Alcohol & Treats

It is absolutely a lifestyle change. If you don't follow a food plan that's sustainable, you'll end up going in a vicious cycle.

yes you can, I have lost 11kg with a glass of white/red with dinner. however, I have a standard glass, measured out etc. followed with water. Like PPs said, it's all about the total calories you have at the end of the day. as for treats, sure I have them, just not every night. Not unless I plan all my other meals calories around this treat. But if wine inhibits your self control, I'd suggest laying off the wine for a bit until you have a better hold on your meal planning, weight loss, and self control on snacking on stuff.

I fit the drinks I want into my calories for the day. Though I notice it's harder for me to stay on track after a couple.

ABHY7 wrote: »

Is it possible to still drink alcohol & lose weight? Every week I would be good, eat well & walk alot. Then hit the weekend for a few drinks & back to square 1!!
At night I crave salt so my downfall is Popcorn/ crackers/ crisps!
Is it a total lifestyle change or am I going about this all wrong?
Also, I had a colonoscopy last year & lost 5lbs with the prep (put it straight back on in a week).. could I be holding water weight?
Thanks for any replies

Yes. I drank less while actively losing weight than I do now in maintenance, simply because I have more discretionary calories now. I don't like routinely sacrificing what I see as essential nutrition in order to have treats, so normally I try to make sure all my nutritional boxes are checked before spending many calories on alcohol (or other treats). (I might make an exception to that for a special occasion . . . but I might make the exception of simply choosing to exceed my routine calorie goal in order to have nutrition plus alcohol or other treats on that special occasion. It varies.)

My daily calorie goal, to which I adhere most of the time, is a slight bit below my maintenance calories. Once a week or so, I eat above my maintenance calories. The objective is to balance out over time, and maintain weight. It's not perfect, but I'm still at a reasonable, healthy weight (BMI 22-point-something) after most of a year losing, and 3 years of maintenance since.

Other than that tendency for alcohol to lower inhibitions to overeating, I've never seen any indication that alcohol has any impact on fat loss that's different from what I'd expect if I consumed those calories in some other form. If I sacrificed nutrition, maybe that would make a difference**, I dunno. I do see some water weight implications related to alcohol occasionally, but nothing major, and it's just water weight so I don't worry about it: It's temporary and meaningless.

To answer your other questions: Yes, maintaining weight is a lifestyle change. That change can include different alcohol consumption or not, whichever works better for you: It's your lifestyle.

You lost weight with your colonoscopy prep mainly because you were doing your best to completely clean out digestive system contents. When we eat normally, there's some typical average amount of food residue making its way through our digestive system, between the moment it goes in our mouth, and the time it comes out the other end. That food residue has weight. In colonoscopy prep, you lose that weight. When you eat again, you regain it. It's not fat. There could be some water weight fluctuation, too. That's not fat, either.

If you crave salt, consider pickles or sauerkraut, if you want something salty with fewer calories.

** ETA: I'm not suggesting anything magical here. If sacrificing nutrition made a difference, it would be because poor nutrition leads to poor energy level, causing reduced activity, so lowered calorie expenditure, either through less daily life activity or reduced exercise frequency/intensity; or through some effect on body composition or satiation/compliance. No magic.

These are two very seperate questions, I'll try to answer them both.

As far as alcohol, it all depends on whether you can moderate or control. Alcoholic drinks have calories in them, so they need to be counted and included in your daily goal. Some people also find if they drink they have stronger hunger cravings, and lower self control, so they eat more. That makes it a double strike. However if you can moderate, you can certainly drink during it. I personally only drink on rare occasions, as I prefer to reserve all my calories for food. But on ocassions that I do, it doesn't hold me back because it's within my goal.

Regarding the colonoscopy, losing that much weight is normal during prep, because you take industrial strength laxatives to clear out your system, as well as fasting, because your body needs to have nothing in your digestive system. That is not something your body can normally maintain, and will always come back after the procedure. You are not holding onto unnecessary water weight. This is why real weight loss can only be done by a calorie deficit.

As long as I plan for it, I am ok! I know i'll want to eat yummy food when I am drinking so I plan for it in my week, or even sometimes 2 weeks ahead. During the week, i'll add in wine here and there if I have those calories left over by the time I get to dinner. But if I am planning for something like I said, I will save any extra calories I don't need for a week or two leading up and it has seemed to all balance out for me so far. I am only 4.5 months in but for me it has this has worked.

Alcohol is something I can moderate. I have a lot of things I can't, so I have cut those out like other's have cut out alcohol. Figure out if you can moderate, or if you can plan for it. If you can, enjoy! If you can't, probably best to learn other things you enjoy and kick it to the curb for a while.

And remember, some things you can't moderate now you might be able to later in your journey, so it might be goodbye but only for a little while.