Drinking on a diet

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scaye103092
scaye103092 Posts: 48 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Once a week I go and hang out with my social circle. They’re generally 3-4 years younger than I am (~26) and they drink nightly. I generally hit the gym to burn a little more and eat a lighted dinner but I’m still worried it will effect my weight loss. I currently eat 1300 as my goal but only really hit about 1100 generally so I’m about 1000-1400 under goal for the week. If I drink 1-2x a week will that really impact it? Also I count my calories without exercise. I rarely, if ever, eat back my exercise calories.
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  • scaye103092
    scaye103092 Posts: 48 Member
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    I should say I TRY to hit 1300 but only hit 1100 mostly, even without factoring I’m exercise. If i have the day off from work and know I probably have burned closer to my BMR (I’m fairly sedentary on my days off because I’m on my feet in a retail position when I work) I will ALWAYS go to the gym and eat maybe 2 servings of egg whites before I go to my friends. I’m just really worried here because I gained 1 lb this week and I’m not sure if it’s bloating from PMS or the alcohol. Either way I hope it’s water :/
  • smolmaus
    smolmaus Posts: 442 Member
    edited September 2018
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    Are you not logging what you’re drinking? Of course it is affecting your weightloss, alcohol has calories just like everything else and sometimes lots of them! Of course you can fit in a few drinks into your calorie allowance or even decide a beer or two is worth more to you than losing that day but it doesn’t make sense to log all your food, log your exercise and then not log alcohol. The database has most big brands of alcohol, if you can’t find the exact one try the barcode or find a sensible equivalent, just like everything else. Cocktails can be awkward but again, make your best guess, or drink something else because they can be absolute calorie bombs.

    Alcohol can cause water weirdness, makes some people bloat the next day, I always wake up 2lb lighter from being dehydrated but for fatloss the body doesn’t really know the difference between beer and a biscuit.

    Edit to say I absolutely still drink alcohol and manage my weight, there’s nothing wrong with that at all. You need to live your life and unless you plan on being teetotal forever you should be learning how to drink while losing weight so you know how to drink when you get to maintenance!
  • SabAteNine
    SabAteNine Posts: 1,866 Member
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    I would avoid calling things `a diet`. You are in a caloric deficit. If you have a goal of 1,300 cals per day, that's a pretty big deficit. Even more so if you don't hit it and hover around 1,100 cals (which is very little if you ask me)... AND if you don't count calorie exercises!

    As long as you get your protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals for the day (not for weightloss, but for general health purposes), in other words take care of your macros and micros, you can fill the rest with whatever. Alcohol fits in that whatever.

    I used to have a glass of wine every evening while I was in a deficit (and restricting carbs). I routinely have a beer or two in maintenance. It doesn't make any difference for weight loss or maintenance as long as everything is counted. But sure, some people experience water retention from drinking... for me it's the opposite.
  • scaye103092
    scaye103092 Posts: 48 Member
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    I still log my alcohol calories. I only buy small bottles (nippers or 1/2 pints) so I can accurately log them without worrying about weighing out each drink and only mix with seltzer water, if I’m using any type of mixer at all. I have a very small appetite though so that’s why I don’t eat much. I work 3-1030 5 days a week with my break being around 7 at night so most days I eat dinner around 11 or midnight (not too big of a deal, I go to bed around 5 am because I work second shift). With a multivitamin I still hit all my nutrients. The only two I find myself having difficulty with are potassium and iron which I will be seeing my doctor about as I’ve tried different approaches and still can’t hit my goals there. When I say I go under my calories I mean I hit 1100-1200, exercise out about 250-300 and generally don’t eat it back because I go very late and tend to shower then go to bed.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,988 Member
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    [quote="scaye103092;c-42586093"]I still log my alcohol calories. I only buy small bottles (nippers or 1/2 pints) so I can accurately log them without worrying about weighing out each drink and only mix with seltzer water, if I’m using any type of mixer at all. I have a very small appetite though so that’s why I don’t eat much. I work 3-1030 5 days a week with my break being around 7 at night so most days I eat dinner around 11 or midnight (not too big of a deal, I go to bed around 5 am because I work second shift). With a multivitamin I still hit all my nutrients. The only two I find myself having difficulty with are potassium and iron which I will be seeing my doctor about as I’ve tried different approaches and still can’t hit my goals there. When I say I go under my calories I mean I hit 1100-1200, exercise out about 250-300 and generally don’t eat it back because I go very late and tend to shower then go to bed. [/quote]

