Abstaining from alcohol.

Sunlight2011
Sunlight2011 Posts: 75 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm back on the weight loss fitness bus again after a brief detour and wondered if anyone has stopped drinking as part of their weight loss goal. If so has it helped or hindered and was it easy to do?

Thanks in advance.

Replies

  • Contrary03
    Contrary03 Posts: 289 Member
    HI!~ I was a pretty heavy drinker, LOVE spiced rum & coke (and not the diet kind) LOL I gave it up completely 12 days ago. Been grouchy a couple of times (so i'm told by my family) but other than that, no problem. It was easy to give up the soda cuz i don't want it if it don't have rum in it! I've been trying to lose the last 10lbs and am hoping this works. Good luck:drinker:
  • poledancing_ninja
    poledancing_ninja Posts: 271
    I gave it up. Every now and again I forget why, drink tons of vodka, eat a kebab and some cookies, am too hungover the next day to work out and too tired to go food shopping which means making really bad fast food choices for the rest of the week. And I'm poorer for it!

    Now I go out and drink diet coke, remember all the fun I have and can get up in the morning to exercise :)
  • larkiedeek
    larkiedeek Posts: 203 Member
    I stopped. I have been off it for 88 days now, not that I'm counting.

    I would say my weight loss is all down to stopping. It also means I do things like excersise at night rather than drink. I eat healthy rather than have chocolate and crisps with drink. It has been the catalyst for change.

    I also drink loads of water which has helped.

    Planning on doing 100 days of no alcohol/chocolate/soda.
  • hunter624
    hunter624 Posts: 252
    A tot whisky every night , keeps the blood flowing, and the occasional pint of bitter, it works for me!
  • katysmelly
    katysmelly Posts: 380 Member
    I'm back on the weight loss fitness bus again after a brief detour and wondered if anyone has stopped drinking as part of their weight loss goal. If so has it helped or hindered and was it easy to do?

    Thanks in advance.

    I haven't been drinking since counting calories. I have not sworn off alcohol - I just haven't had a drink. I'd rather use the calories some other way.

    It hasn't been hard for me. If I want a drink, I will have one.
  • celticmuse
    celticmuse Posts: 492 Member
    I enjoy wine, but my approach to alcohol has been to try to limit it to weekends only. Then it is a treat, so I enjoy it. I will also drink when I go out, but that is usually on the weekends. Weeknight events are a problem, but they are occasional. Using this approach, I have lost 34 lbs.
  • ball858
    ball858 Posts: 395 Member
    I have not drank alcohol now for 4 months and found it quite easy - there are alot of calories in alcohol!

    I buy non-alcoholic wine if I am going to a friends etc... to be sociable

    I think it has helped with my weight loss
  • hayjk
    hayjk Posts: 1
    I stopped drinking about 18 months ago (had a double ear infection and the antibiotics made everything taste really bad). In the first 12 months I lost about 40 lbs without changing anything but the alcohol intake. I have been using MFP for about a month now (after not being able to loose any additional weight). Now I down almost 6 more lbs. I still have a drink every now and then, but the volume and frequency have decreased dramatically.
  • jobster
    jobster Posts: 11 Member
    I haven`t abstained at all and am partial to a red wine or two!. I am doing this for life not to lose weight quickly, so as I don`t want to be tee total for the rest of my life, I don`t want to cut it from my lifestyle now. I guess it depends what you want from life.....a quick diet, then yes quitting drinking helps, or do you want a lifestyle plan for long term healthy living. Plus my husbands heart surgeon told him to have a glass of alcohol a day........not neccessarily red wine, just anything he fancies, so if that`s the advice from an eminent surgeon, who are we to argue :)
  • HauteP1nk
    HauteP1nk Posts: 2,139 Member
    I only drink occasionally now so of course I have become a cheap drunk! LOL
    All I need is one or two drinks to be feeling good and I don't have to worry about a hangover. :drinker:
  • jstein_77
    jstein_77 Posts: 13
    I stopped drinking years ago, not because of any chronic problem with it, but because of the extra calories and the accompanying lack of judgment that comes with it. Personally I did not find it to be difficult, and I hardly give it a second thought these days. Good luck to you in whatever you choose to do, but I would say that to give it up temporarily to attain a goal only to pick it back up again could make it difficult to maintain your target weight.
  • formersec
    formersec Posts: 233 Member
    When I drank, I wanted to eat the legs off the dining room table. Alcohol made me want to eat like a pig.

