Alcohol affecting my progress!

I love wine...love it....would have it every night....but it is true, alcohol slows down your metabolism. There is really no way around the way your body deals with alcohol......so I have limited my consumption....but not 100% HAPPY about it!
:-)

Limits. You don't need to drink to hang out and have fun. Limit yourself to one drink per location. After you finish that one drink and if you think you always need a drink in your hand, order a seltzer or a diet coke or something.

I gave up drinking completely except for weddings. Then I'll have a glass of wine or something.

Frankie - great suggestions! Remind yourself why you are doing this. It sounds like the socializing is more important than your weight loss... although, that said, plenty of others have lost weight while still having alcohol. They didn't drink in excess, and they didn't binge eat with it. Look at your cals and set a reasonable goal when you go out. Like alternaying drinks, or having a 2 drink limit.

Consider telling your colleagues why you are limiting, it is likely they will be supportive. And good luck on your journey.

Jess

I have the same problem. My friends have a girl night every friday and i try to stay in the house instead of hanging out but i seem to always find my way over my friends house because she makes the best fuzzy navel daquiri's that i ever had. I try to not drink at all during the week and on friday's keep my calorie intake low by eating maybe salads during the day, so that i can enjoy myself later. I have been on a weight loss journey before and drank and still lost 56 pounds. I say if you feel like you wan't a drink, have it but make sure you have ate enough before hand so that you won't binge eat later.

I am a grad student and we go out and drink most friday nights, I try to make sure I get in some activity! I ride my bike out and home (total like 6 miles) and try and get in a couple hours of dancing. I figure it all evens out

I have noticed that a 'good night out' does set me back, but like I've said before I'm not willing to cut alcohol entirely out of my diet....I love beer too much and also like to unwind every once in a while. I am lucky though, I'm the youngest person in my office by about....15 years or so. So I'm not going out for drinks every Friday. So I think maybe it's possible you will have to cut back on how often you drink (if you're going to be having 4+ drinks in one night =D).

I've started drinking flavored rum + water. It tastes like flavored water....and the only calories are from the booze, which is only about 60 something calories. And it forces you to drink water while drinking which has got to be good. So pick a flavor and try it out next time. I haven't tried it with soda water yet though...
Or, you could just alternate having an alcoholic drink and then a water, and so on and so forth.

Good luck. =D

I stopped drinking except for the rare occasion when I found out 2 alcoholic drinks affect your fat burning ability by 73%. That's where a great deal of my weight came from. I was a pretty big drinker, in both senses of the word. :ohwell: I really want to try out this theory, though! http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html

The first thing I did was switch from regular beer to Yuenglng Light. I've found that I can still enjoy a beer or two or a glass of wine or two most nights and not have it affect my weight loss at all as long as I make sure that the drinks fit into my daily calorie plan. I also tend to eat a very light breakfast and lunch to save the majority of my extra calories for dinner and drinks which I enjoy. I've been steadily losing doing this.

There is one day a week I allow myself a free day and in exchange for that I stay lower calorie than I need to the other days of the week. That one day I'll drink and eat and not worry about it. It's done wonder for my weight loss journey and my mood;

must be close by to me...not many people know Yuengling!

bump to think about later

I have the same problem. My friends have a girl night every friday and i try to stay in the house instead of hanging out but i seem to always find my way over my friends house because she makes the best fuzzy navel daquiri's that i ever had. I try to not drink at all during the week and on friday's keep my calorie intake low by eating maybe salads during the day, so that i can enjoy myself later. I have been on a weight loss journey before and drank and still lost 56 pounds. I say if you feel like you wan't a drink, have it but make sure you have ate enough before hand so that you won't binge eat later.

Kinda what I do. I used to drink every day, then just on weekends....now I try to drink a little one day a week. I really struggle with it, but have been getting better! The day I do drink, it is about 6-7 drinks. I want that number to be 4-5 from here on out...

When you drank daily was it 6-7 drinks?

I love fruity, rum Tiki drinks(exotics), Bottom line, I just can't have them nearly as often as I did in the past

I totally feel your pain. I'm a "night cap every night" type of girl lol ... I notice I am losing weight slowly... If I weren't drinking, I would probably lose it a lot faster I'm still struggling about what is more important to me, so I am not a lot of help lol.
I never drink sugary drinks or mixtures.... and just 2 days ago started upping my work outs, and eating less cals a day (but healthy filling food still!) to try to offset what I drink. I guess I will let ya know how that goes! Sorry I can't be more help!

Drink a lot of water while drinking alcohol. Typically, 2 glasses of water for every alcoholic beverage. You'll pee most of the booze away and won't absorbe most of the calories.

I hear you! For me, it's a quality of lifestyle. I don't intend to stop drinking while I lose weight or when I hit my goal. Waaaay too many delicious brews and social fun to be had!

A calorie is a calorie, so I try to work alcohol into my daily intake. If I know I'm going out in advance, I will get a sweaty long workout and I always try to make somewhat healthy food choices...example: grilled chicken wings vs. pizza.

If it helps, there's an awesome website I use for reference: www.getdrunknotfat.com

Good luck!