    You mention mixers, which most people typically have not with beer or wine but with a distilled beverage a.k.a. hard liquor (vodka, gin, whiskey, rum, etc.)? Are you saying you drink a 1/2 pint (8 fluid oz., or around 125 ml.) of a distilled alcoholic beverage (500 calories or more of alcohol, depending on the proof, i.e., % alcohol)? That seems like an awful lot of calories to devote to alcohol when you say you're consuming about 1100 calories day. That leaves you only 600 calories for meeting your nutritional needs. Granted, it's only one day a week, but you're already regularly running what must be a pretty steep deficit.
  • scaye103092
    scaye103092 Posts: 48 Member
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    Unfortunately, only sometimes, yes. I’ll have a lighter breakfast, my regular lunch which is lately chicken and veggie curry with brown jasmine rice for about 360 calories, and a protein shake with cashew milk for dinner. Most of the time I’ll still eat at least 1000, go to the gym, and drink within my calories for the ‘exercise’ calories I’ve earned back. I usually only have 2-3 nippers but on occasion I’ll have a little more if I’ve been running errands and gone to the gym to stack up about 700 extra calories. And I measure my calories burned by my heart rate when I work out to get a more accurate reading. It’s been working fairly well...but my friends just want to drink more and more. I think I’m gonna have to start bringing a pint filled with water and telling them it’s tequila lol none of them will touch that stuff anyways.
  • joaniebalonie088
    joaniebalonie088 Posts: 93 Member
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    If these are really the friends you want to hang with, maybe bring a pre-mixed container of booze w/no cal mixer. You control the ratio, so you make it as light as you want.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,988 Member
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    joaniebalonie088 wrote: »
    If these are really the friends you want to hang with, maybe bring a pre-mixed container of booze w/no cal mixer. You control the ratio, so you make it as light as you want.

    Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but she says she mostly "buys" small bottles or nippers -- that sounds to me like they're at a bar/pub -- a place that's in the business of selling drinks. I doubt that such an establishment would allow you to bring in alcohol from off-site. In some jurisdictions, it might even be illegal.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,021 Member
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    You mention mixers, which most people typically have not with beer or wine but with a distilled beverage a.k.a. hard liquor (vodka, gin, whiskey, rum, etc.)?

    I know people who drink white wine diluted with soda water - isnt that unusual a combination. Not to me anyway

    and your old shandy - havent seen that for a while though - which is beer diluted with lemonade.

    Anyway, yes, of course alcohol counts but is easy enough to fit it into your calorie allowance in moderation.
  • joaniebalonie088
    joaniebalonie088 Posts: 93 Member
    edited September 2018
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    joaniebalonie088 wrote: »
    If these are really the friends you want to hang with, maybe bring a pre-mixed container of booze w/no cal mixer. You control the ratio, so you make it as light as you want.

    Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but she says she mostly "buys" small bottles or nippers -- that sounds to me like they're at a bar/pub -- a place that's in the business of selling drinks. I doubt that such an establishment would allow you to bring in alcohol from off-site. In some jurisdictions, it might even be illegal.

