Giving up alcohol

tlc4ever
tlc4ever Posts: 16 Member
edited October 3 in Health and Weight Loss
My weight has been going up and down (mostly up) for over a year. I'm ready to make a lifestyle change and I'm 90% sure I need to quit drinking to get the scales to start going downward consistently.

When I log the occasional cocktail or beer I cringe at how much over I go on my calories. It's just not worth the extra weight anymore.

I'm hoping the increased exercise will reduce the stress as much as a drink would after a hard day or a long week.

It has to right?

Replies

  • jemachharo
    jemachharo Posts: 144 Member
    I'm with you. Plus if I have a glass of wine, I'm more likely to eat more. Easier to just stay away from it.
  • sblair77
    sblair77 Posts: 355 Member
    Whatever works for you! You know yourself better than anyone.

    My moto has been "moderation"

    If I'm moving (dancing, walking, swimming) I enjoy some drinks but if I am just sitting at a party or at the house it's water only!
  • krik84
    krik84 Posts: 47
    I need to also :( there is just something relaxing about the idea of a drink on the porch with my husband after a full day of work and then taking care of the kids
  • tbisca1
    tbisca1 Posts: 142
    I was never one to drink much but I still go and have drinks every Friday night and it has not hindered my weight loss. I workout even harder on Friday to "earn" the drinks I know I will be having that evening. I have learned not to give up anything I like bc you will want it that much more. I just don't have large consumptions of any one thing like I use to.
  • mbcasey2009
    mbcasey2009 Posts: 52 Member
    It works! I was in a bad place 4 years ago and was in a downward drunken spiral, but since I quit drinking (quite as much) 4 years ago it has made a HUGE difference (about 18 lbs worth!) Plus I felt/feel so much better now so I sleep better and therefore am more energized to work out. And I'm with you on cringing at the calories when I have a glass of wine or beer every once in a while-not worth it.
  • sweetiepie31612
    sweetiepie31612 Posts: 240 Member
    I'm a 27 year old new attorney so I have a very stressful life. Giving up alcohol was not something I was/am willing to do. I've realized though, that as I increase my exercise, I need a glass of wine to wind down less and less. I now find I don't need alcohol to help me relax at all, the exercise does that. If I do drink it's because I want to have a few cocktails at a social outing and I know b/c I've exercised, I have the calories to spare for it.
  • missikay1970
    missikay1970 Posts: 588 Member
    just don't get hung-up on thinking that when you give up alcohol that your weight will drop drastically. everything has to be done together and in moderation. if you give up alcohol and then eat a donut b/c you're stressed, that really is trading one bad habit for another. LOL i'm not trying to talk you out of giving up alcohol if you think that's what's best for you, but i gave up alcohol for a very long period of time and that is actually when i gained alot of weight.
  • Kany
    Kany Posts: 336
    I'm with you. I just gave up alcohol a week ago. Hopefully the scale will start going down. Add me as a friend if you would like.
  • skierxjes
    skierxjes Posts: 926 Member
    I'm doing 60 days alcohol-free. Today is day 13 for me and I feel great! Being in college, it is FAR from an easy give-up but I'm doing very well with it.

    Good luck! You can do it!!
  • Lotte34
    Lotte34 Posts: 429 Member
    I haven't had anything for a few days (only about 4 days) and i have lost 3lb in just those few days. I probably only have one or two glasses a night (and usually gin and tonic as its very low cal) but that alcohol really does pack a calorific punch. I think giving up or at least only having one on a friday/saturday night is a very good idea.
    GOOD LUCK!
  • healthybabs
    healthybabs Posts: 600 Member
    I gave it up 2 years ago. Don't miss it and haven't looked back. Maybe it is easier now because I am not out clubbing like when I was single. I just found that there are more important things in life and I can have a great time out with friends that doesn't involve alcohol. To each his own I always say ............
  • theresagal329
    theresagal329 Posts: 16
    I stopped drink for about 4 weeks... I now have a drink once a week ususally ( I play pool every Thursday so being in a bar its hard not to have a drink) I drink Vodka, ususally grey goose, with club soda and lime only 69 calories and its just enough.
  • CoCoMa
    CoCoMa Posts: 904 Member
    Good luck on giving it up, I think giving it up for the time being will definitely help with your weight loss.
  • ukgirly01
    ukgirly01 Posts: 523 Member
    I love a glass of red wine or several but I've decided not to drink until December I finds it really speeds the weight loss up, I did it For a month a year ago and found it surprisingly hard so now I give up every now and then when I need a weight loss boost
  • hmstarbuck
    hmstarbuck Posts: 152 Member
    Can't do it. That's why I am not losing like I should be, I'm aware of that. But that is my social life and I refuse to give it up. I did buy a workout DVD today and will burn off the calories associated with anything I drink. That is my compromise
  • polkataniec
    polkataniec Posts: 102
    Some vine here and there won't make any difference as you log it in and is in your calorie limits for the day...:)
  • mebegreen
    mebegreen Posts: 37
    I do love a good glass of wine... so my rule to myself is that I only drink on the weekends (usually Fridays and Saturdays)... of course in moderation. I know everyone is different - but that has worked for me :)

    Good luck :)
  • XKaty_LambX
    XKaty_LambX Posts: 7 Member
    Hi,

    I love a glass of wine so i plan to incorporate it into my plan safely!

