Alcohol and losing weight.

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  • Lefeh99
    Lefeh99 Posts: 19 Member
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    That was discussed with my husband and I tonight! We are used to having either a bottle of beer or glass a wine with dinner each night. I have "given it up" but he's having a harder time. Before we started all this calorie counting stuff we did switch to MGD 64 or even the 55 one (can't remember who makes that). Glass of wine, holy cow!! 200+ calories in one serving. Some nights we'd finish a bottle just the 2 of us. I wish you luck because this is a hard part!!
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
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    since no one else has posted this yet Iguess I will (and I am SHOCKED, SHOCKED I say!)


    http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html


    I don't personally follow that strategy, I just add a glass of white wine or a beer to my life when I want one and go on my merry way.

    However i have FOUND that more than one or two drinks is a recipe for overeating - being drunk/tipsy gives me the munchies and cravings for all kinds of stuff and my ability to maintain portion control goes OUT THE FREAKING WINDOW.

    So I don't indulge often.
  • AshjMusik
    AshjMusik Posts: 113 Member
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    where are the recipes for those drinks :)
    Info:
    http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=893

    Recipes:
    http://mobile.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/summer_drinks
  • sloanie1
    sloanie1 Posts: 276 Member
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    Yep! I love my wine!!! but I have to give it up to get where I want to be....unfortunately it really is empty calories and is a killer for weight loss....with me it's not just the alcohol though it's what goes along with it....in my case I have to eat with a glass of wine whether its cheese and crackers or olives etc.....then my defenses are down and I want to eat everything!!! for me personally to lose weight I had to give it up....I still have it now and again but it hinders my weight loss...:o( I am also an all or nothing person so if I have it I want it BIG!!! hehehe
  • lovelee79
    lovelee79 Posts: 362
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    My husband and I are very social and go out a lot and drink a lot, out or at home. Its a reason I gained a lot of weight in the past 2 years... we'd come home after a night of drinking and make a bunch of food, pig out, then go to bed, wake up hung over, then want greasy comfort food!

    I track my alcohol and am now aware of just how much calories are in my drinks. I think this will help me drink less. I want to make my calorie goals each day. So If I really want a beer then I will eat a smaller dinner, and then that's it.
  • tonilizzy88
    tonilizzy88 Posts: 968 Member
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    i use to be in ur situation and to be honest i use to drink 5 times a week with my mates i spent way to much money and i balloned!
    now im serious about losing weight i drink m aybe once every 2 months and ive saved loads of money in doing so. ive also lost 13 lbs in the process. i dont see the point in drinking at home personally but i will go out with my girls on the town if i want. my social life doesnt need to stiop because im on here x
  • itontae
    itontae Posts: 138 Member
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    I LOVE alcohol.

    But I have given up my love affair for the sake of my health.

    I drink rarely now, enjoy it very much , and always end up saying "what the heck" for the evening and scarfing down a load of carby stuff
  • jessiolry
    jessiolry Posts: 16
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    You dont have to give up everything. just enjoy in moderation. I work at a bar so I understand what its like to be around alcohol especially in social settings. I love vodka sodas. i took me awhile to get used to the club soda. Club soda is zero calories and has no weird sugar substiutes. Try a flavored vodka, like whipped cream vodka and mix it with soda water add a small splash of oj. and you have a very tasty berverage around 75 calories. you could also do plain vodka with fresh squeezed lime juice with soda water. 69 calories!!! BAM:) Hope this helps
  • AshjMusik
    AshjMusik Posts: 113 Member
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    I drink often & quite a bit, & have lost almost 70lbs! I used to love martinis, margaritas & dark rum. After learning how many cals were in these drinks when starting my weight loss, I cut down to just liquor, w/ specialty drinks on certain occasions. When I did this (along w/ adjusting to a healthier diet) I lost 40lbs. Now it's only clear liquors w/ clear/diet mixers & that seems to have helped a lot. I should exercise more, but in general I eat well & have whittled down the rest of my goal, but can't reach the point of maintaining at my ideal goal, I believe, b/c of my alcohol intake. I used to log every calorie, but was getting to the point where I was eating 1 salad a day to make room for the calories & ppl here were yelling about the amount.. I acknowledge my issues & now only log my alcohol cals when I have a specialty drink. Then i run/screw it off ;). You're young & drinking in social situations is certainly not anything new or wrong. As far as losing weight, in the end it's about priorities & portions. Just remember the Capt'n & "Drink responsibly my friends!"
  • aliciar3
    aliciar3 Posts: 39
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    I think as long as you log it and exercise it off if you're over your calorie limit, you're fine.

    I drink most nights and have still managed to lose over 10kg.

    I have started drinking vodka & soda with fresh lime when I am out (make sure they don't put lime cordial in it) as I have found this to be the lowest in calories (not necessarily the cheapest though!).

    If I am drinking wine at home I limit myself to two glasses and drink them slowly.
  • margo36
    margo36 Posts: 222 Member
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    I have a couple of Red Wines every night and have lost weight. It's the first thing I put in my diary LOL
  • RebeccaLeinen
    RebeccaLeinen Posts: 110 Member
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    I drink a glass of sangria with fruit in it... OR
    a shot of whiskey and coke zero is only 70 calories or
    a shot of vodka with diet tonic and a lime is under 100 calories as well... if you are a beer drinker stick to select 55 or michelob ultra lite under 100 calories... and i make sure to do a lil extra in my workout to make up for it...

    Yes we all know drinking is bad for weight loss...but hey so is stress! lol sometimes you just need a drink or 2!
  • andy13
    andy13 Posts: 208 Member
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    if I'm going drinking i will go for a killer walk that day so i don't go over my calories, if you wanna drink you gotta earn it.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i dont drink as often or as much as i used to, because of the empty calories, but i still enjoy a drink on the weekends. my problem is the hangover the next day... i just want to eat the whole world!!! so instead of it being 1 bad day because of the booze, its 2 cos of the greasy food the next day as well!!!
  • kyle4jem
    kyle4jem Posts: 1,400 Member
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    I guess it depends what you drink, how much you drink and whether or not it affects your judgement and leads to over eating.

    I drink at weekends because that's when I go to the pub to meet my friends. I have 3-4 half-pints of strong Cyder and log it. I've not had any issues losing weight.

    Beer is more bloating than wine - after all have you ever heard of someone having a white-wine-belly :laugh:

    However, as has been borne out by almost half the poster here... it's what happens after they drink which seems to be the cause of their weight gain: they lose all sense of proportion and tend to crave easy, calorie-dense, fast foods. :sick:

    Maybe the trick is to have light snacks in the fridge, so that if you do come home with the munchies, you are snacking on carrots & celery with a little hummus, rather than doritos and cheese dip!
  • nsblue
    nsblue Posts: 331 Member
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    having to log everything into my mouth and be no more than 1200 cal and eat healthy and keep my blood sugars good, I can't afford alcoholic drinks at this time. My doc said avoid alcohol during weightloss n that is what I have done. I have gone out to parties, had a blast and have only drank double waters on the rocks... had a blast with the bartenders and tipped them for the service.
  • chippywelsh
    chippywelsh Posts: 23 Member
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    I love social drinking too. I once gave up for a couple of months - partly to see if I could. Made absolutely no difference to anything - didn't feel better, didn't lose weight, didn't sleep better (not that I have any problem sleeping normally). I have cut back now, mostly because I'm middle aged and it just feels like I should drink less. I drink either white wine or vodka and diet coke or tonic. Lot less calories than pints of cider I used to drink!
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    There have been other threads on alcohol, but the general consensus seems to be:

    - Alcohol makes it harder to lose weight because it is mostly empty calories, and because the more you drink, the more likely you are to binge eat, or lose track of how much you are really consuming in calories

    - You can lose weight while drinking, but you need to include the alcohol in your daily consumption, and in many cases this involves budgeting your calories so you have enough for the drink, and setting a limit so you can't go over you calories for the day.

    P.S. I don't drink most of the time, but I'm certainly not against it - I just have to avoid it most of the time to stay under goal, and because there are alcoholic tendencies in the family.

    my name is danny, and i approve of this message.

    i drink, and it's probably making things a little more difficult, but i'm still losing. everything in moderation. i drink maybe 6-7 drinks a week, especially during football season. i love a glass of red wine during dinner, or an after dinner cocktail.

    this is nothing compared to what i used to drink. i used to drink a beer when i got home, a half a bottle of wine at dinner, and two scotches a night.

    i actually loooooove alcohol, not getting drunk. i love the smell of a good wine, the taste of a properly brewed beer, the aroma of an aged scotch, the flavor an an excellent gin. so cutting down has been good.

    i've been thinking about cutting it out myself until December 31st (with the exception of thanksgiving and christmas).
  • Lozzy_82
    Lozzy_82 Posts: 324 Member
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    Yup - alcohol is a big part of my life too. In my attempts to lose weight I've gone from drinking quite a lot 5-7 days a week to having just 2-3 drinks on 2-4 days. I managed to go the whole of August without a drop of alcohol, which I never thought I'd be able to do (I hadn't previously had a week without booze in about ten years!)

    It is tough. I find if I drink cider (my favourite) then I stop losing completely, even if I log it religiously and stay within my calorie goal. I can get away with the odd glass of wine or gin & slimline tonic though.

    I have heard that it's not just the empty calories that are the problem, but that alcohol also inhibits your body's ability to burn fat (or something like that) so drinking makes it harder to lose weight even if your calories are at the right level. I have NO IDEA if there's any truth in that, or if it's just one of those weird rumours - I've just heard it mentioned.
  • SueGeer
    SueGeer Posts: 1,169 Member
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    P.S. I don't drink most of the time, but I'm certainly not against it - I just have to avoid it most of the time to stay under goal, and because there are alcoholic tendencies in the family.

    I can relate to this. My DH was a heavy drinker....bordering on alcoholic although he denies this. I used to like a drink too but not to excess. Then, in April last year something clicked & I threw away a virtually unopened bottle of Baileys; DH finished the bottle of whisky he had and neither of us has touched a drop since.

    It doesn't feature in my diary cos it doesn't feature in my life. I'm not ever going to preach to anyone, but be wise and take note of some of the comments here. Good luck! :drinker:

    Sue :smile: x

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