    Clearly I don’t understand the lingo. I thought she was buying a 5th of booze to bring to a house party or something. I would never condone bringing your own hooch into a place that sells drinks.
  • mk2fit
    mk2fit Posts: 730 Member
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    As long as you log your drinks and consider them into your daily caloric intake, no problem. Do keep in mind alcohol can dehydrate you so maybe a water back every couple of drinks. Oh, and eat some food, too.
  • 1BlueAurora
    1BlueAurora Posts: 439 Member
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    Log the alcohol into MFP. In the meantime, you might consider eating back about 50% of your earned exercise calories. MFP suggests women eat no less than 1200 calories a day. Maybe add in an ounce of cheese, a small handful of almonds, or half an avocado to get your calories up. You'll still lose weight if you stay in a calorie deficit. I say, enjoy your alcohol!
  • TribeHokie
    TribeHokie Posts: 711 Member
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    You don't need to match your friends drink for drink. Consume what fits your caloric allowance and then switch to a no-calorie beverage for the rest of the evening. As someone in the middle of a month-long break from alcohol I know that is not near as fun but when you wake up the next morning sans hangover and not in a panic from going over on calories, it is usually worth it. My friends love it when I don't drink or limit it to one or two because I can be their DD.

    I also deal with the reduced drinking by having my friends over to my place more often. I feel less pressured to drink when I'm not out and it is less obvious if I don't want to make a big deal of it. Also everyone saves money. Yay.
  • scaye103092
    scaye103092 Posts: 48 Member
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    joaniebalonie088 wrote: »
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    joaniebalonie088 wrote: »
    If these are really the friends you want to hang with, maybe bring a pre-mixed container of booze w/no cal mixer. You control the ratio, so you make it as light as you want.

    Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but she says she mostly "buys" small bottles or nippers -- that sounds to me like they're at a bar/pub -- a place that's in the business of selling drinks. I doubt that such an establishment would allow you to bring in alcohol from off-site. In some jurisdictions, it might even be illegal.

    Clearly I don’t understand the lingo. I thought she was buying a 5th of booze to bring to a house party or something. I would never condone bringing your own hooch into a place that sells drinks.

    My friends are all only 22 or 21. It’s not a very large social circle so it’s never a big party, just 5 of us hanging out. It’s just that they’re still in that ‘party all night work all day’ phase that I’ve been past for a couple years now. We’re too broke to go to bars lol nippers where I live are about 99 cents. Generally everyone brings a bottle every week, hangs out Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and sometimes Wednesdays. All at night. And they drink. I only go once or twice, I’ll have one night where I drink nothing, and then one night where I have some fun. I feel like a bit is getting lost in translation here. I’m still eating/drinking within my calories and no one is ever drinking to the point where they’re too drunk to function. I also don’t use a mixer other than seltzer which is just carbonated water, no sodium, no calories.
  • scaye103092
    scaye103092 Posts: 48 Member
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    I’m also the only one that doesn’t bring a whole bottle. I want to know exactly what I’m drinking and how much of it so I can log it and keep track. Hence the nips lol
  • MichelleWithMoxie
    MichelleWithMoxie Posts: 1,818 Member
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    You’re hanging out with, basically, college kids. It’s no wonder they’re still in the boozing/partying mode.

    My 20s were a mix of boozing, parties, college graduations, graduate school, nervous breakdowns, existential crises... needless to say I don’t miss that decade much. Lol
  • scaye103092
    scaye103092 Posts: 48 Member
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    MichSmish wrote: »
    You’re hanging out with, basically, college kids. It’s no wonder they’re still in the boozing/partying mode.

    My 20s were a mix of boozing, parties, college graduations, graduate school, nervous breakdowns, existential crises... needless to say I don’t miss that decade much. Lol

    Me either honestly. I’m only 26 but jeez they do not understand how different 26 and 22 are. I cannot drink that much anymore. That’s why as much as I love them I don’t hang out there much. And I do love them obviously, but they’re definitely friends of circumstance. I work at the same company as 3 of them (actually started the same day as the one I first befriended. She’s my manager. Other friend I work with just started!) and 2 of them are dating and all 3 live the building behind me in my complex lol unfortunately I work a job that usually consists of younger people because it’s retail and working second shift, not driving, and the fact that I love being a homebody doesn’t really make for a great mix of meeting people my own age 😂
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
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    scaye103092 wrote: »

    hangs out Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and sometimes Wednesdays.

    omg how do you all get anything done?? :D

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