Alcohol v no alcohol

Runner2b
Runner2b Posts: 6
edited October 5 in Food and Nutrition
ok, so last week I decided i would have 6 week off wine drinking before Xmas to help my weight loss, for a few reasons. One, there are lots of calories in it, 2, it makes me want to eat!, 3, the next day I feel considerably better if I haven't had wine and 4, I run better. I did really well until my hubby suggested getting wine and I agreed.. I then had 3 nights of drinking and feel really bad for being so weak!!! I wondered how other people feel and drinking and weight loss/running performance and how I can be stronger willed!! X

Replies

  • subway_to_liz
    subway_to_liz Posts: 24
    I hear you on all four points (with the exception that I don't run, but I excercise better).
    Whenever I have wine I really want to eat all the junk food I can find in the house and I also did it those past two nights and could now really kick myseld for being so stupid!

    The only advise I really have is - stay away from it! When hubby suggests getting wine, tell him no and he should get some beer - that's what I usually do as I don't drink beer *tee-hee* I find it incredibly hard to stay away from wine when he has a glass so I just try to leave that bottle closed :)
  • colorfulcupcakes
    colorfulcupcakes Posts: 122 Member
    Try reading one of Allan Carr's books on quitting alcohol, that could help!
  • supertracylynn
    supertracylynn Posts: 1,338 Member
    I noticed (and measured) my waist slimmer than it was when i was drinking 3-5 nights a week. Now I'm at 1-2 a week and more moderation the nights I do indulge.

    If nothing else, I feel Soooo much better in the morning!
  • icatantan
    icatantan Posts: 1
    I save my alcohol for limited weekly social occasions only as I'm well aware of the calories and temptation to eat. It's hard as so many social events involve food and drink, especially around Christmas.

    It's unfortunate that your husband encouraged you to drink when you were doing so well. Does he understand your goals? Could you explain to him how important it to you and ask if he would help you by not suggesting that you drink wine together?

    Good luck.
  • capriciousmoon
    capriciousmoon Posts: 1,263 Member
    The only thing that stops me from having alcohol is not being able to afford it. When I drink I forget food exists, so as long as I have room for some empty calories there isn't any problem for me. :3
  • GrammyM
    GrammyM Posts: 40 Member
    Been there done that so many times. I love to drink, - wine with dinner, cocktails with yummy happy hour snacks - but until I went alcohol free I could not get below 140 for more than a couple of days before I'd start working my way back up again. I decided not to drink until the first of the year and have been under 140 - and dropping - for almost 3 weeks. First time in 3 years too.

    For all of the same reasons that you mentioned and being borderline diabetic I cannot drink and lose weight. I am able to maintain a weight and drink, but doubt that I will drink anywhere near as much or as often as I did before going "cold turkey". Too many calories and too many $$.
  • LilMissStrawberry
    LilMissStrawberry Posts: 34 Member
    I've decided to give up drinking for the next month or so as it is seriously detrimental to my weight loss. It is SO hard with it coming into the social season but in reality, it's only a few nights I'm giving up and it's going to make all the difference to my weight loss. I'm quite lucky in the sense that I'm not a huge drinker as it is. I find the hardest part is trying to come up with reasons which my friends will accept as to why I'm not drinking. Sometimes "I'm trying to lose weight" just doesn't quite cut it.
  • velarneyraptor
    velarneyraptor Posts: 94 Member
    The only thing that stops me from having alcohol is not being able to afford it. When I drink I forget food exists, so as long as I have room for some empty calories there isn't any problem for me. :3

    I'm exactly the same!! I'm usually not hungry when I drink alcohol. Then if I eat, I feel sleepy / crappy
  • tracymnx
    tracymnx Posts: 105
    I a bit of a booze hound, but have reduced my drinking to wkends only now, compared to most days a few mths back. Whilst I havent seen a huge difference on the scale, the inches are melting away and im sure this is in part to drinking less alcohol/more water. I wish I had the willpower to cut it out completely, but I actually enjoy a glass of wine on a friday evening after a hard week, the plan now is to only have one or two, and not eat everything in the house afterwards!!

    I have to say, the less I drink the less I want to drink, so I hope one day this means I will be close to cutting it out completely!
  • Runner2b
    Runner2b Posts: 6
    Thanks everyone... It seems most of you feel exactly the same as me! I am definitely going to give it another shot this week and until christmas... I will make sure my hubby understands too, I haven't really told him too much about my thoughts and feelings around alcohol! And perhaps there is a nice "replacement" I can drink that is low calorie??? I agree about the social thing too, whilst I don't have Xmas parties and the like as I don't work, I do tend to have people round in the evenings as my hubby works away in the week and I have 2 small children. In fact I have a friend round tomorrow and I am pretty sure she will be bringing wine... I must let her know today that I won't be drinking and find a suitable reason!!!
  • velarneyraptor
    velarneyraptor Posts: 94 Member
    Maybe a "light" bubbly wine might work? I know in Australia they sell a lower calorie bubbly... bubbly drinks are more "filling" than flat too.

