Cutting Back Alcohol

Good morning! Just wanted to report no wine for me last night, didn't even miss it. Day one! Yippee me. :bigsmile: I hope everyone else is meeting their goals where alcohol is concerned!

I want to offer support and encouragement to everyone who wants to cut back. You can do it.

For many years, I drank a glass of wine every single night. The only time I didn't drink was if I was sick, pregnant, or nursing.:laugh: I did this for years. I did not see the big deal. Until, one glass turned to two and I asked my doctor if I had a drinking problem. She assured me that I did not but said there are definite health advantages to cutting back on alcohol. Including some startling information about the health risks for people who consume more than 15 drinks a week.

If you are struggling, try to workout daily, workout hard once or twice a week, and stay hydrated every day. Hard workouts and staying hydrated helped me cut back. When I first started running, at the end of the day, I was so tired I'd forget to have my nightly glass of wine.

Over time, I got stronger and started my nightly glass of wine routine up again only to discover that I was just thirsty. Try drinking water in that bottle or wine glass. If you like green tea, have a cup of hot tea after a tough day.

If you just have to have a drink, try alternating the drinking with water. So if you are going to have a beer, you have to have 2 glasses of water before you can have another beer.

You can do it and your body will thank you.

None for me either! Although, Mondays are usually pretty easy for me to skip since I drank all weekend. :laugh:

None tonight.
Tomorrow is hubby's bday so we will probably have to celebrate with a couple cold ones!

Congrats, it starts with one day and we build from there! :drinker: (that's water in that there mug) :bigsmile:

I'm totally in this !

I loved the article about the weight loss gain.. why .. because that was me.. except mine was turning into a bottle of nice red wine a night.. over the course of say 5 pm to 11 pm... still... I added those calories up.. not to mention the money and :noway:

so lastnight I thought no more... I've always used it to unwind... I will admit I had one beer with my husband lastnight ( we are home brewers so it's something we share as a hobby ) but one beer vs my bottle of wine... first step.. my plan is to cut it out except on the weekends.. Not only for cost, mood but for my health !!!!

We can do this !!! We should make an official topic... Maybe the No Whiners ! LOL

:flowerforyou:

I drank this weekend, but I fit it into my calorie requirement and really didn't manage to get drunk! I think I had maybe six ounces of bourbon and a glass of wine over the past couple of days, but Friday was kinda bad. I got a flat tire, but luckily(heh), I just happened to be in front of TGI Friday's during happy hour, and had a couple of tall Amber Bocks while waiting on roadside assistance. Oops!

The radio station I work for subscribes to a "show prep" service (basically, it's topical info & stories - cheat sheets for us stupid radio-type folks...you didn't think we were actually THAT smart did you? Ha ha!) and this story about Booze & Calories really hit home:

THE AVERAGE BEER DRINKER CONSUMES 44,200 EXTRA CALORIES A YEAR . . . AND PUTS ON 12 EXTRA POUNDS:

If you're trying to lose some weight . . . (--and who isn't?) . . . then the first thing you might want to cut out of your diet is . . . ALCOHOL. Why?

Because, according to Britain's Department of Health, the average wine drinker takes in 2,000 extra calories a month . . . or 24,000 extra calories a year . . . just from alcohol. Over the course of a year, those extra calories add up to SEVEN extra pounds of FAT.

And drinking just FIVE BEERS a week adds an extra 44,200 calories a year from alcohol . . . which is the equivalent of eating 221 doughnuts. Overall, that adds up to 12 extra pounds of fat a year . . . or one pound a month. And listen to this . . .

If you drink an average of two glasses of wine every day . . . which is about one bottle every two days . . . then by the end of the year you'll have packed on an additional 28 POUNDS in fat just from alcohol.

I've never been much of a drinker, but if you are THIS should be enough motivation for you to cut back (or even cut it out)!

Thanks for posting that. I'm going to print that out for myself and post in on my fridge as well as send it to some of my friends. This weight I'm carrying has really snuck up on me very slowly and I have no doubt in my mind that MOST of it came from wine!

It surely can be done. I'm a social drinker (pretty much a weekend drinker), but I made up in my mind that I wasn't going to have any alcohol for 5 weeks. Before I knew my 5 weeks were up and I didn't miss it. Now when I want to have a drink, I calculate it into my calorie intake or I go to the gym and work it off. It you have some idea of how many calories are in what you're going to drink, you'll be able to decide whether or not it's worth it. GOOD LUCK!!!! YOU CAN DO IT.

Good morning! Just wanted to report no wine for me last night, didn't even miss it. Day one! Yippee me. :bigsmile: I hope everyone else is meeting their goals where alcohol is concerned!

Congrats!!! Keep at it.

Thanks, I feel GREAT today!

I'm totally in this !

I loved the article about the weight loss gain.. why .. because that was me.. except mine was turning into a bottle of nice red wine a night.. over the course of say 5 pm to 11 pm... still... I added those calories up.. not to mention the money and :noway:

so lastnight I thought no more... I've always used it to unwind... I will admit I had one beer with my husband lastnight ( we are home brewers so it's something we share as a hobby ) but one beer vs my bottle of wine... first step.. my plan is to cut it out except on the weekends.. Not only for cost, mood but for my health !!!!

We can do this !!! We should make an official topic... Maybe the No Whiners ! LOL

:flowerforyou:

We make our own wine!!! we're been at it for about 3-4 years. how about you??

A friend came over last night and we had a few drinks but I had calories left over and had capt. morgan in crystal light so not like I went crazy on the carbs from beer or calories from soda... right? :huh: not making excuses for myself, just saying it could have been worse LOL

I did good last night, no wine for me. We'll have to see how tonight goes.

Me too! Congrats! Good luck tonight! :drinker:

Wine making....now there's a hobby I need NOT take up! :bigsmile:

Wine making....now there's a hobby I need NOT take up! :bigsmile:

LMAO ditto :bigsmile:

Wine making....now there's a hobby I need NOT take up! :bigsmile:

LMAO ditto :bigsmile:

Same here. There would be too many taste tests:laugh:

EXACTLY! :blushing:

Evening number three without alcohol...how's everyone doing? :huh: