Getting fit and quitting alcohol!

Jungley
Jungley Posts: 23 Member
in Getting Started
Red wine is my downfall - I drink tons of the stuff and then go out and eat burgers. I've been trying to ages to kick the alcohol and it truly interferes with me being able to buckle down and get fit. Anybody else in this position and does anyone have any tips or ideas on how to change my mindset??

Replies

  • vickij716
    vickij716 Posts: 2 Member
    Hi, I have the same issue... I''m trying not to drink, eat right, loose weight, and exercise more. I need to loose 30 lbs. I would love to communicate with you and keep each other accountable. Vicki
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,223 Member
    I like my wine too! What I did was slowly reduce the consumption from multiple glasses a day down to one with Dinner. You have to pour that glass & add it in to your calorie count then put it away. It takes will-power & determination. Not easy but you can do it if you really want to...
  • Gerwil
    Gerwil Posts: 4 Member
    started last week on low carb diet,whilst monitoring carbs realised how many carbs in alcohol,made me realise where most of the weight gain was coming from,have abstained now for 1 week and pleased to say results are staggering,ive lost 7lb without really low carb and consuming around 1600 cals per day.give it a bash.best of luck.

    ps i love my guiness and red wine and not missing it too much.
  • smolmaus
    smolmaus Posts: 442 Member
    I was in the same place for a long time. I just stopped drinking. Making it to the gym and getting a good workout in became more important than the friday/ saturday night wine. Tbh I have a lot to thank the gym for, I definitely have issues with alcohol and I want to drink less when my self esteem is better, it's a good excuse not to end up going for pints after work and it helped me realise just how reliant I was on booze which was scary.

    I tried to have a compromise (half bottle) last weekend because it was Easter (and tbh I have been backsliding a little) and the workout the next day was horrendous. So that's me off it again for the foreseeable future! When I was just losing weight and not worried about exercise I would make room for wine in my calorie allowance but trying to lift/run with a hangover is just too much.
  • onematch
    onematch Posts: 241 Member
    Yes. I still drink, but basically tell myself the kitchen is closed after dinner. Otherwise I snack on crap all night long when I drink.
  • Jungley
    Jungley Posts: 23 Member
    Thanks for the food for thought everyone - interesting to see the range of responses. I so wish I could cut down like some of you.

    I checked my food diary (when i was actually being honest) and 70% of my daily calories was red wine.

    I've pretty much completely quit for the past 2 weeks as i really can't stop once i've started and of course you do tend to eat crap all night. I would eat anything that's not nailed down - heck, I'd probably eat the cat if he didn't move out the way so quickly :D

    So far I'm 7lb down in 2 weeks and feeling a lot better. So far so good - just hoping I can stick to it this time!
  • flippy1234
    flippy1234 Posts: 686 Member
    I had the same problem. I love wine. I ate quite well during the day but then went WAY over my calories at night with wine. I was in an endless cycle. Trying to lose my belly but not wanting to give up my wine. It got so bad that I had to quit...I am alcohol free for almost 3 months. I have dropped about 10 lbs and I feel great. I finally feel like a grown up. Waking up without a fuzzy head and remembering everything. I guess there are some people who can have a glass or 2 and be fine. I could not moderate...
    I think the key though is not to quit just to lose weight, but to quit for your overall health because it really is poison. Nothing good comes of it. Do it for your life...we only get one.
  • boehle
    boehle Posts: 5,062 Member
    I have gone from just about every night with a few glasses.. to limiting to the weekends
    Some days that is hard after a rough day at work but it gets a little easier day by day
  • Jungley
    Jungley Posts: 23 Member
    flippy1234 wrote: »
    I had the same problem. I love wine. I ate quite well during the day but then went WAY over my calories at night with wine. I was in an endless cycle. Trying to lose my belly but not wanting to give up my wine. It got so bad that I had to quit...I am alcohol free for almost 3 months. I have dropped about 10 lbs and I feel great. I finally feel like a grown up. Waking up without a fuzzy head and remembering everything. I guess there are some people who can have a glass or 2 and be fine. I could not moderate...
    I think the key though is not to quit just to lose weight, but to quit for your overall health because it really is poison. Nothing good comes of it. Do it for your life...we only get one.

