Alcohol.

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SomeoneSomeplace
SomeoneSomeplace Posts: 1,094 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I like to drink. I'm at a "party school" I'm a graduate student but I'm young, just got out of undergrad so most of my friends are still into the bar scene and we all drink at parties, during games. ETC I am actually REALLY healthy when it comes to eating. I easily stay within my 1200 calorie limit. The only thing that puts me over, and sometimes WAY over is alcohol. It's not every day of course. Mostly it's the weekends or holidays but it still puts me WAY over my daily calorie goal for the day. I'm NOT a beer drinker, mostly I drink vodka, four loko/other malt beverages such as mikes hard, Smirrnoff ice etc. When I drink mixed stuff I almost always use zero calories mixers such as diet coke... but still I'm NOT a light weight and it takes a lot for me to even get buzzed...like a bottle and a half of wine or so JUST to get buzzed. It's the Irish/Italian in me haha. I'm 130ish (give or take a few pounds, mostly give haha) and 5'3, age 23 looking to be down to around 115/120/lose fat/gain muscle/tone etc. How much will drinking affect my weight loss? How much would it help if i cut out alcohol? Or should I just go extra hard at the gym days I know I'll be drinking? Or are there drinks that I can have that are "diet"
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Replies

  • mrskesler
    mrskesler Posts: 73 Member
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    Unfortunately, alcohol is high in calories, even without the mixers.... http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-alcoholic-drinks-ic1401

    If you can't make it fit into your calories for the day/week, it will negatively affect your weight loss... It sucks, but it's just how it goes...
  • FriendsR4EverTreasures
    FriendsR4EverTreasures Posts: 181
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    How about trying moderation? What's more important a short term buzz or a long term successful weightloss plan? It's your choice, weigh the pros and cons. IMO, there is no contest!
  • waterwing
    waterwing Posts: 214 Member
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    I struggle with this too and continually toy with giving it up entirely while I'm being serious about weight loss... I recently read this article though and it kind of helped put things in perspective..

    http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=563
  • whoaeyekneex3
    whoaeyekneex3 Posts: 33
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    i have the same problem; i eat really clean but if when my friends come back from college and we drink, it puts me way over my calorie limit. i learned to drink lots of water in between shots to slow myself down, plus it's not really good to get drunk anyway :P i'd just have a shot (or two) of something REALLY strong and enjoy the rest of my time there.
  • mrs_n0rris
    mrs_n0rris Posts: 65 Member
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    I would suggest sticking to just weekends as a start. Drinking things with less calories too is a good plan. I'm a big fan of dry red wine or gin with club soda and lime. As for not being a light weight, you might find that if you "practice" less then you'll notice the effects sooner when you do.
    Finally, I'm a grad student too, when do you find time to drink other than at 4 am when you finally give up on papers/readings/TA grading?? ;)
  • skierxjes
    skierxjes Posts: 938 Member
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    When not on the wagon, I drink vodka and water with a squirt of Mio
  • DebDesautels
    DebDesautels Posts: 22 Member
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    It's also not just about the calories - check this out... http://www.livestrong.com/article/280263-alcohol-fat-burning/. To summarize, "Alcohol consumption interferes with fat burning, which may hinder efforts to lose weight."
  • bigjeffyc105_deleted
    bigjeffyc105_deleted Posts: 64
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    Damn and I love Grey Goose and Cranberry.. .Guess I will have to watch how many I drink.. booo hisss...
  • xcrushx28
    xcrushx28 Posts: 182 Member
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    Honestly you should pick whatever is more important. If you really enjoy drinking, then there are ways to track and manage it. The problem is most people when they drink will make other poor decisions. Like eating a whole bunch of snacks etc.

    I personally don't drink anymore because It affects my hydration levels and will probably affect my workouts as well. Which ultimately will slow/stall my progress, because I won't be as consistent.
  • JacksMom12
    JacksMom12 Posts: 1,044 Member
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    I'd definitely cut out the mikes and four loko etc. Those puppies have upwards of 300+ calories a pop. Vodka with diet mixers is about the best bang for your buck.
  • iuew
    iuew Posts: 624 Member
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    Damn and I love Grey Goose and Cranberry.. .Guess I will have to watch how many I drink.. booo hisss...

    ocean spray diet cranberry FTW. 5 cals a glass.
  • macx2mommy
    macx2mommy Posts: 170 Member
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    I've way past the partying stage of my life, but have found that the alcohol calories aren't worth it for me any more.

    To put it in perspective, if you are drinking once a week, and having just the one and half bottles of wine which is about 8 drinks. Your are consuming about 900 cals, that's just to get a buzz. If you are drinking more than that in a sitting or more frequently then once a week, then you are looking at more than a pound a month in booze calories.

    If you cut that down by doing just hard alcohol and a diet or no cal mix, then it's about half of that. It's really up to you what you want to do. You can work out more, make up for it on other days, or just accept it.
  • tryingtostayontrack
    tryingtostayontrack Posts: 2
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    I also enjoy drinking, though I am much older than you -- mid-40's. I enjoyed a glass or two of wine, or a vodka mixed drink pretty regularly, and the pounds definitely came on. Here is what I am doing, as I have started over, once again, to try and lose weight. I had about 22 pounds I wanted to lose, and have lost 13 of those. To get me to where I want to be, I have tried to stop most all drinking (though did have two drinks one time in the past two weeks). I am drinking LOTS of water every day, which really speeds up the weight loss.

