Alcohol

If you are concerned about alcoholism then yes, you should stop immediately. If it's just the occasional weekend bender that leaves you feeling awful, you can (should) modify. I modify my diet daily to fit in *one* alcoholic drink at the end of the day (3oz vodka mixed w/soda and limes). Knowing that I can have that "treat" every single day makes it a lot easier.

MlleKelly wrote: »

I did dry January this year because I realized how much alcohol I was drinking, especially over the holidays. Like you, OP, moderation does not work for me. I'm definitely all-or-nothing. At first, it was easy. Get through the week days without a drink? Sure, easy. But then comes the weekend...what to do on Friday, Saturday night that doesn't involve drinking? My social group is very much centered around alcohol. I can resist at home, especially if I don't keep it in the house, but what if we want to go hang out with our friends in one of our regular spots (wine bar/cheese shop, lounge, and/or happy hour...seriously, they're all about booze)? I just had to not go for a month. It drove my husband crazy and we had our first really serious fight about it...he called it stupid, but I was adamant. I needed to do it for myself.

When the month was over and I finally opened a bottle of wine, I found that I was able to enjoy two glasses (instead of the whole bottle). I got buzzed sooner, didn't feel the need to keep going, and when we did go out with friends, I only had one or two before I was done for the night. I was able to pace myself instead of slamming them back.

Here we are 5 months later, and I'm still holding on to only drinking 2-3 nights a week. I can very easily polish off a whole bottle still, but I honestly think that's genetics...Polish, French, German, and Irish...I just don't do it every day any more

Good luck, OP!

I can totally relate and am in the process of cutting out alcohol so I can get to a place where 1-3 drinks is fine maybe once or twice a week at most. It makes me eat like I shouldn't and has played a huge role in the 30 pounds I have gained in the last 6 months.

To the OP. I understand. Good luck...you can do this. We can do this. I wish you the best

I work at a winery on the weekends and we get 2 after shift drinks. I try to only do 1 per week now that I'm serious about losing weight.

If you know you are a problem drinker but it isn't interfering with your life or health? Can you try taking it from twice a month down to once a month? You are able to enjoy life events without alcohol, obviously, if you are only drinking 2x/month, but as someone with an ex who was an occasional but very problematic (violent) drinker, I know that it doesn't have to be a daily habit to be a problem, if it changes your personality very much, then yes I agree you might want to stop.

But if you are able to keep it to once or twice a month, is it actually hurting your health? If not, do you think you should try to learn to manage drinking? I hate hangovers so much that I never go to sleep drunk, so if I do drink enough to get drunk (it happens occasionally!) I have to stay up until I un-drunk. That's uncomfortable so I usually alternate alcoholic drinks with water if we go out, so that I end up with only 2-3 actual drink drinks; at home I generally just make ONE big fancy-pants drink, not even that alcoholic, and enjoy it, or something strong that is sippable but again just one.


If the thought of managing it is really uncomfortable and you are already not drinking 29/31 days, then yes quitting altogether is probably the best idea and I am 100% sure you will succeed at it.

People have this all wrong.
There's a trick is to finishing your bender each night that will reduce weight gain from poor eating choices and simultaneously minimize your hangover.
Te quila!

A few shots of tequila at the end of the night (or as many as required), has the magical medical property of causing your system to reject excess booze and snacks, which helps leave you feeling good enough to tie on another one the next day!
YMMV
(This advice came to me from a well known researcher of the topic, Jim Breuer. I believe a summary of his strategy can be found on Youtube, https://youtu.be/7g0AJPqKybs)

tiddolski wrote: »

Yeah I believe I need to remove all temptation to be honest.

You already know the answer.

You tried moderation, it didn't work.

But, to be successful at quitting at your stage is only going to happen when you quit for the right reason. For your health.

Meaning its not court ordered. A doctor hasn't told you it's killing you. It hasn't caused you legal problems, or marriage problems, but deep down you know it is the right thing for you.
For your health.

I quit after about 35 years of drinking which went from once a week, to twice, to daily.
Always wine. Never got in trouble. Never got sloppy drunk.
I just knew one day that I wanted better for my body.
Right at first (first month it so) it may be a challenge. New habits. New way of thinking.
You'll have to come up with other stress relievers( mine's exercise).
I'll be 2 years without alcohol come next month.

