thing, and i don't get needing to reintroduce alcohol in your diet to this extreme?

    Oh do I love my glasses of wine in the evening or weekend, but two bottles and then considering that you should not eat for two days afterwards...

    Problem maybe?

    IMHO totally unhealthy thinking and clearly unhealthy for the body.

    If you gonna drink then skip the beer and go to spirits.. Lots less calories in shots of whiskey for a much better buzz.

    I don't drink for a buzz and stop long before I am intoxicated.

    So I'm gathering that you drank two bottles of wine over a long period of time? If so, perhaps it might work to just "narrow" your drinking window. I delay the start of my drinking on the weekends so that I don't consume too many calories in alcohol over the course of the day. If I do have an party or something where I want to drink early, I make sure to stop early too. No all-day drinking -- it's too easy for me to consume too many calories.
  • Libby283
    Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
    I have a higher than average threshold and It was a four hour window at a cookout. I didn't even realize I had drank two whole bottles until my mother pointed it out the next day.

    But yes somedays it is all day, like Sunday at the pool. Pretty sure I took a 12 pack for my boyfriend and I and we came home with none.

  • petunia773
    petunia773 Posts: 473 Member
    Do you do any time of exercising? If not, try incorporating that into your day to increase the number of calories you're able to consume.
  • Libby283
    Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
    I try to walk 30 minutes a day on my lunch. My evenings are busy.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    Libby283 wrote: »
    My meals are measured. Like I eat an individual size yogurt for breakfast, salad purchased at same restaurant every day, etc.. My diet does not vary much. I know it is the alcohol. I cant fit food and alcohol into my daily log. It seems to be an either/or issue.

    It is not so much a logging issue, because I can easily log the alcohol in the morning, but then I would have no calories left to eat. How can you fit food and alcohol into the daily calorie allotment?

    You eat less or you drink less.
  • Libby283
    Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
    ASKyle wrote: »
    Libby283 wrote: »
    My meals are measured. Like I eat an individual size yogurt for breakfast, salad purchased at same restaurant every day, etc.. My diet does not vary much. I know it is the alcohol. I cant fit food and alcohol into my daily log. It seems to be an either/or issue.

    It is not so much a logging issue, because I can easily log the alcohol in the morning, but then I would have no calories left to eat. How can you fit food and alcohol into the daily calorie allotment?

    You eat less or you drink less.

    Right and my personal struggle is I like drinking better than eating, but then I get hungry...ugh. Maybe a happy split of 4- 500 calorie days, and then 3 -2300 calorie drinking days will be the happy spot.