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People who drink alcohol, how often do you do it

If you drink alcohol, how often do you drink? I'm trying to save up calories to drink once a week. My calorie limit is 2070 I am 5'5 and 278.4lbs

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,677 Member
    I'm your height, started losing somewhat lighter, but still over the line into class 1 obese.

    While losing, I drank quite rarely: Not on a schedule, but on special occasions like a holiday or a restaurant outing with out-of-town friends I didn't see often.

    In maintenance (for 7+ years now), I go through phases. Sometimes I have a couple of glasses of wine (4-5 oz, not giant) nearly every evening, sometimes I don't drink at all for weeks at a time, or drink only when I go out to eat (which is probably a couple of times a week on average, but variable).

    For me during loss, routine alcohol would've interfered with hitting my nutritional goals (macros and micros). I wanted to preserve health, sustain athletic performance, and keep as much muscle mass as possible while losing fat. Regular alcohol would've limited my ability to accomplish those goals.

    Now I have more calories, can fit it in more often and still accomplish other goals. But I'm also pretty old (68) and not as resilient as I was decades ago, so I can't go crazy and thrive.

    Everyone's got different goals and different priorities, though, so I'm not implying judgement.

    While losing, most of the time I was eating 1400-1600 plus exercise calories, so anywhere from 1600-2000 or so gross intake. In maintenance, it's usually 1850 plus exercise, so most often 2200-ish. That's slightly below my actual maintenance calories because I like to calorie bank and indulge occasionally. Actual maintenance calories are probably around 1950 -2100 plus exercise.

    Within reasonable limits of moderation, it seems like alcohol affects my weight as the calories would predict. There are secondary problems, maybe: Harder to accurately keep track of food while drinking, tendency for alcohol to weaken self-control about tempting foods, and that sort of thing.

    If so much alcohol were consumed regularly that one couldn't get adequate nutrition at one's calorie goal . . . I think that would be a bad plan, with unpredictable results. (I'm not saying that's what you're proposing doing!)
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,350 Member
    ladysock22 wrote: »
    If you drink alcohol, how often do you drink? I'm trying to save up calories to drink once a week. My calorie limit is 2070 I am 5'5 and 278.4lbs
    if 2070 is your daily target you may want to think about lowering that a bit depending on how your Fatloss is going. You want to think of calories on a weekly basis and if you can fit some alcohol within that deficit target then it’s ok.

  • ladysock22
    ladysock22 Posts: 3 Member
    ladysock22 wrote: »
    If you drink alcohol, how often do you drink? I'm trying to save up calories to drink once a week. My calorie limit is 2070 I am 5'5 and 278.4lbs
    if 2070 is your daily target you may want to think about lowering that a bit depending on how your Fatloss is going. You want to think of calories on a weekly basis and if you can fit some alcohol within that deficit target then it’s ok.
    My fatloss is going great actually
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,350 Member
    ladysock22 wrote: »
    ladysock22 wrote: »
    If you drink alcohol, how often do you drink? I'm trying to save up calories to drink once a week. My calorie limit is 2070 I am 5'5 and 278.4lbs
    if 2070 is your daily target you may want to think about lowering that a bit depending on how your Fatloss is going. You want to think of calories on a weekly basis and if you can fit some alcohol within that deficit target then it’s ok.
    My fatloss is going great actually
    Then if it ain't broke don't fix it
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,259 Member
    Hardly ever. On summer vacation I might have a glass of wine with dinner or thereafter most evenings, on other trips I might try something local and artisan. And otherwise... I have a few bottles of artisan gin in my cupboard for 8 years now, and 2-3 bottles of other booze for an equally long time... it just lasts for ages on me.
  • frhaberl
    frhaberl Posts: 145 Member
    I'm same height and started at 228lbs, so similar weight range. I was not a very regular alcohol drinker prior to starting weight loss (probably 2-4 servings of alcohol a month on average), but I was a regular full sugar soda drinker (probably 16 oz a day on average). I decided to find a substitute for the full sugar soda (sparkling water or hot tea) and that gave me more room for figuring out nutrition. I haven't had any days yet where I felt it was worth going over calories or trading a solid food for a full sugar soda, and I'm not anticipating going back to full sugar soda when I am maintaining.

    Alcohol was not as big a portion of my average calories, so not as hard a habit to adjust, but I have done a little adjusting there. When I do drink (more frequently during the holidays) I limit myself to 1 glass and savor it, or choose not to finish it if I'm not really enjoying it. I always pre-log the alcohol and foods I will eat as soon as I see what's available so I am less likely to overindulge on either. I typically start with sparkling water when everyone else is getting their first drink, get my alcohol with or after appetizers, and get the sparkling water refilled as soon as I finish my alcohol.

    That's what works for me, but I consider myself on the teetotaler side of the bell curve, so maybe not a data point you need to average in.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,360 Member
    Infrequently. I have never been a heavy drinker, a beer in the summer after doing some hot and unpleasant job, some whiskey or rum every once in a while, a glass of wine at a special meal, but that was about it. Since going Keto, I find I am drinking far less. I still enjoy a drink, so it isn't like I have lost the taste for it, I just don't have the desire. I never found that having a drink within my calorie goal negatively affected my weight loss when I drank more. My suggestion is keep it within your goals.
  • bduanemyfitness
    bduanemyfitness Posts: 75 Member
    When I stopped logging my meals and such, I found that I ended up eating and drinking more. Not a big surprise. So I gained weight. Again, no surprise.

    I am now working on whittling down the "excess" weight once again. In doing so, I am watching my portions of everything and logging to the best that I can.

    I still have a cocktail a couple times a week (this was more like daily when I was not working on dropping excess weight). AND I log each one. Yes, I have added each cocktail to my recipes and measure and log. Like everything else, I juggle a little to keep my caloric intake under control.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I've cut back from being a daily drinker to only drinking alcohol once or twice per week on the weekend. I'm going to do dry January...I have done dry months before and I think this time I might just not go back to having alcohol at all.
  • OnTheRoad24
    OnTheRoad24 Posts: 218 Member
    edited November 2023
    I try to drink a glass of red wine (5 oz) with dinner every night. It's good for digestion and the blood system.

    Beyond that, maybe once or twice a week, I'll have some bourbon...
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,350 Member
    A bottle of wine lasts me 3 days so 2 bottles a week
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,396 Member
    Once or twice a week in winter ( footy season) less than weekly in summer.