    Great post flippy - thanks for that xx
  • HarveysBud
    HarveysBud Posts: 421 Member
    smolmaus wrote: »
    I was in the same place for a long time. I just stopped drinking. Making it to the gym and getting a good workout in became more important than the friday/ saturday night wine. Tbh I have a lot to thank the gym for, I definitely have issues with alcohol and I want to drink less when my self esteem is better, it's a good excuse not to end up going for pints after work and it helped me realise just how reliant I was on booze which was scary.

    I tried to have a compromise (half bottle) last weekend because it was Easter (and tbh I have been backsliding a little) and the workout the next day was horrendous. So that's me off it again for the foreseeable future! When I was just losing weight and not worried about exercise I would make room for wine in my calorie allowance but trying to lift/run with a hangover is just too much.

    Same boat. And you nailed it, the next day work out are so horrible when multiple beverages were consumed the night before....
  • brightresolve
    brightresolve Posts: 1,024 Member
    A number of years ago, I totally quit alcohol for a set of reasons unrelated to weight loss or exercise.

    In the first four months after quitting I accidentally, without trying or thinking about it much, lost 20 pounds off an already midrange weight. I ended up at 112 and 5'7" which was not a pretty sight. Eventually I learned to actually eat; without knowing it, I had eliminated much eating in order to keep drinking the way I wanted to and maintain a reasonable weight.

    I was completely unaware of the huge percentage of my calories that had come from wine. When you say 70%, @Jungley, I believe you.
  • Jungley
    Jungley Posts: 23 Member
    That's massively thought provoking @brightresolve - I've always wondered how some of my heavy drinking buddies maintain their weight as I am fairly certain they don't go to the gym. Perhaps they just don't eat!

    I used to think they were lucky...but I've really enjoyed getting stuck into the gym and hiking the past couple of weeks
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,091 Member
    Jungley wrote: »
    That's massively thought provoking @brightresolve - I've always wondered how some of my heavy drinking buddies maintain their weight as I am fairly certain they don't go to the gym. Perhaps they just don't eat!

    I used to think they were lucky...but I've really enjoyed getting stuck into the gym and hiking the past couple of weeks

    Anyone who is getting all their calories (or eating very little food and getting most of their calories from alcohol) is going to be lacking essential macro- and micronutrients.
  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
    Lordy me and my vices! I actually can manage my calorie count with my alcohol habit if I keep track. But If let it slide it can get out of hand fast. I'm a beer drinker so even worse. Got myself up to 215 from 185 and was like NOPE! And I was working out and eating healthy the whole time. So I would maintain for a while, then slip up then maintain, until eventually was at 30 lbs over. So I stopped drinking beer except for weekend hangouts with a friend. But I switched to red wine for my regular habit. Which naturally turned into a whole bottle every night. Weird thing is I'm down to 195 from that switch alone, because I never really have stopped working out for longer than a 3 week period in the last 10 years or so. Now trying to get to 2 to 3 glasses half bottle a night, which I've managed for the last week and a half. I know. I know. I used to be a smoker. So I know cold turkey is the real deal. When I quit cigs, I went cold. You know what I did? I rescued a dog from the shelter who kept me on my toes and so busy. Started eating up time, by going for 3 to 5 miles walks with the dog. Kept my mind occupied. But now when we get to evenings, I start cooking drinking wine, listening to tunes. Next thing you know, empty bottle. So I need that something to keep myself occupied in evening. Even with extra 650 cals from a bottle I can stay under my cal goal and lose a little. But those are cals I could be using for muscle growth, instead of liver failure. Anyway I wish you all luck.

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