How much does occasional alcohol hurt your diet?
Replies
-
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Alcohol hurts your diet only in the sense that it is high calorie with no nutrition.
Alcohol itself may have no nutrition, but that's not true of all alcoholic drinks. Wine has beneficial nutrients, and if a drink is made with juice there would be nutrients there.2 -
I love drinking! I try to stick to under 14 units per week but do go over sometimes. Over the summer I drank a lot! Still, most days I'm under on calories and usual drinking is within my allotted calories. But if it's a big occasion I just enjoy myself! I've lost 12 pounds in three months which is nice and steady for me as I've totally changed my eating habits and have had plenty of meals out, wine and deserts in this time! I also have an underactive thyroid.
Enjoy your weekend and good luck with the weight loss!2 -
Occasional? hysterical.0
-
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Alcohol hurts your diet only in the sense that it is high calorie with no nutrition.
Alcohol itself may have no nutrition, but that's not true of all alcoholic drinks. Wine has beneficial nutrients, and if a drink is made with juice there would be nutrients there.
Yes but you could get that nutrition out of grape juice as well, I'm just saying the actual alcohol doesn't have any nutritional benefit so you may as well avoid it but you don't HAVE to avoid it. I don't think drinking wine is going to ruin someones diet in and of itself but you do have to watch the calories.3 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Alcohol hurts your diet only in the sense that it is high calorie with no nutrition.
Alcohol itself may have no nutrition, but that's not true of all alcoholic drinks. Wine has beneficial nutrients, and if a drink is made with juice there would be nutrients there.
Yes but you could get that nutrition out of grape juice as well, I'm just saying the actual alcohol doesn't have any nutritional benefit so you may as well avoid it but you don't HAVE to avoid it. I don't think drinking wine is going to ruin someones diet in and of itself but you do have to watch the calories.
You'd only be saving about 30-35 calories by choosing the grape juice over the wine (assuming you have a 5 ounce serving of both), so if someone enjoys the wine I don't see any compelling reason to choose the grape juice instead. Presumably the 30ish calories can be reduced elsewhere.
You do have to watch the calories in wine. But many people find that they also have to watch the calories in juice -- and I personally find it a lot easier to chug a few hundred calories in juice than wine.2 -
Prosecco! Cheers and have fun.0
-
janejellyroll wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Alcohol hurts your diet only in the sense that it is high calorie with no nutrition.
Alcohol itself may have no nutrition, but that's not true of all alcoholic drinks. Wine has beneficial nutrients, and if a drink is made with juice there would be nutrients there.
Yes but you could get that nutrition out of grape juice as well, I'm just saying the actual alcohol doesn't have any nutritional benefit so you may as well avoid it but you don't HAVE to avoid it. I don't think drinking wine is going to ruin someones diet in and of itself but you do have to watch the calories.
You'd only be saving about 30-35 calories by choosing the grape juice over the wine (assuming you have a 5 ounce serving of both), so if someone enjoys the wine I don't see any compelling reason to choose the grape juice instead. Presumably the 30ish calories can be reduced elsewhere.
You do have to watch the calories in wine. But many people find that they also have to watch the calories in juice -- and I personally find it a lot easier to chug a few hundred calories in juice than wine.
My greater concern would be your teeth. Does anyone know if the alcohol in wine can protect your enamel to any extent from the sugars? Surely there's a dentist on this forum somewhere.0 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Alcohol hurts your diet only in the sense that it is high calorie with no nutrition.
Alcohol itself may have no nutrition, but that's not true of all alcoholic drinks. Wine has beneficial nutrients, and if a drink is made with juice there would be nutrients there.
Yes but you could get that nutrition out of grape juice as well, I'm just saying the actual alcohol doesn't have any nutritional benefit so you may as well avoid it but you don't HAVE to avoid it. I don't think drinking wine is going to ruin someones diet in and of itself but you do have to watch the calories.
I could get the nutrition out of a lot of things and it's a good idea to watch the calories in all food/drink consumed. Drinking wine will only ruin a diet if you consume to many calories overall or have a medical condition that warrants avoiding alcohol.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Alcohol hurts your diet only in the sense that it is high calorie with no nutrition.
Alcohol itself may have no nutrition, but that's not true of all alcoholic drinks. Wine has beneficial nutrients, and if a drink is made with juice there would be nutrients there.
Yes but you could get that nutrition out of grape juice as well, I'm just saying the actual alcohol doesn't have any nutritional benefit so you may as well avoid it but you don't HAVE to avoid it. I don't think drinking wine is going to ruin someones diet in and of itself but you do have to watch the calories.
