Quit drinking alcohol, not losing weight

Beautiful__Ending wrote: »

suzannesimmons3 wrote: »

Beautiful__Ending wrote: »

suzannesimmons3 wrote: »

Honestly scales are not over the top. I will bet you money what you weigh in a cup will be way more than you think....so you "think" you are on 1200 but more than likely you are on 1500+
packages are not allowed to weigh less than stated so to make sure they are not breaking the law they can and do add more to the pack sometimes 10-20% more than stated

Like I said, I lost over 50 pounds doing it the way you say is "incorrect". I don't need everything to be 100% as long as I'm getting around what I'm aiming for. Nothing is 100% either way. An egg for example may say it's 70 calories but it may really be 60 or 80. This is suppose to be a way of life and I won't be measuring every little thing I eat forever.

Btw I never said scales are over the top, I said measuring prepackaged foods is a bit extreme..obsessive imo.

But you aren't losing by guessing now.
You asked for advice and a scale is what 99% of people here will tell you will get the best results but if you want to carry on assuming go right ahead but know if you carry on in a stall it will be you are not using a scale and eating more than you think

I AM using a scale but only for meat. Anything else I use measuring cups. It's only been a week plus I was basically eating at maintenance this past week. I was wondering why, even at maintenance I wasn't losing because while drinking I was averaging around 4000 calories a day, going from 4000 to 2000 should result in a loss.. but again it's only been a week and I am cutting my calories down starting today. But I will not measure prepackaged foods.. that's just silly to me.

I was eyeballing stuff out for awhile, but like I said previously I'm starting to measure again, just not to the extreme like you say.

This doesn't make sense. You won't lose at maintenance even if your calorie level was higher before you started reaching maintenance. You need to be at a deficit to lose weight.

Beautiful__Ending wrote: »

But I will not measure prepackaged foods.. that's just silly to me.

You know those packages of pre-cooked bacon? I used one in a recipe a while ago, and decided to weigh it just for the sake of accuracy. The box said something like 65g for the entire package. It was 116g - that's a substantial difference!

It's entirely up to you, obviously, but if you get everything else as accurate as you can and you're still not losing as much as you expect then consider weighing those things as well.

Congratulations on quitting drinking, though, that's a great thing you've done for your health and well being right there. Once you get your calorie allowance and everything else figured out - and it can take some time and experimentation, because like you said it's all estimates - then you'll start losing. Consistency and patience are key, but perfection isn't required!

Be gentle on yourself. Cutting out alcohol is a huge change, not just in terms of calories. When I stopped drinking, I remember it took several weeks for me to begin to lose weight. Once I had my head back, I did a Whole30. It really helped me feel like I was starting over and it helped me lose weight while eating to fullness. My eating habits totally changed. That was four years ago. Good for you for cutting out alcohol -- whether it's for weight loss/gain or other reasons, it can do nothing but good for you if you were consistently drinking several drinks/beers a day. Sending support!

Beautiful__Ending wrote: »

ninerbuff wrote: »

You're eating more than you think. Till you accurately measure actual intake, you'll likely be overconsuming calories.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Yes that's what I just said lol..I was asking how many calories I should be eating to lose..I already stated that I will be focusing more on measurements.

I think what @ninerbuff meant was you're likely not at 2000 calories, meaning the logging is off and you're eating a higher number of calories and therefore not in a caloric deficit.

For the greatest level of accuracy, weigh all solids with a food scale (including pre-packaged foods like frozen meals, protein bars, slices of bread and eggs, etc.) and measure liquids with measuring cups and spoons. Most folks who switch to the from eye-balling or even from just using measuring cups for everything are usually floored to see they're eating hundreds more calories per day than they thought.

Beautiful__Ending wrote: »

vespiquenn wrote: »

suzannesimmons3 wrote: »

Buy a scale and use it....then after a few weeks you can see about slowly cutting calories if loss isn't forthcoming. Your body is still healing itself so be kind.

This is one of the best pieces of advice you can receive during a stall (but a week or even two or three isn't considered a stall). Buy a food scale. Weigh everything you eat and use only measuring cups for liquids. Weigh even prepackaged food.

Not drinking alcohol will only help if it brings you into a calorie deficit.

I lost over 50 pounds from 2015-last summer, after the birth of my third child.. but when I got into the alcohol trap last year, I gained most of the weight back. I had a food scale that I used for meats, and measuring cups I used for just about everything else, I didn't weight pre-packaged foods either, honestly I just think that's a little over the top. I just need to get back to measuring, at least close enough, instead of eyeballing everything like I've been doing lately.

Thanks everyone for your advice, I was just thinking of going to 1200 calories because that's how I lost weight previously, but I will try to just work my way down slowly, and exercise 4x a week.

If you are not going to be making changes to your diet that will last the rest of your life, you'll gain back the weight. Cutting down to a drasticly low calorie limit (if you should be losing at 2000, 1200 is drastic) just to lose the weight is going to be a yoyo diet. That is likely why you gained it back in the first place. Try finding a lifestyle that you won't abandon after you hit your target weight (i.e. running in the mornings, making nutritionally dense meals that you enjoy eating, remain aware of portions and nutrition information in every single thing you eat while aiming for a modest deficit, find your ideal macro balance that leaves you feeling good and full more easily, learn to view food as fuel and not as a treat or emotionally satisfying activity)

First of all, congrats on quitting and changing your life. I quit several years ago and it was the hardest, but best, thing I ever did for myself.

I echo what some of the other commenters have said. Give it time. Your organs need to detox and adjust to the new normal. They are still acting like they did when you were drinking. Once they adjust, your body will start to function like it should, and you will lose weight.

Be gentle with yourself!

NigelNi35 wrote: »

Beautiful__Ending wrote: »

I was drinking about everyday for a year. About 8-9 beers plus a bunch of junk food while intoxicated. I gained 40 pounds. It's been a week since I quit drinking. I've been counting calories but staying about 2000 just because I've just felt really hungry. I haven't lost any weight and I'm a little ticked off. I'm thinking of cutting down to 1200 calories starting tomorrow, having one maintenance days week, and working out 4x a week. Does this seem like a good plan?

I've lost eleven pounds this year. In January 2017, I was 247 lbs and now I am 236 lbs. This is mainly from exercising in the park. I still drink beer regularly, though not everyday, and eat fast food occasionally. You're unfairly blaming the alcohol for the forty pound weight gain. If you don't exercise regularly no amount of counting calories and eliminating beer is going to change your weight.

Umm...no, not true. Losing weight is an effect of burning more calories than you consume. Exercise can help with that, but certainly isn't required.

Alcohol has a lot of sugar calories (you were probably consuming at least 1350 calories in just alcohol); your body needs time to reset itself. Also, try to log / weigh what you are currently eating, just to give yourself some data points (in terms of when you are hungry and what you are gravitating toward food wise). Sugar / alcohol is really hard to come down off of. Be gentle as you make the transition to a healthier lifestyle.