To all the party animals out there...

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MaryEliz10
MaryEliz10 Posts: 13
in Health and Weight Loss
Do you log your alcoholic drinks on nights out ? My problems are:

a) Vodka and diet coke may be the best thing to drink calorie wise but I need at least 10 to be drunk and my bank balance can't accommodate it!

b) If I included all drinks in my calories, I would literally have to eat nothing on the days I go out.

c) Will anyone ever invent calorie free wine?

If anyone has any input, please feel free. I'd love to know whether other people just think '*kitten* it' and enjoy a night or two each week without tracking (and still manage to lose weight at a decent rate).

Oh, and have a fab Friday night everyone :)
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Replies

  • LuintoST
    LuintoST Posts: 3
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    Bump, interested as well.
  • missoularocks
    missoularocks Posts: 372 Member
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    I think you should log all the calories you drink when you go out. If you want to be honest with your calorie watch, you gotta add them ALL in there. Enjoy your drinks though! :)
  • Just_Dot
    Just_Dot Posts: 2,289 Member
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    On days I know I'm going to go hard on the vodka, I get an extra workout in or go extra hard so I have some wiggle room. That way, if I do happen to go over, it isn't as bad as it could be without the extra exercise. I also really watch what I eat. I don't starve myself, but I eat super-healthy that day.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    I save calories for alcohol and log it. I try to save calories for it or exercise a lot to gain those extra calories. I'm still losing weight so it has worked for me!
  • charityateet
    charityateet Posts: 576 Member
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    Yep, as Soccerdot said - workout extra hard on the days you plan on drinking - and eat super healthy/clean. I drink pretty much every weekend (and have since I joined MFP 1/14) and have lost 35lbs so far.

    For me, maybe it's just more of a "being able to drink" thing.....I drink the lightest beer Bud55 (also very low alcohol content, boo) and vodka shots. The vodka, I measure out 1/2 shot and fill the other 1/2 with powerade0 - so for 100 calories, I can have *2* drinks........I guess it just feels like I can participate??

    I hear ya though.......good thing about switching to lower calories/lower alcohol is my tolerance is very low....meaning 2 glasses of wine puts me on my butt!! lol

    Have fun, enjoy your weekend!
  • nowornever47
    nowornever47 Posts: 333 Member
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    Hi... I personally log everything! If you are being honest with yourself, you're consuming the calories, so you should count them... especially alcohol, where it can be soooo many calories! Otherwise I'm afraid you'll eat calories then don't know how many you've consumed for alcohol on top of that = dangerous.. Ok, so that being said, there are ways to work some drinks in like exercising and planning in advance. For instance, if I know I'm going over to a friend's for a bonfire on Friday night - I'll say ok I want to have 3 beers or xxx glasses of wine, etc and log them in advance, to see how much I have left for the day. If you want to lose weight, my suggestion to you is not to make getting drunk your goal... first, it lowers your inhibitions - i.e. eating/picking more and secondly, it lowers your metabolism and can actually work against your efforts. It's all about planning ahead and changing priorities... now maintenance will be a different story because I know I'll get quite a few (100) more calories per day but if I want to lose weight the alcohol kind of doesn't seem worth it right now... Good luck to you - it's definitely a struggle at times, hope this helps and I'm sure you'll receive pointers from others as well. I always check on line too to see how many calories are in what type of alcohol... like Michelob Ultra Pomegranate Beers = 96 calories each! Have fun and let us know how you do!
  • bry_all01
    bry_all01 Posts: 3,100 Member
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    I have a rule for myself - if it goes in your mouth (and is swallowed) it must be logged.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    If you don't log it because it will make you go over on your day....do you somehow think your body DOESN'T 'log' it?
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
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    I have a rule for myself - if it goes in your mouth (and is swallowed) it must be logged.
    I don't QUITE log everything I swallow...
  • Liquid741
    Liquid741 Posts: 292 Member
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    I have a rule for myself - if it goes in your mouth (and is swallowed) it must be logged.
    I don't QUITE log everything I swallow...


    oh boy...going to have to tell my wife to start logging some other things!

    btw, i wish i could drink vodka...the stuff is great, but for some reason i get a killer headache the next morning...even after just drinking a few.
  • nortiekeeks
    nortiekeeks Posts: 59 Member
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    I have a rule for myself - if it goes in your mouth (and is swallowed) it must be logged.
    I don't QUITE log everything I swallow...

    tee-hee! ;P
  • Just_Dot
    Just_Dot Posts: 2,289 Member
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    I have a rule for myself - if it goes in your mouth (and is swallowed) it must be logged.
    I don't QUITE log everything I swallow...
    *snort*

