Alcohol and weitghtloss

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alicejones77
alicejones77 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone!
Basically I'm doing well on my fitness pal, sticking well to it throughout the week but it comes to Saturday night/Sunday day and it all fails. I am a student so nightlife is a big part of my social life, and I do enjoy going out clubbing and having drinks with friends. Drinking however is A LOT of calories and then hungover me the next day just forgets all the dieting and hard work of the week and just indulges! Has anyone got any top tips?

Also - a question linking therefore about cheat days.. would a cheat day ruin my diet completely? What is everyone's views and experiences?


Thanks!
Alice x
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Replies

  • trwww
    trwww Posts: 14 Member
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    Yep, unfortunately weight loss and binge drinking just do not mix. The lowest calorie drinks are 100 calories a drink. If you have 8 drinks thats 800 calories, and then calories in food the night out and the next day to nurse the hangover can wipe out modest deficits and leave you at maintenance or even gaining for the week.

    If you want to keep your night out, the easiest thing to do is hard exercise 1+ hour for at least four days of the week to give you 2500 - 3000 calories for partying.
  • Danihoo8
    Danihoo8 Posts: 11 Member
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    I think that you can bank your calories but you still have to be careful: ie drink low calorie drinks and the next day to try and cheat for one meal and maybe not a day as I've learned it can go down hill quick... and then it's hard to recover lol good luck!
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    Oh man. No way I'd be a success in college. Went to a Big 10 and partying was intense.


    Bank some calories for the weekend and get ready to lose at a snails pace.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    You may find this article by Martin Berkhan (Leangains) interesting: http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html

    Pay particular attention to the heading "How to lose fat or prevent fat gain when drinking".
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    AnvilHead wrote: »
    You may find this article by Martin Berkhan (Leangains) interesting: http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html

    Pay particular attention to the heading "How to lose fat or prevent fat gain when drinking".

    An oldie but a goodie.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,052 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    You may find this article by Martin Berkhan (Leangains) interesting: http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html

    Pay particular attention to the heading "How to lose fat or prevent fat gain when drinking".

    An oldie but a goodie.

    Indeed, but I always wondered if it jams your liver. I've tried it, and in fact I did have a whoosh. But honestly, it was so few calories to comply with the fat & carb thresholds, any macro split at calories that low would have probably had the same result. Fully half my calories for the day were alcohol, but I wasn't over maintenance after it was all said, done & drunk.

    OP, it's tough. Banking calories helps. Alternating alcohol with water helps. Dancing your *kitten* off truly helps the most. But drinking so much that you feel hung over the next day almost invariably leads to IDGAF eating the next day. That whole package is hard to offset during the week. IMHO, whether or not you call it a "cheat day" doesn't change the caloric intake, so you're better off just counting it. Finding a way to genuinely have fun with your friends while simultaneously moderating the alcohol will serve you well for the rest of your life. Cheers!
  • Kelll12123
    Kelll12123 Posts: 212 Member
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    I lost 40 pounds binge drinking 1-3 nights a week when I was in college (I'm a recent graduate).
    -Liquor and diet soda are your friend.
    -Try your best to avoid drunk snacks. I learned to go home and cook potato wedges with cheese if I really needed it instead of eating out.
    -Plan for it during the week. Exercise a little extra and set calories aside. I learned to look at my weekly net calories, so if I went over a day, I could balance it out during the rest of the week.
    -Sweat the next day. Not for diet reasons really, but just because it feels good. I like to do hangover runs until I feel like the toxins are out or until I throw up. I call them punishment runs
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
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    I've always been a lightweight, so too much drinking in my younger days never ended up pretty. I wasn't trying to cut calories back then but save money and be well enough to work the next day. My limit was three drinks. I would only bring enough cash for three drinks and a tip. Then between every drink I would have at least one free non-alcoholic beverage, usually water. Occasionally, someone would want to treat me to shots and I would get in over my limit, but the plan worked most of the time.
  • TK6299
    TK6299 Posts: 502 Member
    edited March 2017
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    My experience: Started at 183 lbs. 1200 calories a day religiously for about a year. In that time, exercise at least three times a week, no alcohol except for every other weekend on Friday or Sat I would go completely off reservation, eating and drinking all that I wanted, and I did not log a single bit of indulgence. But, when my one day was over, back to it. When I got to around 145 lbs, I added weight lifting to the mix and upped my calories to 1700 a day. I am in maintenance now around 152 lbs, still working out about three times a week, and I am a little more lenient with alcohol throughout the week.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    There are ways to enjoy a social life and lose weight.
    A few ideas:

    1. Pick a night. One. Or at most two nights.
    2. Take 50 calories off a day during the week, to allow for a bit more on that night. But make those NUTRIENT DENSE DAYS. Eat healthy the rest of the time!!
    3. Factor in a good burrito (or whatever is your fancy) on the morning after.
    4. Get back to it immediately. Heck go for a run a couple of hours after the burrito
    5. CHOOSE WISELY. Become a drinker of low cal drinks. It doesn't have to be beer or sweet drinks.
    6. Drink lots of water. Preferably between drinks.
    7. Use common sense. Of course. Stop after a few. A FEW.

    ^^All of this.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
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    AnvilHead wrote: »
    You may find this article by Martin Berkhan (Leangains) interesting: http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html

    Pay particular attention to the heading "How to lose fat or prevent fat gain when drinking".

    Okay I'm only a little way in, but so far it's just encouraging me to drink more regularly :p
  • STC02
    STC02 Posts: 48 Member
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    It's strange the last time I had a drink (half bottle of apple vodka and 5 stella artois) I had actually lost 5lbs overnight. Those 5 went back on 2 days later once I started eating again but my advice would be to not overdo it on a night out and the next morning get some bacon and eggs going. The salt from the bacon helped me and the eggs were protein as well so I started to feel a lot better instead of lounging about waiting for a takeaway to open.
  • beautiful21916
    beautiful21916 Posts: 3 Member
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    No mixed drinks! Liquor straight, on the rocks or with tonic water saves tons of calories. Red wine is also a good choice
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    beautiful21916 wrote: »
    No mixed drinks! Liquor straight, on the rocks or with tonic water saves tons of calories. Red wine is also a good choice

    Red or white, dry is better.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    edited March 2017
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    During my weight loss I would save up during the week and have a bottle of wine every Friday (usually with pizza :)). Yes, the whole bottle, and usually a glass or two Sat/Sun. Never stopped me from consistently losing a pound a week.

    The last few weeks have been the same. I even lost about half a pound week before last and I was at an all inclusive resort in Mexico, drinking for at least 5 drinks every single day (gin, mint, lime, soda water, no sugar).

    It's more than possible... just fit it in. Note that alcohol is certainly less filling than other calories, so you do have to work for it (exercise). Since I also have exercise related goals, thats no problem at all. If you're dancing, you'll burn a lot of it off, just don't drink so much you're hungover...thats a killer. You don't need to get sloppy to have fun.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    edited March 2017
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    work out an bank calories for the weekend. Eat a bit less each day and burn a bit more and then eat those calories back on weekend drinking. Drink less so you wont be hungover and stupid. Drink alot of water to also avoid hangover stupidity.

    As for cheat days....absolutely a bad idea. A cheat day can ruin your entire weeks work. And being in the mindset of cheat days and good/bad foods is how people fail at losing weight. No food should be forbidden mix them into your day to day life. No need for cheat days and guilt.

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