    Here is my plan though -- once I get that weight off, my plan is to give myself two days a week where I can eat and drink without having to worry about counting calories. I have realized I can't have an alcoholic drink every evening and expect not to gain weight -- yet I enjoy it and don't want to have to give it up. I want to be very disciplined the other five days, and give myself two free days. My hope is that in doing that I will be able to maintain. I won't be going crazy every weekend either, but rather plan to give myself say a Wednesday and a Saturday. This way, it is broken up, and when I have to be disciplined, I know those free days aren't that far away. Of course you can't go too crazy with the calories, but I think that would be do-able. Good luck!
  • Stardawn52
    Stardawn52 Posts: 15 Member
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    All comes down to calories in inrelation to calories burned & alcohol has a lot of calories. How about drinking your zero calorie drinks only when you are going out and limiting alcohol drinks to 1 or 2. Would be healthier for you all ways around...good luck
  • AlSalzman
    AlSalzman Posts: 296 Member
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    I'm fully aware that what I'm about to post is contrary to the MFP guidelines, and I'm gonna do it anyway:

    You're an idiot.


    You just posted on a message board devoted to healthy lifestyle choices to see if anyone could offer you a less-fattening way to engage in an unhealthy lifestyle of binge drinking? You want to find a lower-calorie way to drink your *kitten* off?

    Ok, step away from the Popov bottle and repeat after me: While my weight is a good indicator of my overall health, it is no way a guarantee that I am healthy if I am at my desired weight.

    Binge drinking will kill you. And all the excuses you posted (party school, high tolerance, etc...) are the things that come out of the mouths of early-stage alcoholics. Before you write me off as a teetotaling goody-goody, know that I'm a former bartender at a 'party school' and also tended bar at singles hotspot nightclub for ten years.

    There is no way to over-consume anything responsibly... granola or grain alcohol. The long-term future health problems you create by binge drinking far outweigh the temporary shock to your calorie counter. But, hey, if you've absolutely gotta go hard and guzzle whatever on the weekend, just don't eat. There's another healthy choice, right?

    Geez.
  • cornfritter22
    cornfritter22 Posts: 230 Member
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    I struggle with this too and continually toy with giving it up entirely while I'm being serious about weight loss... I recently read this article though and it kind of helped put things in perspective..

    http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=563

    I found this very helpful. I'm a drinker and like you mentioned, this helped put things in perspective. I've never heard it quite like this before.
  • AlSalzman
    AlSalzman Posts: 296 Member
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    How about trying moderation? What's more important a short term buzz or a long term successful weightloss plan? It's your choice, weigh the pros and cons. IMO, there is no contest!
    This.
  • AlSalzman
    AlSalzman Posts: 296 Member
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    Honestly you should pick whatever is more important. If you really enjoy drinking, then there are ways to track and manage it. The problem is most people when they drink will make other poor decisions. Like eating a whole bunch of snacks etc.

    I personally don't drink anymore because It affects my hydration levels and will probably affect my workouts as well. Which ultimately will slow/stall my progress, because I won't be as consistent.
    ...aaaaaaand this.
  • bigjeffyc105_deleted
    bigjeffyc105_deleted Posts: 64
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    Damn and I love Grey Goose and Cranberry.. .Guess I will have to watch how many I drink.. booo hisss...

    ocean spray diet cranberry FTW. 5 cals a glass.

    That's what I'm talknig about.. thanks.. lol
  • SomeoneSomeplace
    SomeoneSomeplace Posts: 1,094 Member
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    @AlSalzman
    You're entitled to your opinion I'm entitled to mine. I drink ONCE a week and sometimes I DONT drink at all. Maybe twice on a week where I'm not busy. I hardly think that qualifies me as an alcoholic. I'm a full time student with a full time job and having a night where I drink too much hardly makes me irresponsible (It is RARE that I drink too much as I KNOW my limit and stay within them) . I was simply asking how much a night like that sets me back, since alcohol IS high in calories. It is NOT binge drinking. I honestly DO not get that drunk. I have ALWAYS been that way. My mother and father are the same way, some people can handle more alcohol than others. It does NOT make me an alcoholic. My Mother has a high tolerance as well. Everyone is different. So remember that next time you try and sit on your high horse and judge people. A bottle and a half of wine actually IS NOT as much as you think it is. And I was using wine as an example. I can only drink abut the equivalent of 5/6 shorts of vodka before I feel it (and thats obviously not all at one time). Anyway, while I respect that you're allowed to have your own opinion. I think you were a little rude about expressing it. You could have easily gotten your point across without being insulting. People will respect you much more if you speak in a considerate manner. BTW minus calling me an idiot I didn't find the rest of your post insulting, just judgmental.

    As for everyone else thank you for your responses. I didn't mean to come off as someone who values drinking over a healthy life style. But it's no fun to be the sober, or mostly sober one while all your friends are drunk. And I do enjoy including in alcohol occasionally. It just feels as if I over do it because it does take me a few drinks to feel it. But losing weight and being healthy IS very important to me so I am probably going to limit how much I drink, which honestly wasn't THAT often anyway. But either way it was clearly hurting me.

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