Do you drink alcohol?

Yes, though not nearly as much as before MFP. I love beer, all beer. Light, dark, cheap, foreign---if it's beer, I.love.it.

Not nearly as much as I used to. It's definitely not worth the calories...or the hangover which will make me skip my Saturday morning run!

I attend a lot of events involving social drinking, but I try to only have one drink per week that is between 100-150 kcal. I will sip a glass of wine for over an hour and intersperse with water to really savor the taste of the wine. Of course, I plan for having wine or a low calorie mixed drink and will have something lighter in calories for dinner.

I also pretty regularly turn down drinks and opt for water or iced tea instead when it's available - even though turning down drinks inevitably leads to speculation about whether I am pregnant . . . because why else would anyone turn down a drink?

My career will be like this until I retire, so I will always have to have a mental plan that allows me to partake in social drinking in business settings and stay under my calorie goals. On the plus side, one glass of wine is usually the same amount of calories as 2-3 Oreos, and the wine lasts a lot longer!

I appreciate good alcohol

I drink wine nearly everyday with dinner because I like it. When properly paired, it enhances the taste of food and makes the meal more pleasurable. I also occasionally drink beer, sometimes because it pairs with a food better than wine, sometimes because it's that kind of party, and sometimes just because I want the buzz.

On the weekends I spend my daytime getting in some good burns so I have plenty of calories to work with. I'll have 6-9 vodka sodas and maybe a couple shots. I do this 2-3 times a month and it hasn't hindered my weight loss.

I used to drink a lot, I was probably a borderline alcoholic. I was drinking 2-3 glasses of wine every night, sometimes more. It had caused a lot of my weight gain and general unhappiness with myself. Finally, I decided that I was wasting my life, and my liver, away and I stopped. Not completely cold turkey, I will have a glass of wine at a restaurant every few weeks, but I don't drink at home anymore. I feel a million times better and it is really helping in the weight-loss department.

I do. I used to drink a few times a week but I realized that the calories really add up and it just isn't worth it. I'll have a glass as a treat every once in a while but limit myself to that. Then again, when I drink I get the munchies so I have two reasons to avoid drinking frequently :-P

I used to drink every weekend when we went out with friends, but nowadays I rarely have a drink. I may have one here and there, but it will be months in between.

I think that if you want to avoid the "spoil sport" issue and not make a deal out of it, order your drink at the bar and get a club soda or a diet coke and ask for them to put it in the same glass as they would serve a mixed drink. I've done this on a number of occasions when I just didn't feel like drinking or didn't want the calories.

I think when one person in the group isn't drinking it can make the other people feel uncomfortable or judged and that's why they pressure. Faking it alleviates the pressure.

I do have to have a margarita about once every 2 weeks on Friday. I have changed it up and cut the calories and sugar with the "skinny margarita" though. I have also tried diet margarita mix (it's ok, but I prefer the fresh squeezed lime).

to those of you who drank and then gave up on account of diet reasons, how have your friends reacted to this? whenever i have gone out with friends who are drinking and have told them i'm not, i get the 'spoilsport, you never let your hair down' looks/speech. yes this is peer pressure, but it's not so easy to say 'well don't be friends with them' when i do consider them to be very close friends and i value their friendship enormously. has this happened to anyone and how have you dealt with it?

One of my best friends drinks a lot! She's asked me if I'm going to have a drink and I say no...I no longer like the taste and I'll have Perrier when she has wine...we just let each other do what we want and aren't judgemental. Life is tough enough. I'm too old to care what others think...my problem is eating too much and if I 'binge' my friend is supportive, not critical.
Sounds like your pals aren't true friends, but more like people who just want to be part of a like-minded group. Or let them know how you have changed. Maybe they'll be supportive. If not, find another group who won't try to make you feel bad about yourself...especially since it seems you are trying to do some good for yourself.

yes. i am very into craft beers and bourbon. i don't drink much or often but i do drink. mostly because i really enjoy the taste.

I am what you would call a "social drinker." Sometimes out with friends yes I will drink. That very rare occasion out with the hubby..I will drink some...about once or twice I year I drink a lot to actually get drunk or buzzed..but most nights you will find alcohol no where near me..