    Another alternative I found is doable is to just drink some non-alcohol apple cider or dry ginger ale.
  • rajivdubey
    rajivdubey Posts: 382 Member
    ok, so last week I decided i would have 6 week off wine drinking before Xmas to help my weight loss, for a few reasons. One, there are lots of calories in it, 2, it makes me want to eat!, 3, the next day I feel considerably better if I haven't had wine and 4, I run better. I did really well until my hubby suggested getting wine and I agreed.. I then had 3 nights of drinking and feel really bad for being so weak!!! I wondered how other people feel and drinking and weight loss/running performance and how I can be stronger willed!! X

    I have noticed that Drinking wine does not impact badly in running or Cardio the next day. What is important is that you should not eat something which makes you bloated. i.e avoid breads, rice etc. My experiment with Red Wine has been wonderful and I have lost weight too. No complains!
  • cherdan
    cherdan Posts: 162 Member
    I gave up alcohol cold turkey in July and have lost 15 lbs since then, with no exercise other than frequent walking. I highly recommend it. I am a heavy drinker, and although I gave up beer, wine and liqueurs and switched to hard alcohol (vodka or whiskey) with sugar-free mixers, I have no discretion or limits when it comes to drinking, and yes, I binge eat like crazy when I drink.
    Back when I first joined MFP and began my weight loss journey, I could drink and lose weight because I was burning myself out doing 40 miles on my stationary bike, 4-5 days a week. I would overdo the exercise and the only way I could *come down* off the extreme adrenaline and relax was to drink. After I burned out completely on the workouts, dropped a bulk of the weight and stopped exercise, I found I was not losing at all, and realized drinking was the culprit.
    I kind of look at it as, if I want to lose and drink, I'm gonna have to put in a lot of work.. and I just can't do that anymore.
    I can live, eat a calorie controlled plan, and lose a pound a week with no extra effort.
    I don't think it should be a back-breaking battle to lose weight. As I near my ultimate weight loss goal (I'm about 15 lbs away), the lbs are harder than ever to lose, and alcohol just makes it so much harder.
    And, yes, my body has definitely changed. My waist is so much smaller now.
  • Lindsayrob
    Lindsayrob Posts: 247 Member
    Hvig decided to kick the wine AGAIN in a bid to lose weight, I found these posts really interesting! I've done it before but always find a reason to take it up again! If anyone wants to join me on the wagon, please sent me a friend request!
  • elizamc
    elizamc Posts: 285 Member
    I a bit of a booze hound, but have reduced my drinking to wkends only now, compared to most days a few mths back. Whilst I havent seen a huge difference on the scale, the inches are melting away and im sure this is in part to drinking less alcohol/more water. I wish I had the willpower to cut it out completely, but I actually enjoy a glass of wine on a friday evening after a hard week, the plan now is to only have one or two, and not eat everything in the house afterwards!!

    I have to say, the less I drink the less I want to drink, so I hope one day this means I will be close to cutting it out completely!

    I'm with you with a glass of wine on a Friday night after the working week, but have noticed that I gain weight the morning after even one glass... maybe I should try beer lol....only joking....
  • sambo155
    sambo155 Posts: 88
    I'm positive that cutting out alcohol for awhile would be a huge help in losing weight. We like the fancy beers = lots of calories. I usually drink 2 - 3 beers, a couple of nights during the week (Mon - Thurs), then overdo it on Saturday nights (my night off from being a mom). So, I'm going to try to cut out drinking completely until Christmas, except for this Friday night. I really don't think I'll be able to do it. Drinking is a big part of my social life and something I really enjoy doing. Actually, I know I can do it! I quit for months when I was pregnant and for months afterwards! The motivation was a bit stronger then, tho.
  • mochalovies
    mochalovies Posts: 192 Member
    hmm I have to admit, I had to be more 'conscious' about wine because the calories in it. Wake up call? the moment that I looked how many calories my favorite wine had, and it came up with 1300 per bottle. I have definitely seen a dif in my waist since I stopped the "hard day at work" glass of wine .

    Although not gonna lie, somedays nothing beats a good glass of pinot!
  • bert16
    bert16 Posts: 726 Member
    As someone training for my first marathon, I've definitely cut out alcohol from my diet, moreso for the "gee, I really run better in the morning when I haven't drank the night before" aspect than the weight-loss aspect, though that's there, too. The fact is that drinking dehydrates you, so it's not surprising that "morning after" workouts are a bit rough. I'm not a tee-totaler at this point (though pretty close to it, I suppose), but it's not that hard for me to order water at a social event when I know I have to get up and run 7 miles the next morning. I just think about how much better I'll feel if I don't drink and I'm usually good to go!
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