Weekend drinking
Replies
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hammytimeahm wrote: »Hello! So i was wondering if anyone had any advice about weekend drinking. I know I just shouldnt drink but im 21 so its hard to go out and not. Any tips, tricks or advice ? Thank you !
Don't drink until you are drunk.
Don't pig out when you have a buzz.
Don't order sugary drinks that contain 1/3 of your daily calories in one glass.
Be safe.1 -
I can't help you too much because this is still a struggle of mine. What I will say is that finding a drink that you want to sip rather than chug makes a real difference. I love beer and it definitely adds up but I have recently discovered a liking for dark, strong beers. These type of beers are tasty but you have to drink them slowly to enjoy them. My friends are beer aficionados so they understand this and I end up having two beers on a night out rather than 6!3
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cahubbard6421 wrote: »Just drink. Who cares about the calories.....you’ll be fine if you just work a little harder during the week.
Uh, we’re here because we care about the calories. A weekend of drinking can wipe out a week’s deficit for some.
Not unless you are drinking like 20+ beers, or running a very small deficit (like 100-200 a day). 100-150 calories a can isn't that much. Most people can eat to their deficit goal, drink 5-6 cans, and still be at a "maintain" level for that day. It doesn't undo an entire week of dieting, you just don't "lose" for that day.
Plus, if you drink more or want to maintain a deficit 7 days/week, it's as easy as counting those beer calories and offsetting them throughout the next week. It's easy to offset an additional 500-1500 calories over 7 days.
For many of us, drinking also increases appetite and lowers inhibitions about overeating. So we consume more than just the 500 or whatever calories from booze.
And for me, I don't sleep well, and so am hungrier the next day, and less motivated to exercise. So there is less of a deficit the next day as well.
For me, drinking is a major impediment to weight loss.5 -
kshama2001 wrote: »cahubbard6421 wrote: »Just drink. Who cares about the calories.....you’ll be fine if you just work a little harder during the week.
Uh, we’re here because we care about the calories. A weekend of drinking can wipe out a week’s deficit for some.
Not unless you are drinking like 20+ beers, or running a very small deficit (like 100-200 a day). 100-150 calories a can isn't that much. Most people can eat to their deficit goal, drink 5-6 cans, and still be at a "maintain" level for that day. It doesn't undo an entire week of dieting, you just don't "lose" for that day.
Plus, if you drink more or want to maintain a deficit 7 days/week, it's as easy as counting those beer calories and offsetting them throughout the next week. It's easy to offset an additional 500-1500 calories over 7 days.
For many of us, drinking also increases appetite and lowers inhibitions about overeating. So we consume more than just the 500 or whatever calories from booze.
And for me, I don't sleep well, and so am hungrier the next day, and less motivated to exercise. So there is less of a deficit the next day as well.
For me, drinking is a major impediment to weight loss.
You just described my past Sunday night ...sigh1 -
I enjoy drinking but in my experience, alcohol halts weight loss regardless of calories. Here's a link that explains the science behind that:
https://www.builtlean.com/2012/11/26/alcohol-weight-loss/8 -
I enjoy drinking but in my experience, alcohol halts weight loss regardless of calories. Here's a link that explains the science behind that:
https://www.builtlean.com/2012/11/26/alcohol-weight-loss/
100 % not true that alcohol halts weight loss.
I drank almost every day when I was losing weight and continue to do so now in maintenance (coming up on 2 years).3 -
I enjoy drinking but in my experience, alcohol halts weight loss regardless of calories. Here's a link that explains the science behind that:
https://www.builtlean.com/2012/11/26/alcohol-weight-loss/
Thanks for the link. The science there is solid, and the conclusion that light to moderate drinking may not be a problem but that heavy drinking most certainly is, is the take-away.
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Just dont do what I did last night and drink almost an entire pint of vodka with sprite and cranberry juice.. It's 1,024 in the whole thing. Wish I would have known that last night.2
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I drink about 5 days a week. Typically on the weekends, I consume more calories in the form of beer than I do in food. I stick to IPA. In between IPAs, I drink Corona Light. When we are doing heavy drinking, it's usually at a social event, so at least I'm moving around. And, we usually just stick to drinks and take care of any food that we need to have before we go.
For example, this is my intake from last Saturday. I have a very busy job, so there wasn't much time for food. We also spent 6 hours afterwards running around with friends, which is where we were drinking. So that helped burn some of it off.
Breakfast - Quest bar, apple - 260 cals
1 hour workout before work - 30 min HIIT cardio, 30 min kettle bell training
Post workout- Monster Zero
Lunch- Quest bar - 180 cals
Dinner- 3/4 of a rainbow roll, 2 bites of steak - estimated 500 cals
Out - 4 bottles of Lagunitas IPA (720 cals), 2 bottles of Corona lite(200 cals), 1 can bud lite (110)
Total alcohol cals - 1030
Total food cals - 940
Basically, plan before you go and leave yourself enough calories. Avoid fruity mixed cocktails and heavy, dark beers. If you need a mixer, go with diet coke, sugar free red bull or soda water.