    Health issues and resulting medications forced me to give up alcohol. I don't miss it.
  • bexblonde
    bexblonde Posts: 80
    I love my wine so wouldn't want to give it up - for me I'd rather have a glass of wine as a treat than any food ;) I've now limited it to weekends though, and it has definitely helped me keep the calories down, and my belly is flatter than it was.
  • duetwithjosh
    duetwithjosh Posts: 121
    I've limited my alcohol to one or two nights per week. Before I was having a beer or glass of wine almost every night, and the calorie trade-off was just too high for me!
  • JoolieW68
    JoolieW68 Posts: 1,879 Member
    Before I started getting back into shape I was having 2-3 rum and diet Pepsi's a night (hey, at least it was diet, right :ohwell: )

    After I started I rarely drank, and still do only have a few drinks per month. However, camping season is coming up and I will probably have few more drinks sitting around the campfire.
  • yaddayaddayadda
    yaddayaddayadda Posts: 430 Member
    I have always enjoyed a drink or two with dinner... until recently. I have not given it up completely, but I don't enjoy happy hour like I used to. I have trouble sleeping, even after just one or two, and I just don't feel 100% the next day. I don't know if it is age (I'm 51), or hormonal changes, but for whatever reason, its just not as fun as it used to be. :ohwell:

    Sometimes I just decide that I want a drink and I will suffer the consequences, but lately, I'm deciding not to have the drink.

    Drinking or not drinking does make a difference in my weight. I am on maintenence, and I when I have a drink every night, I find my weight creeping up. When I don't drink for a week, I always lose a pound or two.
  • Iceylyons
    Iceylyons Posts: 86 Member
    So glad someone posted this! I have also stopped drinking so far because of all the empty calories. Surprisingly, I haven't felt the need to drink since I've been working out. Maybe it was depression that fed my drinking. I don't go out much, I have kids and am always working.

    Although, if I were to go out, I would probably have a drink or two socially, especially as a reward. I like my alcohol, just haven't felt the need to have it lately =)
  • plarcade
    plarcade Posts: 125 Member
    I've cut back (would rather eat those calories!) but I wouldn't want to give up completely :) Generally keep the wine for weekends and am quite strict as to how much I drink.
  • theresabrenner
    theresabrenner Posts: 16
    I find that I will have a few drinks on the weekend. I like wine but if I'm drinking beer I stick to Mich Ultra (95 cal) or Bud Select (55 cal). I'm in this to lose weight of course, but I also want to enjoy life! Unless you have a drinking problem, I don't think an occasional drink here and there will hurt :drinker:
  • androde
    androde Posts: 96 Member
    I decided to give up alcohol for 20 weeks, 75 days so far another 65 to go
  • RosieWest8
    RosieWest8 Posts: 185 Member
    I haven’t made a conscious decision to stop drinking alcohol since beginning my weight loss. I don’t drink often though.
    -I don’t give myself regular ‘cheat’ days though, I just try to stay at my calorie goal for the day. So if I know I’m going to be visiting friends, going to a wedding/bachelorette party, birthday, or some event I know I’ll be drinking at I don’t limit myself due to calories…LOL I limit myself b/c I hate being hungover. So I just drink whatever I want, knowing that once that event is over, it’s going to be another few months before I’ll be doing it again.