    Also, there are nights I don't log every drink, or the crap food that I consumed as a result of consuming said alcohol...it's not because I'm not ashamed or I don't realize that my body "logs it", but due to the fact that I can't remember what I had. So, the day after, I eat REALLY clean, drink a ton of water (with lemon if I'm not too hungover, if I'm hanging, I add some powdered Propel to my water) and make sure I exercise. I know it doesn't "make up" for the night before, but it gets me to feeling better.
  • SpectacuLaura
    SpectacuLaura Posts: 144 Member
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    I definitely log my alcohol! I am a serious drinker and used to drink a ton on nights out too but by logging it and really facing up to how many effing calories all of that is, it definitely makes me think twice about whether or not I really need a 5th mixed drink (and helps me to make better choices with my drinks in general). If you really want to change your lifestyle and be healthier, you absolutely have to log alcohol.
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
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    If I know I'm going out, I work extra hard in the days leading up and then I recover asap the next day. As for getting drunk, well, I really try to keep that to a minimum.. I drink because I enjoy beer, and once I've had enough to get a buzz I stop tasting it, and then it loses all meaning as to why I'm drinking. Wasn't always that way, but that's how it is now.

    I always wondered why I didn't gain weight when I was single and living downtown... I think it was because I walked to and from the bar (about a mile each way) every night, and threw up most every morning from the hangover. Good times.. good times..







    .......... wait, who am I kidding - I don't actually try very hard to be careful ... I just log it, enjoy life, and get back on track some time after the 'party'.
  • charityateet
    charityateet Posts: 576 Member
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    I have a rule for myself - if it goes in your mouth (and is swallowed) it must be logged.
    I don't QUITE log everything I swallow...
    *snort*

    Also, there are nights I don't log every drink, or the crap food that I consumed as a result of consuming said alcohol...it's not because I'm not ashamed or I don't realize that my body "logs it", but due to the fact that I can't remember what I had. So, the day after, I eat REALLY clean, drink a ton of water (with lemon if I'm not too hungover, if I'm hanging, I add some powdered Propel to my water) and make sure I exercise. I know it doesn't "make up" for the night before, but it gets me to feeling better.

    Not me, I go straight for cheeseburgers and wash them down with vodka. teehee
  • 27strange
    27strange Posts: 837 Member
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    I log it all. Every drink. I try to do extra exercise on the weekend as I feel this helps me justify or offset some of the drinks I may have if I go out. Moderation is key. I don't drink nearly as much as I used to. I drink much slower. i drink ultra light beers like Michelob Ultra and Select 55. I put diet soda in mixed drinks now instead of regular. I stay away from wines because the calorie count is high, same with dark beers. At first I thought it would be so hard to make the adjustments, but now I have found that I still have just as much fun out with friends as I used to and its way cheaper than since I don't consume as many drinks or as fast.
  • elliecolorado
    elliecolorado Posts: 1,040
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    This is my biggest battle with weight loss, I can give up any junk food and not miss it, but I can't give up booze! I do try to work out extra hard on days that I am going to be drinking so that I have extra calories to use. I can't do mixed drinks (hard liquor and I do not get along and it's too expensive) so I stick with light beer. Honestly I try to log everything I drink, but I don't always remember how many drinks I had :blushing:
  • whoreheyR1
    whoreheyR1 Posts: 135 Member
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    too funny, love this thread.... & I also save up calories for drinks, log everything and then work out longer the next day : p
  • sarahmaryfearnley
    sarahmaryfearnley Posts: 366 Member
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    This is sort of off topic but I think this is the right thread to share this info. I was watching The Dr's a few weeks ago (I do not love this show - too awwww, everything about daily life will kill you!) and they were talking about the health dangers associated with Girls Night Out. Besides the obvious junk that we are more likely to eat drunk, calories from the alcohol, and the possible STD from a drunk booty call (ya, they covered that one and warned that sexting can lead to relationship problems) - the part that really suprised me was what is considered binge drinking. That lady Dr said anything over 5 drinks for men and 4 drinks for women at any given time is binge drinking.

    4 drinks? seriously? Apparently I have a "for real" alcohol problem. Hubby and I have really cut back on the amts and number of drinking days per week for all the obvious reasons but I can still have 6-8 drinks in a night, easy and just have a good buzz all night. More if we stay up really late.

    It's the "any given time" that gets me. Ya, 4 beer towers in an hour, I would consider binging. But say 5-6 beers during a football game or mixed drinks at the bar over a several hour period does not seem particularly dangerous to me.

    Thoughts?
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
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    I calorie cycle, which means, One night I eat less, the next I reach my cal goal, and the 3rd I eat more. This can work depending on your body, which means it is a good idea to ask your doctor before you try this. As a large man I try not to go below 1500 if cal cycling. As far as drinks, it's important to log everything you eat, if you can. Exercise can help tame a night out. Also, you won't lose any fat as long as your body is burning off the sugar from drinking.

    All that being said, it's up to you to weigh what you want to do. I say go for it, if it makes you happy. Just remember that you won't lose weight as fast as you would by not going out and drinking. So if your ok with that, do it, it's about a lifestyle change, if you stay happy while losing weight, I think your much more likely to be successful.

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