Alcohol

Oooh ooh! i have a good answer for this. I am signed up for these emails from a guy called Henry the Health Hound. He does all kinds of little tests and tries out products and says which are good and which are scams. He had an email one time all about drinking and your waste line. Here is what he said about it.

"Well, according to research carried in the American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition, alcohol puts the brakes on fat
metabolism (your body’s ability to burn fat as energy) in
more ways than one. In the study, eight people were given
two vodka drinks separated by 30 minutes.

Fat metabolism was checked both before and after each drink.
It turns out that even hours after drinking both drinks, fat
metabolism dropped by an incredible 73%. What is happening?

When you drink alcohol, your liver converts it into a
substance called acetate. (The acetate levels in the
subject’s bodies were 2.5 times higher than normal). And it
is the acetates in your body that make losing blubber almost
impossible.

Your body prefers burning acetate to all other sources of
fuel (fat being one of them), and basically shuts down its
normal process of burning off any other source of energy.

In other research, alcohol has been shown to increase
appetite. When you combine alcohol with meals, studies have
shown you tend to eat more. And since the alcohol is going
to serve as your body’s primary source of fuel, all the
calories go directly to your waistline.

And finally, alcohol increases your cortisol levels and
decreases your testosterone levels for about 24 hours after
you imbibe. And this definitely is not good for trimming
down or adding muscle!"

Interesting! Hope it helps

Moderation. Since I started losing weight, I limit my alcohol intake to 6 beers one day a week (usually Saturday nights). Saturdays are typically my cheat day as well. I will usually log it, but not care what the calorie count is. For the rest of the week, I workout 4-5 times (burning at least 300cals), keep my calories under 1400, and eat pretty cleanly. It's all about moderation and not letting one night of drinking knock you off for the rest of the week.

Imagine where you'd be if you didn't drink 6 beers a week and also have cheat days. Think about it.

Amen! I was thinking the same thing! He has just found a way to make this a lifestyle and not a diet. It isn't my way, but I give him credit for finding a way to make it work for him...

A few pounds lighter, sure, but also miserable. Nice self-righteousness there.

Vodka with soda water and a lime is terrific. You can order tall which is 1 shot of vodka with ice in a tall pint glass. It's about 100 calories but takes longer to drink than a short one. I always specify a tall single to avoid the mix-up of a tall double. There are also no carbs. When I was younger, I loved rum and diet coke. Liquor with anything that isn't sugary (TONIC WATER IS SUGARY!) is great and low-carb. The nice thing about vodka and soda to me is that you can order just PLAIN soda water with a lime and most bars will serve it in the glass still. Then if people bug you about "you're not drinking" you can say "Yes, it's vodka soda!" and you can get away with not drinking at all (if peer pressure is an issue). If you like a little flavor, you can add a flavored vodka. A great one is Stoli blueberry. That's my trick!

That's actually a good idea. Thanks!

When you drink your inhibitions are lowered causing you to eat and drink a lot more than you normally would, which may cause you to retain some water weight.

Question #2--moderation. Decide how many you're going to have and what, log it, then stop when you reach the limit you pre-set for yourself....that or don't go out as much.

Wow! Ive read all the posts and I'm really glad you asked the question so we all got different perspectives. I started my journey last year January and to date have lost 34lbs. I can see it in my pics and in my clothes (as per profile) but I never gave up my wine on the weekend. We have a very sociable life and though we don't drink in the week at all, we make up for it on the weekends I can easily drink a bottle of rose and have been known to go onto number 2.
I workout 5 days a week, 3 of which with a personal trainer doing weights and cardio on other 2 days. I also eat relatively healthy and nothing sweet at all but I do love the savoury.
I noticed that recently the weight loss has not budged and I look at all the success stories here and see that people who started their mission after me have lost more. Of course, I am frustrated and asked my trainer. His answer was ALCOHOL!!!
I want to loose another 30lbs by April and he has told me the ONLY way is to cut the wine out COMPLETELY!!! Of course I am not at all impressed by this.
He has also said that if I really do have to drink on the weekend then either cut the quantity right down or maybe try an alternative like vodka/soda also know as a "skinny bi*ch". All my slim, models friends drink it. I just figured wine was better as it wasnt hard liquor but its full of sugar
So I guess the answer is all there......either cut it out completely, or definitely in careful moderation and choose wisely.
Oh and luckily for me, I don't get hungry after drinking.....

However, a Guinness takes at least a few minutes (usually more than a few) to drink, where as a shot is gone in seconds. I believe that the Guinness is a more satisfying way to take your booze in on a diet.

This is why I prefer beer. I sip it slowly and it takes me a long time. Even if I try to sip a cocktail, it's so sweet and there is so much less liquid, I drink it very quickly.

Usually I have other drinks to stretch out my 2 beers.

1st drink - Seltzer
2nd - Beer
3rd - Diet Cola
4th - Seltzer
5th - Beer

Then seltzer for the rest of the night.

:drinker: I go out on tuesdays with the girls. SO I get my workout in that morning, and I count everything. And plain for it. I only drink about 6 beers (Bud Select 55) I get alot of **** for it but thats ok.