    Other than that, I do enjoy a glass of wine/bottle of beer every now and then when I get home. And I have some beers in the fridge that have…..300 calories in them. =O But, I love beer and if I know that that’s a beer I’d like to try I just be sure to input that in my Diary first thing in the morning and eat accordingly for the rest of the day. Or I live with being a couple hundred calories over my goal once in a while.
  • goinfishin2
    goinfishin2 Posts: 2
    I still have the occasional mixed drink. I don't usually plan for it, so just try to make up for the calories the next few days by adding extra exercise. It all seems to even out in the long run. I've never gained weight due to it. It's harder in the summer though, with all the barbeques and campfires. For some reason when other people are drinking, they need for you to drink also or they view you as unsociable. go figure.
  • MsWilder818
    MsWilder818 Posts: 10
    I liked sweet drinks sooooo many empty calories with this. I stopped cold and I noticed a difference. You can casually drink but the mixed drinks will get to you. Small steps!
  • Sunlight2011
    Sunlight2011 Posts: 75 Member
    Hi everyone, and thanks for all of the replies. Really useful advice. I guess its not just about the weight but its also about it potentially becoming a problem as I, like many drink for stress relief and the potential of a stress free life is unrealistic. As a lot of you have said It's also the poor choices you make when you've had a drink. Chocolate and then ring out for a pizza. Friends can make it so difficult also. If you say you don't want a drink they list all of the reasons you should have one and make you feel like you've just insulted them. But to me its all part of the bigger picture and part of the same problem. Feeling the pull to drink to me is the same as the pull to eat badly so I feel I can't address one without the other. Not to mention the fact that with the money I save on not drinking I could use for a gym membership. And the time I spend being hungover I could spend in the gym. I'm gonna try for no weekday drinking and moderation during the weekend. Thanks again for the support. I had forgotten how much of a difference it makes. :flowerforyou:
  • Eaglesfanintn
    Eaglesfanintn Posts: 813 Member
    I'm back on the weight loss fitness bus again after a brief detour and wondered if anyone has stopped drinking as part of their weight loss goal. If so has it helped or hindered and was it easy to do?

    Thanks in advance.

    I haven't been drinking since counting calories. I have not sworn off alcohol - I just haven't had a drink. I'd rather use the calories some other way.

    It hasn't been hard for me. If I want a drink, I will have one.

    Pretty much the same for me. Just don't want the empty calories. I like beer....mmmmmm....bbeerrrrr, but it's not worth the empty calories.
  • Jferg69
    Jferg69 Posts: 241 Member
    Bump, will read later
  • TopazCarey
    TopazCarey Posts: 263
    I haven't quit drinking, I just make sure it fits within my calorie budget these days.
  • Peta22
    Peta22 Posts: 377 Member
    I love my wine so wouldn't want to give it up - for me I'd rather have a glass of wine as a treat than any food ;) I've now limited it to weekends though, and it has definitely helped me keep the calories down, and my belly is flatter than it was.

    Definitely agree with this... I have been trying to reduce my alcohol to see whether it makes a difference but it really doesnt seem to have mattered so im happy to have a glass of wine a few nights a week instead of an after dinner snack. :smile:
  • jonski1968
    jonski1968 Posts: 4,490 Member
    I went from 4 nights a week, to once a month...found it very easy...If only i could give up the dreaded nicotine as easy..
  • lkcuts
    lkcuts Posts: 224
    lets face it why do we drink? eases any body pain,socializing,a little relaxing buzz. Same with food it comforts our zone. I don't buy it at home but go out 2 days a week and social drink. i find if I have to pay more money out, I drink less. I always figure it in my calories that day as a snack. So far, its worked. I like Sambuca on ice with a bud light wash down and of course, water. (High maintence) It tends to get me where I want to be quicker so I don't drink as much. I used to, believe me but as one person said on here the older I get the more I am not into the "Party" scene but socialize, laugh a little, play some Keno, thats my only relaxation I have and look forward to it every week. I have learned "EVERYTHING IN MODERATION":drinker:

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