Alcohol & Weight Loss

I do include alcohol but only at the most two days a month. For those social events I save my calories and I choose lower calorie drinks and only have a couple or I will make bad food choices too. Alternate you alcohol with water and if you are going to a party bring a veggie tray to ensure some low calorie snacks. If it is an event where you fear bingeing don't start. Stick to water.

I am not a drinker but my dad fought the same battle as you. First mixed drinks usually have the most Cal's compared to low cal beer and spirits. The choices on food after getting tipsy... Well I have no help for you on that one. Impulse control and decision making skills deminish the drunker you are. Dad limited himself to weekend drinking only and really never got wasted. So the food thing wasn't a real issue for him. His issue was the bloated stomach on a skinny body.

The trick is to focus on the things you CAN have and not on the ones you can't (like sugar/alcohol).

I love me some weekend drinks. But I notice it's not any help in fitness

joemac1988 wrote: »

My advice would be to plan for drinks (eat less those days), keep water consumption up, choose drinks wisely (vodka and club soda instead of a sugary cocktail for example) and minimize frequency and volume as much as possible.

I find I can't do this (eat less on days I drink). Losing 100 lbs has made me a real lightweight when it comes to alcohol, and I need food in my gut before I start drinking or I'm toast. So drinking nights takes a couple of days of planning or a couple days of recovery from the calorie perspective.

It doesn't help that I don't make the best food choices. I just have to limit the times I go out now.

Will power! I love beer and tacos but I know if I can give them up for until I reach my goal it will be worth it. I do have a few days out the month where I can have a few beers and some tacos but I dont let it get out of hand and set me back majorly.

goldiejdb wrote: »

I am having an extremely difficult time giving up alcohol on my weight loss journey. I have cut back significantly, but some days I binge & it definitely shows on the scale.

Binge drinking is never a good thing whether trying to lose weight or not. If you can't drink without bingeing, I would suggest giving it up.

I also tend to make terrible food choices after drinking.

This is usually the real culprit to drinking alcohol preventing weight loss. Drinking in reasonable amounts can be done while dieting but not if you overeat when you do.

Anyone else had or have this issue? Any tips to overcome this? Do you include alcohol in your diet?

I do not have that issue. I drink most every day but I do not binge drink and I do not overeat just because I have a drink.

I, unfortunately, have a lot of experience with this. First, alcohol most likely is not why we gain weight. Its the foods we eat when we drink. I lost 60 pounds drinking a 6-pack a night. I just never ate after dinner, only drank. I also kept my beers in the basement by the workout equipment. A beer cost me 50 push ups, 100 sit-ups. At the tail end of my weight loss, a beer cost me 150 push ups and 300 sit-ups. I was using beer as an excuse to go to the basement and work out at night.

Second, if you are consumer more than 12 units of alcohol a week, you might want to consider if you are a problematic drinker. Consider visiting moderation management or taking 30 days off. If you can't, see a doctor. Alcohol is a very strange cultural norm in America. Its a huge issue that not many talk about socially or take seriously. It leads to some bad health outcomes in just a few years, and even major issues over the decades.

With that said, I have a suger/carb deficient diet that allows me to have a beer or two to hit my goals. I eat very healthy and never drink more than 3 drinks in any occasion. I never drink out at restaurants or go to bars anymore either, even holidays or weekend parties are a non-alcohol zone for me. Keep it safe. Keep it clean. Make good choices if you can. Good luck.

I'll be honest and say I solve this problem in an unhealthy - but sustainable - way. I don't have the occasional drink "just because." I only drink if I am going to get drunk, which I enjoy doing. I also fast intermittently, so my usual eating window is 2pm-10pm. On days I plan to binge drink, I push it to 4pm-12am and have my first drink with my first meal of the day. I get drunk faster, but not sick, and it generally keeps me within my calories since I'm sober when I make the first choice and I have a bunch saved up for later Also! It's okay to eat to maintenance some days - you won't gain anything from that. I will also say, that alcohol makes you bloat, so you may see weight gain that is all water, it's normal and will go away soon.

Alcohol is annoying. It has sooo many calories, and I can't just have ONE drink, that doesn't do anything for me champagne has 90 cals per serving though. You can also do rum and diet coke or something like that. Makes it a little better. Problem is. The kind of stuff I like is sangrias and other yummy things like that. Ugh.