Beer on your days off.

Michaelwalco · January 2022

Beer is so delicious when Friday afternoon comes and you busted your butt all week at work, but then Monday comes and you notice that all the beer you drank on Friday and Saturday puts all your weight back on. 😫

Clouse30 · January 2022

Ugh, this is so me! I try to watch how much I drink, I'm definitely a social drinker. It is frustrating for sure. My goal is to drink a glass or water in between every one. It slows down how much I drink and it helps to flush it out quicker. It worked this past weekend. I actually didn't gain anything and even lost a few tenths of a pound. Maybe give that a try. It is actually really hard for me to do, but I felt so much better this weekend b/c I stayed hydrated. Mornings were much easier too.

cmriverside · January 2022

Yeah, I couldn't lose that last 15 pounds and still drink any alcohol. That's just me. I stopped drinking altogether and what a great decision that was for all parts of my life and health.

AnnPT77 · January 2022

I can lose weight fine while drinking beer, if I count it accurately. I don't routinely let beer (or other calorie-dense but nutrient-poor) things drive out reasonable nutrition, and do try to average out to my calorie goal, so that means managing the beer intake.

Note that weight gain on the scale can be any combination of body fat, water retention, and digestive contents on their way to becoming waste. The latter two tend to be responsible for noticeable multi-pound changes over short periods (day or two). A pound of fat is roughly 3500 calories, i.e., you have to eat that much over maintenance calories (cumulative) or move that much less, to gain a pound. Anything outside that is probably water/digestive contents, very approximately.

If you eat very differently on the weekend in addition to drinking beer (more salt, more carbs, etc.) water retention can be meaningful. Heck, beer itself typically has some carbs in addition to alcohol (which is a separate sort of pseudo-macro). If you do lower carbs during the week, beer on the weekend, your carb intake is probably higher on weekends just from that. (Note: A lot of the MFP database entries for beer don't have correct macros. Many either claim all the calories are from carbs (nope) or that there are none of the normal macros, i.e., that all the calories are from alcohol (also nope).

If you drink over the weekend, are up on Monday, stick to a healthier routine all week, how does your weight on Friday compare to the previous Friday? That may be a better gauge.

(For women, adult but not in menopause yet, one really ought to look at full menstrual cycles, not just a week.)

JBanx256 · January 2022

I have a delicious craft beer on my days off work. Properly accounted for in regards to calories, it doesn't impede my weight loss.

Courtscan2 · January 2022

I'm more of a wine girl myself, but get it. For me, I know that I will be having a couple glasses over the weekend, so I plan for it. Lower calories during the week, and higher allowance over the weekend. Plan for it and track it.

Xellercin · January 2022

Maybe try throwing a few non alcoholic beers into the mix? They taste great, and typically have only 50 calories a bottle.

cowgirlslikeus86 · January 2022

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10851763/less-alcohol-january-2022-one-day-at-a-time/p1

This is a MFP group I joined earlier this month. I set out to drink "Less" and have actually not drank since starting it. There's this really cool free program called "The Alcohol Experiment" that I am doing as well. There is a link to it in the first page of the "Drink less in January" group or you can google it. I also discovered a alcohol free brewery called Athletic Brewing Company. They make AMAZING craft beers under 70 calories! I'm in love!

I personally needed to loose about 40lbs and also didn't like my relationship with alcohol so this has been a cool experiment for me. I have also lost 15lbs in 2 weeks!

paperpudding · January 2022

If people want to reduce their alcohol intake for whatever reason, that's fine.

But no reason beer or any other alcoholic drink cannot fit into your calorie allowance, in sensible amounts

missysippy930 · January 2022

It’s all about choices.

Rsrs35 · January 2022

When I cut out alcohol I snack a lot less. over any Xmas I was drinking prosseco wine and beer and I swear it was the snacks I was consuming more of that led to weight gain. Then the next day I feel pretty in need of a hearty and not so healthy breakfast which would lead to some sort of calorie rich lunch and by dinner I would be using the holidays as another excuse! Now don’t get me wrong, a couple of days of this during the holidays is fine - but every weekend and I would be in trouble. Also can I state - I drink within the limit!!! Which again proved for me it’s not the drink per week it’s the habits around drinking.

I literally cut my alcohol intake even though it was sporadic and I definitely noticed a change. And now I just calorie count much harder when I do have a drink and I build it in and make sure I don’t over snack. I also schedule an early morning workout!! Which involves operating something like a bike or weights in the gym and that helps too.
But honestly I think just m count it into your calories and you will be fine.

Beer on your days off.

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