You'd only be saving about 30-35 calories by choosing the grape juice over the wine (assuming you have a 5 ounce serving of both), so if someone enjoys the wine I don't see any compelling reason to choose the grape juice instead. Presumably the 30ish calories can be reduced elsewhere.
You do have to watch the calories in wine. But many people find that they also have to watch the calories in juice -- and I personally find it a lot easier to chug a few hundred calories in juice than wine.
I don't disagree, I'm not arguing against wine I'm just saying a fact which is that alcohol itself has calories and the alcohol itself doesn't convey a nutritional benefit. If you look at that amount of calories and think "doesn't matter to me" then you (or the OP) have their answer to whether or not avoiding alcohol is worth it to them.1 -
CoffeeNCardio wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Alcohol hurts your diet only in the sense that it is high calorie with no nutrition.
Alcohol itself may have no nutrition, but that's not true of all alcoholic drinks. Wine has beneficial nutrients, and if a drink is made with juice there would be nutrients there.
Yes but you could get that nutrition out of grape juice as well, I'm just saying the actual alcohol doesn't have any nutritional benefit so you may as well avoid it but you don't HAVE to avoid it. I don't think drinking wine is going to ruin someones diet in and of itself but you do have to watch the calories.
You'd only be saving about 30-35 calories by choosing the grape juice over the wine (assuming you have a 5 ounce serving of both), so if someone enjoys the wine I don't see any compelling reason to choose the grape juice instead. Presumably the 30ish calories can be reduced elsewhere.
You do have to watch the calories in wine. But many people find that they also have to watch the calories in juice -- and I personally find it a lot easier to chug a few hundred calories in juice than wine.
My greater concern would be your teeth. Does anyone know if the alcohol in wine can protect your enamel to any extent from the sugars? Surely there's a dentist on this forum somewhere.
Sugar doesn't damage enamel, sugar feeds bacteria that grow in your gumline that release acids or other caustic agents that damage your enamel. Unless you are drinking like pure ethanol I doubt it has any affect on those bacteria so I doubt it matters. There is a certain acidity to wine in and of itself though, probably not enough to worry about.0 -
I drink pretty much every weekend and usually both days. I have been losing weight every week. This week I lost 2lbs.0
-
cross2bear wrote: »There is such a thing as flavoured vodka ya know..................
I have tried it. Not a fan. lol Way too strong of flavor for me! I would much rather mix regular vodka with a flavored drink.
I thought I would hate vodka + club soda because I always masked the flavor of vodka with other drinks, but with a healthy squeeze of lemon or lime it's actually pretty great. It helps if you don't use bottom shelf liquor. I do a lot of berry-flavored vodka + club soda as well, and don't find them particularly strong. Also, there's no calories in diet drinks - vanilla vodka and diet coke is one of my go-tos.
If you really prefer beer, get one or two regular ones instead of several light ones. You'll end up consuming fewer calories in the long run.
I find I drink wine the slowest. I can nurse a big, bold red for two hours some nights - it's not refreshing like the carbonated, cold drinks above are, so I don't mindlessly glug it down. If the goal is to make your drink last a long time so you consume fewer drinks, order something you'll sip on, like wine or dark liquor.0 -
I don't drink very often, but when I do it's vodka soda, michelob ultra, or the occasional glass of wine or skinny margarita and not stress it. I have asked for half/seltzer, half wine before. (More when I am trying to pace myself because I have zero alcohol tolerance these days.) Try to have a glass of water between each drink so you stay hydrated and aren't drinking as many.
I never worry so much about the calories as much as that it makes me feel so tired and sluggish and off the next day. Then I don't get up early, skip my workout or don't have a good breakfast, and that tends to hurt me and my routine and discipline much more than alcohol calories. But an occasional night out or glass of wine or whatever with dinner here and there I don't think really hurts too much.0 -
Coupling drinking with dieting will give you some pretty good one liners though
"I'm not a binge drinker, I'm on a diet and this is my cheat day."0 -
Aim to vomit, problem solved!1
-
I have a drink every single night and am down 39 pounds since January
0 -
Another question, What is the most calorie friendly drinks to get at the bar this weekend for the bachelorette party? beer? I know everyone says vodka, but usually that would be mixed with soda so that would be just as bad as beer wouldn't it?
Vodka and Soda = Soda Water (no calories)0 -
1. The calories in the alcohol itself
2. The lowered inhibition leading to high HIGH calorie drunk meals
3. The lowered activity the following day
4. The nutritional food you are displacing to make room for nutrient deficient alcohol
Don't get me wrong. I love a glass of wine but I have found that I have to stay away from it when I am actively trying to lose weight.2 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Excess calories cause far gain, not alcohol. From comments on these forums I'd say the bigger problem is lowered inhibitions that lead to overconsumption of high calorie foods when drinking alcohol.
I may or may not have just consumed a waffle cone filled with whipped cream and baking chocolate chips because we were out of ice cream while drinking whiskey and diet root beer.1 -
Having fun for a couple nights shouldn't be a weight on your shoulders, just jump back into the regular routine afterwards, in retrospect it isn't going to really affect you. But if you do want to continue breaking down your calories by the day, watch what type of alcohol you're drinking. Stay away from sugary mixers and non-light beer.0
-
I forgot the whole point of this thread! Enjoy your parties. This will only come once and you're not going to lose all your progress over a couple nights. 0
-
I can't drink because of a medical reason. But, if I could I would have either one glass of red wine (that's probably the worst thing for me to drink because of the alcohol and the histamine reaction), or two gin and tonic (but just carbonated water and a lime). Just enough to feel all blissful. But, not so much that I lose coordination, say weird things, or get a hang over.0
-
BinaryPulsar wrote: »I can't drink because of a medical reason. But, if I could I would have either one glass of red wine (that's probably the worst thing for me to drink because of the alcohol and the histamine reaction), or two gin and tonic (but just carbonated water and a lime). Just enough to feel all blissful. But, not so much that I lose coordination, say weird things, or get a hang over.
Apparently tonic is fairly high in calories, I think you're thinking of club soda.0 -
eveandqsmom wrote: »BinaryPulsar wrote: »I can't drink because of a medical reason. But, if I could I would have either one glass of red wine (that's probably the worst thing for me to drink because of the alcohol and the histamine reaction), or two gin and tonic (but just carbonated water and a lime). Just enough to feel all blissful. But, not so much that I lose coordination, say weird things, or get a hang over.
Apparently tonic is fairly high in calories, I think you're thinking of club soda.
Yeah, that's what I was trying to say in the parentheses. That instead of tonic water I have carbonated water and lime. But, most places I go to give you gin with carbonated water and lime (they don't use actual tonic water). But, I guess you could say gin soda with lime.0 -
This is a good one for me at the moment as I drank 700 cals of alcohol last night
although this week I was experimenting with not eating my exercise calories back so I've probably banked double that throughout the week. And thanks to my workout yesterday morning, I only went 170 cals over my calorie goal yesterday. I'm not too worried.
I had a whole weekend wedding recently. Dance the calories away
and yep, vodka is less calories. Maybe have it with, Diet Coke, Sparkling water or slimline tonic with a dash of lime? Dont do wine or beer like I did last night! Be really good on the days leading up to it and after. It shouldn't make too much a dent in your weight loss. 0 -
It's not the alcohol that's the problem, it's the form it comes in. Hard unflavored liquors have little to no carbs, so Jack Daniels, Tequila, Vodka, Rum, Bacardi, all are okay. Stay away from flavored stuff like Malibu, or schnapps. Don't mix drinks as the mixers, grenadine, sweet and sour mix, etc are all basically liquid sugar. If you need a chaser diet soda works well. Beer is not a good idea, 2 or 3 beers can have the calories and carbs of an entire load of bread. So pass on the beer, bring on the Tequila shots!0
-
Okay everyone, so over the weekend on Friday I worked out but I drank a Pepsi and ate really salty, buttery popcorn but stayed below my calorie goal. On Saturday I had the bachelorette party and I know I went waaaay above my calorie limit, but I didn't eat my workout calories all week and stayed below my goals all week so hoping that would help to mitigate it. Yesterday, I was back in my normal routine. I worked out and I ate below my calorie goals but my dinner was pizza. I weighed myself this morning and I was up 2.2 pounds from Friday morning. Do you think this is water weight because I probably ate a lot of sodium? Or could this be from having a really bad day Saturday? It freaks me out because it has taken me so long to lose those 2.2 pounds!0
-
Okay everyone, so over the weekend on Friday I worked out but I drank a Pepsi and ate really salty, buttery popcorn but stayed below my calorie goal. On Saturday I had the bachelorette party and I know I went waaaay above my calorie limit, but I didn't eat my workout calories all week and stayed below my goals all week so hoping that would help to mitigate it. Yesterday, I was back in my normal routine. I worked out and I ate below my calorie goals but my dinner was pizza. I weighed myself this morning and I was up 2.2 pounds from Friday morning. Do you think this is water weight because I probably ate a lot of sodium? Or could this be from having a really bad day Saturday? It freaks me out because it has taken me so long to lose those 2.2 pounds!
2.2lbs of fat is about 7700 calories. Do you think you overate by that much?
If not, then it's water, waste or something else.
0 -
No, I don't think it would be possible to go over by that much in one day so that makes me feel much better!
0 -
It's always a good idea to skip weigh-ins for a few days after a blow out for this very reason 2
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 176K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions