alcohol discussion

suemorgan1969
suemorgan1969 Posts: 132 Member
edited December 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi
I have just completed week one and lost 7lbs. I have been eating my 1200 cals a day but also I have had lots of unlogged alcohol, which didnt seem to make a difference to me. Any thoughts on this?
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Replies

  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    Is alcohol straight carbs? Would this be something to consider later on if you hit a plateau or started gaining?
  • suemorgan1969
    suemorgan1969 Posts: 132 Member
    no carbs in white wine and i get through at least a bottle a night lol xxxx
  • mamakayy
    mamakayy Posts: 36
    When you're first making a drastic change, I'm sure it wouldn't matter. Later, once your body catches up to your new eating habits, it will.

    I log everything I eat or drink. Alcohol or not.
  • suemorgan1969
    suemorgan1969 Posts: 132 Member
    yea maybe thats why then as I have cut down on food, so that has to make a difference x
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    A couple of things can factor into this.

    1.) The first week of changing your eating habits and fitness routine is a shock to the body. Most people lose a lot of water weight during that time.

    2.) 1200 calories is a low number for most people. What are your stats? Height, weight, weight loss goals. You should be eating about your weight x 10. (Not a perfect equation but it comes close.) It could be that you're balancing out because your body can have a few more calories and still lose the weight. I personally would feel like I'm starving constantly with that amount of calories and wouldn't be sustainable for a life long change. Though, that's me, and it's about what works for you.

    3.) Since alcohol can work like a diuretic, it can dehydrated you. You will most likely gain some of it back if you trade out soda/ alcohol and other drinks for plain water.

    The calories in the alcohol will eventually catch up though and possibly stall your weight loss plans. Cut back a bit and go from there. Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
    Well, calories are calories. I log everything, including alcohol.
  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
    Alcohol has like 7 calories per something or other?
    It also slows fat metabolism, or so I've heard?
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    A couple of things can factor into this.

    1.) The first week of changing your eating habits and fitness routine is a shock to the body. Most people lose a lot of water weight during that time.

    2.) 1200 calories is a low number for most people. What are your stats? Height, weight. You should be eating about your weight x 10. (Not a perfect equation but it comes close.) It could be that you're balancing out because your body can have a few more calories and still lose the weight. I personally would feel like I'm starving constantly with that amount of calories and wouldn't be sustainable for a life long change. Though, that's me, and it's about what works for you.

    3.) Since alcohol can work like a diuretic, it can dehydrated you. You will most likely gain some of it back if you trade out soda/ alcohol and other drinks for plain water.

    The calories in the alcohol will eventually catch up though and possibly stall your weight loss plans. Cut back a bit and go from there. Good luck! :flowerforyou:
    I agree, except with regards to dehydration. Many of us see the scale go UP when we're dehydrated, rather than down. It's weird, but true.
  • LishieFruit89
    LishieFruit89 Posts: 1,956 Member
    I'm not trying to be mean hear but it's not good that you're drinking an entire bottle of wine every night...

    Also, I'd log the booze, you'd be surprised how fast it adds up.
  • maryloo2011
    maryloo2011 Posts: 446
    When I was logging I would not log alcohol, ever. I either had a bottle+ wine a night or a few beers.


    (I stopped logging a week or two ago, want to see how I do. Also cut down drastically on alcohol - I drink so I can get to sleep easier but have found that I'm more tired when I don't drink. Only 3 out of the past 8 days I have had alcohol at all).
  • obsidianwings
    obsidianwings Posts: 1,237 Member
    In the end you are eating less calories than before, so of course you are going to lose weight, but you probably won't get as far until you have cut out or cut down the wine. I drink on the weekends and to be honest I am never going to cut that out, but I log it all, and I make an effort to drink a bit slower so I drink less over the night, seems to be working for me.
  • suemorgan1969
    suemorgan1969 Posts: 132 Member
    i guess my 1200 cals food a day is low, but i honestly dont eat alot anyway, just like a drink or 4 in the evenings, will just have to wait n see
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    For what it's worth, I often have a glass or two with dinner. I call it a "snack" and sometimes write it as wine, sometimes just a quick add of calories.
    I'm sure it's slowed my 10LB loss a bit, but as others will often say: this is a lifestyle, not a diet. If wine is something you want to keep enjoying, then work it in.

    PS: I tend to mix my reds with club soda. Makes it last much longer, turns it into a bubbly rose of sorts, and cuts the calories in half.
  • shicken684
    shicken684 Posts: 36
    Log everything, especially alcohol and any "liquid calories" Those are the worst ones since they don't do much to fill you up. I always thought going out and drinking 5 or 6 rum and diet cokes was not so bad since it was diet coke. 5 Rum and diets is 750 calories. Oh, and Toddrific, I think you are missing a zero. Most alcohols have around 70 calorie/ounce +/- 15cal
  • suemorgan1969
    suemorgan1969 Posts: 132 Member
    i do log 300 cals for it but it really is a bit more that that lol
  • skybird455
    skybird455 Posts: 172 Member
    I have a glass or two of dark red wine (merlot, cab sav) prolly 5 times a week, but i log it. I log everything, and I cut calories to have it during the day. But I eat below my cals for a day anyway and I dont eat back the exercise cals....
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    A couple of things can factor into this.

    1.) The first week of changing your eating habits and fitness routine is a shock to the body. Most people lose a lot of water weight during that time.

    2.) 1200 calories is a low number for most people. What are your stats? Height, weight. You should be eating about your weight x 10. (Not a perfect equation but it comes close.) It could be that you're balancing out because your body can have a few more calories and still lose the weight. I personally would feel like I'm starving constantly with that amount of calories and wouldn't be sustainable for a life long change. Though, that's me, and it's about what works for you.

    3.) Since alcohol can work like a diuretic, it can dehydrated you. You will most likely gain some of it back if you trade out soda/ alcohol and other drinks for plain water.

    The calories in the alcohol will eventually catch up though and possibly stall your weight loss plans. Cut back a bit and go from there. Good luck! :flowerforyou:
    I agree, except with regards to dehydration. Many of us see the scale go UP when we're dehydrated, rather than down. It's weird, but true.

    This doesn't make sense, but I would love to have some reading on this. Do you have some sources or studies I could read about this? I'm always about learning new things!
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    I think a 750mL bottle of wine has 500-600 calories....
  • shicken684
    shicken684 Posts: 36
    I also want to add that there is nothing wrong with drinking so long as it's in moderation. I've had a crappy week so I plan to down about 1200 calories worth of rum tonight. Just make sure you log it, and maybe put in an extra 30 mins at the gym the next day.
  • AzhureSnow
    AzhureSnow Posts: 289 Member
    A couple of things can factor into this.

    1.) The first week of changing your eating habits and fitness routine is a shock to the body. Most people lose a lot of water weight during that time.

    2.) 1200 calories is a low number for most people. What are your stats? Height, weight. You should be eating about your weight x 10. (Not a perfect equation but it comes close.) It could be that you're balancing out because your body can have a few more calories and still lose the weight. I personally would feel like I'm starving constantly with that amount of calories and wouldn't be sustainable for a life long change. Though, that's me, and it's about what works for you.

    3.) Since alcohol can work like a diuretic, it can dehydrated you. You will most likely gain some of it back if you trade out soda/ alcohol and other drinks for plain water.

    The calories in the alcohol will eventually catch up though and possibly stall your weight loss plans. Cut back a bit and go from there. Good luck! :flowerforyou:
    I agree, except with regards to dehydration. Many of us see the scale go UP when we're dehydrated, rather than down. It's weird, but true.

    This doesn't make sense, but I would love to have some reading on this. Do you have some sources or studies I could read about this? I'm always about learning new things!

    When you're dehydrated, your body starts hoarding whatever water you do consume. By drinking more water, you actually lose water weight because your kidneys and body know to expect that you will give it a steady supply. It's the same as the "starvation mode" theory.
  • suemorgan1969
    suemorgan1969 Posts: 132 Member
    i too drink to sleep, its nearly 2am here and i have to get up at half 6. Wine helps me to go to sleep.I will see over the weeks if it makes a difference but it seems not to right now, although in my logging i log 900 cals food and 300 cals wine
  • AzhureSnow
    AzhureSnow Posts: 289 Member
    At first, not logging the alcohol won't completely kill you because you've made a lot of other drastic changes to your diet, so you're still consuming less calories than normal. HOWEVER.... alcohol is empty calories and carb heavy. It WILL come back to haunt you later on if you don't start moderating your consumption and making "allowances" for it now. Once I committed to weight loss, I started picking and choosing when it was I wanted to drink, instead of having a drink every time the opportunity presented itself. I love wine, and love wine and food pairing, so it was a difficult choice, but now I drink on special occasions with friends, or maybe once every 2 weeks with dinner or something.
    Overall, you need to log it and regulate your consumption. There's really no way around it. Alcohol can kill an otherwise successful diet in a heartbeat.
  • AzhureSnow
    AzhureSnow Posts: 289 Member
    i too drink to sleep, its nearly 2am here and i have to get up at half 6. Wine helps me to go to sleep.I will see over the weeks if it makes a difference but it seems not to right now, although in my logging i log 900 cals food and 300 cals wine

    Have you tried something like melatonin to help you sleep? It has actually been shown that using alcohol to "help you sleep" is counterproductive because your body comes to rely on the depressing effects of alcohol and forgets how to put itself to sleep. It increases dependence.
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
    no carbs in white wine and i get through at least a bottle a night lol xxxx

    Upward of 500 calories in a bottle of white wine, but I would be somewhat more concerned about the health issues with drinking "at least" a bottle a night.

    Don't get me wrong I love wine myself and can easily drink a bottle on a night out but I would be worried about my liver if I was doing it every night. Cutting back on the vino will give you extra calories for food and I am sure your liver will thank you in the long run.

    Sorry to be a bit of a party pooper I do wish you every success. :drinker:
  • suemorgan1969
    suemorgan1969 Posts: 132 Member
    no i have not heard of that and also i LOVE my wine after a long day at work xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • SoCalWoman
    SoCalWoman Posts: 2,384 Member
    Gotta log the alcohol calories. it will definitely add up.

    You may want to join the group here:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/622-like-minded-lushes
  • AzhureSnow
    AzhureSnow Posts: 289 Member
    no carbs in white wine and i get through at least a bottle a night lol xxxx

    Upward of 500 calories in a bottle of white wine, but I would be somewhat more concerned about the health issues with drinking "at least" a bottle a night.

    Don't get me wrong I love wine myself and can easily drink a bottle on a night out but I would be worried about my liver if I was doing it every night. Cutting back on the vino will give you extra calories for food and I am sure your liver will thank you in the long run.

    Sorry to be a bit of a party pooper I do wish you every success. :drinker:

    In actuality, there's about 1g of carbs and 75 calories in every glass of wine. This is fine if you're having one, or even two glasses, but by having a full bottle (around 6 glasses of wine, right), every night of the week, you're consuming a whopping 3000 CALORIES AND 40+g of CARBS! That right there is enough to contribute to one pound of weight GAIN in a week! Think about that!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Log everything, especially alcohol and any "liquid calories" Those are the worst ones since they don't do much to fill you up. I always thought going out and drinking 5 or 6 rum and diet cokes was not so bad since it was diet coke. 5 Rum and diets is 750 calories. Oh, and Toddrific, I think you are missing a zero. Most alcohols have around 70 calorie/ounce +/- 15cal
    He's not "wrong". Just going with a different measurement. It's 7 calories a gram. Which is often discussed in weight loss circles.

    The other thing with 7 rum and diet cokes is that you often want yummy snacks during and after.:smile:
  • tabulator32
    tabulator32 Posts: 701 Member
    Just out of curiosity, why do you make a distinction between alcohol and everything else?

    Why would you not log it?

    Mind you, I'm not trying to give you a hard time about drinking and I assume you're a grown adult and can make your own decisions. I am just curious why it is alcohol in particular you choose to not log.
  • Terri_Wickwire
    Terri_Wickwire Posts: 149 Member
    About the only alcohol I drink (when I do) is rum, and I log that in because I'm working in conjunction with my exercise to get my calories over every day. I'm not perfect about logging, but I know that now I am much closer to healthier life choices than before MFP!
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