    I seriously don't think you should deny yourself a drink or 2 once or twice a week, it's more to do with getting the balance right surely!

    If you stay within the guidelines for alcohol consumption, drink plenty of water and do lots of walking then as long as your actual diet is balanced i don't think it matters so much, and we all deserve a treat now and again!

    My tip is: Be really controlled with the diet and don't log the couple of drinks (if it's the occasional one or two) - if you are like me you will still lose! And if you don't then you know the balance ain't right!

    Good luck

    Katy :drinker:
  • LisaDC703
    LisaDC703 Posts: 2
    I love to have cocktails with my friends, but a few years ago, i noticed that I rarely had only one. I also noticed that after a night of drinking i never could get up early enough to run and when i got home from work, i was too tired to exercise so I'd just have a glass of wine instead. So i decided to give it up on the weekdays to see what happened. The first thing i noticed is i lost the puffiness in my face. Loved that. Then i noticed that i retained less water all around. After a week or so, I didn't even miss it, nor did i feel like i needed it after work. And the numbers on the scale started to go down pretty consistently.

    Here is my best tip for cutting out the booze in order to loose weight. Enlist one of your drinking buddy's (or any buddy) to work out with you on those nights you might have cocktails. My friend and i did this. Now instead of drinking in her kitchen after work, we go for a 3.5 mile walk, or do a Jillian Michaels DVD in her basement, or P90X. We talk and catch up and laugh just as much as we would be upstairs after the second bottle of wine. Also, we don't forbid ourselves a cocktail, on the weekends, or even occasionally during the week.

    Good luck, it seems much harder than it really is. You can totally do it.
  • BEERRUNNER
    BEERRUNNER Posts: 3,046 Member
    It is ALOT Harder than you think it is....................Ive tried trust me. I have CUT BACK ALOT THOUGH.

    For example yesterday I ran 2.5 miles outside. I ate well all day but at the end of the day I drank a sixer of beer(95 calorie michelob ultra)!!!! damn!!!! WAS IT GOOD!
    I USED to pound 1.5 bottles of wine a day!!!!!!!!!

    So good luck...BE STRONG!
  • BEERRUNNER
    BEERRUNNER Posts: 3,046 Member
    Heres a thread I made................same subject. I did end up cutting back!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/242872-i-average-a-bottle-of-red-wine-a-night-should-i-cut-back
  • XKaty_LambX
    XKaty_LambX Posts: 7 Member
    And i think you deserve it too! Everything in moderation as they say! Eat less - move more : 0 )
  • onebigbutt
    onebigbutt Posts: 48
    I'm trying to give it up too. This is only day three for me but, hey, gotta start somewhere! :-) Feel free to add me as a friend, okay?
    Best of luck to you!!!
  • XKaty_LambX
    XKaty_LambX Posts: 7 Member
    Can't do it. That's why I am not losing like I should be, I'm aware of that. But that is my social life and I refuse to give it up. I did buy a workout DVD today and will burn off the calories associated with anything I drink. That is my compromise

    I think you should try to do it like 3 times a week and have breaks in-between! Then you wont feel like your missing out and you will also be happy your being good for 4 days...just a suggestion!
  • PlunderBunneh
    PlunderBunneh Posts: 1,705 Member
    Since I started logging my alcohol, I started making better choices. I don't drink often, but when I do, I tend to "go for gold" as we call it. So now instead of drinking my girly drinks all night, premixed Mikes or other cocktails, I go for rum and coke zero, or something along those lines. Makes a big difference calorie wise, and works for me.
  • polkataniec
    polkataniec Posts: 102
    Boy,this subject made me feel like to have a drink !:sad: (and i'm at work damit!!!)
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    I was never a big drinker to begin with, but then I started because my friends did.. and now that I'm away from them, I didn't find that hard to give up the alcohol.

    I have a drink every now and then or when it's a special occasion but thats about it.
  • slynnmiller
    slynnmiller Posts: 29
    Seriously..so true.
    I need to also :( there is just something relaxing about the idea of a drink on the porch with my husband after a full day of work and then taking care of the kids
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Only you can know what will work for you. I haven't given up my daily wine and that has worked for me. I earn the calories through exercise so it works as an incentive to keep me exercising. But if you feel you need to give it up, then you probably do because you know you best.
  • d2rala
    d2rala Posts: 54
    If you feel you NEED to give up alcohol, then by all means, do so. The "slippery slope" here is when you get to your goal weight, then throw out all of the changes you made and go back to all those things you quit - because "you deserve them".
    I try not to deprive myself of anything I ENJOY consuming. I am mindful of the calories, I savor the treat I am enjoying, and I work extra hard before or after the treat.
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