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kshama2001 wrote: »cahubbard6421 wrote: »Just drink. Who cares about the calories.....you’ll be fine if you just work a little harder during the week.
Uh, we’re here because we care about the calories. A weekend of drinking can wipe out a week’s deficit for some.
Not unless you are drinking like 20+ beers, or running a very small deficit (like 100-200 a day). 100-150 calories a can isn't that much. Most people can eat to their deficit goal, drink 5-6 cans, and still be at a "maintain" level for that day. It doesn't undo an entire week of dieting, you just don't "lose" for that day.
Plus, if you drink more or want to maintain a deficit 7 days/week, it's as easy as counting those beer calories and offsetting them throughout the next week. It's easy to offset an additional 500-1500 calories over 7 days.
For many of us, drinking also increases appetite and lowers inhibitions about overeating. So we consume more than just the 500 or whatever calories from booze.
And for me, I don't sleep well, and so am hungrier the next day, and less motivated to exercise. So there is less of a deficit the next day as well.
For me, drinking is a major impediment to weight loss.
Back in the days when staying out late and closing down the bars was my thing, it was almost mandatory to hit the nearest restaurant ending in "to's" (Alberto's, Roberto's, Rigoberto's, Rupertito's, etc.) for a carne asada burrito and six rolled tacos with guacamole at 3:00 am. The calories from whatever I was drinking that night were nothing compared to the epic booze-fueled early morning feasts.3 -
Most of the really dumb things I've done in my life were when I was drunk.
So I advise against that.2 -
My only tip for not drinking (and I am no saint in this department) is: Be kind to your future selves.
Picture yourself at various points in the future as a group of your best friends. There is the "Tomorrow-Morning You." What would she want? To get up feeling great? Then there is "You-In-1-Year" (and 5 and 10). Could you give them something fantastic, such as a healthy body and mind?7 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »My only tip for not drinking (and I am no saint in this department) is: Be kind to your future selves.
Picture yourself at various points in the future as a group of your best friends. There is the "Tomorrow-Morning You." What would she want? To get up feeling great? Then there is "You-In-1-Year" (and 5 and 10). Could you give them something fantastic, such as a healthy body and mind?
Not saying this is bad advice. But I'm several years past the half century mark, still drinking and still healthy.2 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »My only tip for not drinking (and I am no saint in this department) is: Be kind to your future selves.
Picture yourself at various points in the future as a group of your best friends. There is the "Tomorrow-Morning You." What would she want? To get up feeling great? Then there is "You-In-1-Year" (and 5 and 10). Could you give them something fantastic, such as a healthy body and mind?
Not saying this is bad advice. But I'm several years past the half century mark, still drinking and still healthy.
Yes, this is a better argument for moderating drinking (or avoiding problem drinking) than it is for not drinking. I know plenty of healthy and successful people who drink sometimes, they just drink in a way that doesn't compromise their other goals and priorities.
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hammytimeahm wrote: »Hello! So i was wondering if anyone had any advice about weekend drinking. I know I just shouldnt drink but im 21 so its hard to go out and not. Any tips, tricks or advice ? Thank you !
Former bar manager here. Not so much calorie related as safety related. First off, pace yourself. Try not to consume more than 1 drink per hour. Have a glass of water between each drink to help pace yourself. Try to stay away from shots, especially multiple shots. . .they'll mess you up fast. Have some food or an appetizer around if you're drinking for a few hours. And don't forget, enjoy yourself.
Also remember, alcohol reduces inhibitions. I've served many a sober, discriminating female, who later in the evening turned into a drunken, wanton harlot who would screw a mountain troll in the bathroom. Pace yourself and always remember, YOU and ONLY YOU are responsible for your own personal safety.5 -
I get drinking socially - maybe just slow down and do that whole water between drinks thing (it's what I do!) I try to limit myself to 2 drinks when out with friends - one because its expensive and two - I don't want to spend the week undoing what a weekend of drinking did.0
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I "bank" calories and try to drink low carb beer (pure blondes) or sugar free pre made drinks. I make sure I eat a load of veggies for dinner to keep my meals low cal0
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You've had plenty of tips for the drinking bit, so I will give one for the next day: plan your hangover food (making sure it is stuff that hungover you is going to go 'omg, yes!' to, which doesn't have to mean high cal), and have it ready and waiting. That way you're less inclined to order a pizza
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »But I'm several years past the half century mark, still drinking and still healthy.
No question you can do that at strictly moderate levels. For women, that's defined as 1 "drink" and for men, it's 2 per day. A "drink" is 14g or 0.6oz of pure alcohol, equivalent to what's in a 12oz beer or 5oz glass of wine. These are guidelines only. I just note that a single 5oz glass of wine goes by pretty fast!
https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm
There is new evidence of a no-threshold linear effect on lifetime breast cancer risk with weekly alcohol consumption level, but the increases for a single glass of wine a day are very low (insignificant WRT other factors?)
https://nyti.ms/2hQUGP71 -
When I was on MFP the first time, I was 21/22 and a recent college graduate. That basically meant I was going out all the time, drinking more nights than not, and enjoying whatever mixed drinks I wanted.
All I did was pre-log where I could, bank a couple hundred calories on days I stayed in, and make up any excess the next day with a little extra on my workout. I didn't try to stay away from the drinks I liked (at that point, I was really into whiskey and ginger/jack and diet/IPAs). I didn't edit my drink preferences—I just made room for them. I still lost weight as long as I was logging honestly and accurately. I only gained weight when I stopped using MFP and stopped paying attention to what I was putting in my body.
As an aside, I love gemstone's water-in-the-beer-can trick. Now that I'm a little older and prefer to stay mostly sober, I'm going to be stealing that!1 -
I don't drink nearly as much since I graduated college since I finally realized how much it was actually impacting my weight. I'm only 22 though so I still enjoy going out and having a good time but I try to stay away from heavy calorie drinks and I limit myself to going out only on the weekends (most weekends I'm only drinking one of the nights unless there is an occasion). I'm a fan of vodka sodas with lime. I also like vodka with sparkling water (or soda water) with a few squirts of that mio flavoring! It tastes like a yummy drink but since the flavoring and sparking water/soda are zero calories you're still only getting the calories from the vodka! It doesn't take much for me to feel the alcohol, but those are my suggestions for lower calorie drinks! I find that I have less of a headache in the morning as well since I'm not drinking things with juice or filling up in cheap beer. My downfall on the weekends is usually the snacks I feel the need to have once im home from a night out
I've started just bringing a set amount of cash out so I don't have much to spend at the end of the night and I only keep ~somewhat~ healthy snacks at home so when the inevitable munchies hit I'm not completely self sabotaging myself 0 -
I can make a glass of red wine last for an entire meal these days.0
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Let's do the math here. A heavy beer is about 150 calories. A light bear is about 100 calories.
Let's say you drank a 6 pack. That's 900 calories for heavy beer, and 600 calories for light beer. That's not that much in the grand scheme of things. You can just eat less on the day you go out, and still be at a deficient.
Let's take it a step further. You drink 12 cans, that's enough for most people to get completely trashed. That's 1,800 for heavy beer, and 1,200 calories for light beer. That's... still not that much. You can still easily offset that by eating a little less the day of, and the next day or two.
You also need to factor in when you go out with friends you will be moving around more, burning a lot more calories than if you stayed home and watched TV. If you go dancing, clubbing, etc.. you can burn most those extra calories that very night.
I don't see the problem unless you drink multiple times a week and/or aren't offseting for it.
Sorry. This doesn't make sense. Those calories for a 6 pack of beer, or 12 cans, are just ridiculous. You say it's not much, but that's more than some of my complete meals!!2 -
Let's do the math here. A heavy beer is about 150 calories. A light bear is about 100 calories.
Let's say you drank a 6 pack. That's 900 calories for heavy beer, and 600 calories for light beer. That's not that much in the grand scheme of things. You can just eat less on the day you go out, and still be at a deficient.
Let's take it a step further. You drink 12 cans, that's enough for most people to get completely trashed. That's 1,800 for heavy beer, and 1,200 calories for light beer. That's... still not that much. You can still easily offset that by eating a little less the day of, and the next day or two.
You also need to factor in when you go out with friends you will be moving around more, burning a lot more calories than if you stayed home and watched TV. If you go dancing, clubbing, etc.. you can burn most those extra calories that very night.
I don't see the problem unless you drink multiple times a week and/or aren't offseting for it.
FWIW, the last beer I had (a few weeks ago) was Os'o Night Train - craft beer - clocked in at 210 calories. For my daily intake (250 cal daily deficit) of 1340, that's a pretty significant hit. Not so "easy" to offset a bunch of those lol.
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I've mostly switched to whiskey. I can sip at a single shot of whiskey for a full hour.0
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Most of the points here are good. It comes down to: be aware of how much you're drinking if you want to control your weight (and your health).
One more factoid: 12oz of beer @ 4%abv has:
355ml * .04 * 7 = 99kcals
Meaning that a large fraction of the calories in any beer are from the alcohol. For lite beer, nearly all the calories are from alcohol. Think of alcohol as "liquid fat."1 -
Some alcohol is good for the body.1
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