How do you cope with managing alcohol?

Save space in my calories for a few drinks and know a lot of good non-alcoholic drinks that can be ordered at a bar. If I'm going somewhere private, I tend to just bring a bottle of sparkling water with me. Gets the liquid into my body and no one asks questions.

I've found it necessary to moderate alcohol. I limit drinks to weekends and, generally, not more than two per day. If going out, I alternate sparkling water. Finally, I do a couple cuts around 6-8 weeks each a year where I just eliminate entirely.

Just make sure to log it, probably in advance if you are a bar drinker. Diet whatever in your vodka, gin, etc. Wine is fairly lo cal. Beer may be a downfall. Be careful eating while drinking. Drinking lowers ALL your inhibitions, including judgement when it comes to eating!

I don't drink alcohol. My friends aren't heavy drinkers, and I'm naturally vivacious enough that no one notices whether I'm drinking or not.

I also just don't drink very often- you can easily consume a few hundred empty calories in just a few drinks.

Depending on your daily allowance, even 1 or two drinks can be hard to fit in. 1200 calories a day seemed almost impossible. When I started running it became significantly easier to fit drinks in. If you can decrease the number of drinks you're having with some of the tips here, plus get more calories from exercise, it should be much easier.

That said, I'm currently doing Dry July because moderation isn't my strong suit.

It has been one of the most difficult things for me. My problem has predominantly been drinking my calories both booze & soda. At a minimum have a drink, then a pint of water. It will at least slow you down. Most people will assume you care about how you are getting home; there is not a lot of pressure to have a drink any more so don't' worry what others will think.

When I decide I'm going out I just assume I will go over my daily calories but I still consider it a victory that I now drink substantially less.

Ask your self what you want more . I went from drinking every weekend to only when there is function or perhaps 1 with a nice dinner out.

I socialize with teetotalers. That makes it easy.

I'm a college student and so I know the struggle all too well. One of my goals is to cut down on my liquor consumption this summer and cut it out entirely for this upcoming school year (sept-may). I've been occasionally sipping wine coolers & a little beer lately but my helpful strategy has been only drinking at social events w/ friends and fam or waiting a couple weeks in between drinks. Luckily I work more than I go out so this also helps. I tend to smoke a joint to unwind after a shift rather than drink. But that's just me. Just ask yourself, do I absolutely need this alcohol right now? If so get a nip or 2, don't get a whole bottle ! Hope this helps any fellow students facing temptations and struggles.

Well Alcohol is mostly carbohydrate, so I pretty much replace a whole food with alcohol for a certain amount of KCALs. Unless you're talking about getting drunk, then, well, you can log it and not like what you see on the scale the next day. Also, exercise and training...I don't have to cope with jack.

@LylaRoad If it's the mutual 'being under the influence together' that is essential to your social life, and you decide to cut back on alcohol, it may be a real eye opener. Speaking from personal experience, I was so disppointed to find how not fun it actually was to go out and "drink" when I was committed to sticking to just one drink (nursing it all evening as someone else mentioned). I found out I was really bored with the whole thing after 2-3 social events without much booze. I ended up really grieving the discovery that I had little else in common with those "friends".

Hopefully, your friendships are not as shallow and one-dimensional as mine were way back then. I was really young...and I am old now. I have different friends, some of them drink & some don't. We have a blast together having nothing to do with the alcohol. Different friends. Different maturity level.