Best thing I ever did.

Message me if I can be of any help.

I've lost 30+ pounds since April. I've gone from 223 to 191 - with still a ways to go to get to my goal weight of 170. I was a drinker before as well. But I've figured a way to allow myself quite a few drinks, while still losing weight at a good clip.

You can't drink all the time. Once a week is the maximum. And this is my 'cheat'. The problem is that after drinking, your body can't help you lose weight. You hit a plateau of sorts for 24 hours, where whatever you eat won't be metabolized the same way without drinking. And the day after, you'll WANT to overeat. You have to get through the hangover without binging and while still sticking to your diet. It's very hard. It takes a lot of self-control. I now plan 1 night every 2 weeks that I can drink.

First, you have to drink something with LOW calories, which means no beer or white wine. Very dry red wine or hard liquor. I drink whiskey straight. One shot is about 120 calories. I'll drink about 5 shots (600 calories) over a period of a few hours. I have to plan the food I'm drinking with that carefully. I choose about 10 cocktail shrimp (only about 20 calories each) with some ketchup/horseradish mix sauce. I eat a handful of nuts as well. All of this adds up to about 1000 calories.

I'm on a 1400 calorie diet. So, when I do this I skip dinner. So, I eat about 2,000 calories for the entire day, around my maintenance. So in and there, my 'cheat' won't kill my diet. I'm managing my 'cheat'. My diet is CONSTANTLY on my mind. If you feel like you can't constantly manage yourself, even with a buzz, then you can't do this.

If I went crazy and drank mixers of like 400 calories each along with cookies, chips or wings, I'd be eating more like 3,000 calories which would kill my diet.

So, you CAN do it, it's a lot of work, and the next morning is tough. Funny thing, when I weigh in the next morning, I lose about 2 pounds. It's because the alcohol made me dehydrated. It's all water weight. The next day, I'll gain that all back. So, I sort of ruin 2 days of dieting. Plus, I can't really exercise that next day after drinking. It needs to be one of my 'off days'. So this has to be planned very well.

So out of 30 days of dieting, by doing 2 cheat days of drinking, I've 'lost' 4 days of dieting in my book. Is that worth the binge every few weeks? It seems worth it at the time, with the buzz, being with friends, but it doesn't in the overall picture. I want to drink less and less now. This is a way to help me get off the drinking mentality. I didn't quit cold-turkey, but I'm drinking less, and this will definitely help me when I get to my maintenance weight. I know how to drink without going nuts calorie wise.

beaglebrandon wrote: »

robininfl wrote: »

If the thought of managing it is really uncomfortable and you are already not drinking 29/31 days, then yes quitting altogether is probably the best idea and I am 100% sure you will succeed at it.

I don't agree. If you love chocolate cake, but eating it makes you really uncomfortable... I think it's better to be able to plan 'In 2 weeks, I can eat a slice of chocolate cake with ice cream'. And be able to count down to that day. And know you WILL get it.... soon... instead of saying to yourself that you can never eat it again. And then be sick of your diet someday and pig out with the chocolate cake and leave your diet.

In my diet, I eat anything I want... just not in the portions I used to do. If I have a craving for a fast food hamburger, for example, I don't go without - but I must get a regular McDonald's hamburger, not the BigMac. And no fries, and no soda. If I want a piece of chocolate cake after dinner, I can have it, just a portion of a bout 25% of a normal slice. I think this type of mentality has allowed me to stick to my diet. I'll have ONE oreo cookie, 3 pringles chips, etc.

I think it's easier, for me at least, to have the willpower to say 'I can eat anything' - just not in huge portions - and I don't feel like I'm missing out. For example, last week I bought a donut. It took me FOUR days to eat the donut. I cut it into 4 pieces and ate a little bit each day. It was a treat I looked forward to each day. It's a lot better than telling myself I can't eat it until the diet is over, then I'll have a cheat day and eat 3 donuts. I don't feel like having cheat days like that anymore.

eating certain foods in moderation is not necessarily the same as drinking in moderation - especially if someone is an alcoholic and going on 3-4 day benders!