Alcohol and hanging out with friends

For the past 2 Saturday's I've been out, I don't go out very often (I have kids), but I drank both times, and felt so guilty the next day. But soon the guilt wore off because it's not like I do this all the time, before this I had not gone out for drinks in months. I think anything in moderation, if you're going out once in awhile then I don't see an issue, maybe just burn some extra calories that day.

Try Gin & Slimline tonic or Vodka, Lime & Soda if you're worried about the calories.

So I do night work at Dubstep shows in Philly and often go to parties VIP n the such and it's pretty awesome. However, I keep join for the Jack and Cokes. I try to limit the calorie intake with jack and diet cokes but I always feel guilty at the end of the night when I enter that in the database and see the caloric intake. I would just not drink, but I won't let loose on the dance floor as I would with a little booze in me. Does anyone else encounter this? Any recommendations?

Yeah, Ecstasy....Just kidding. You're drinkin Jack & Coke, yea??? Have one, then just drink diet coke the rest of the night. No ones going to know you don't have Jack in it (no pun intended....<shakes head>) As far as letting loose on the dance floor, I used to be so self conscious, I wouldn't even think about dancing unless I had 5 or 6 drinks in me. Solved that by taking a few dance classes. Sounds funny but confidence and letting loose on the dance floor comes from knowing what you're doing, not chemical inhibition killer. Once I started cutting loose without alcohol, I never used it again. If we were going out to drink, we drank, but if I was going out to dance, alcohol just got in the way. Something to think about.

being an old lady of 43 I have finally faced up to the truth that one cannot expect to get the results one wants if one drinks. So i don't drink AT ALL if I am trying to lose body fat. Thats my recommendation. disappear for 2 months , don't dirnk at all, then go back to a VIP looking, well , like a VIP!!!

Try Gin & Slimline tonic or Vodka, Lime & Soda if you're worried about the calories.

Totally agree with this!

You could always use the tactic of waiting until everyone else is smashed and then just dancing how you want because they won't remember it the day after? But I understand the issue! I'm 18 and from the UK so it's the age where suddenly everybody seems to be going out all the time to drink - just because they can. It's very difficult to just say no to a drink because people seem to think you're incredibly boring

Ahhh MissClarey, that is so sad. You seem like a very bright, intelligent and quite beautiful young lady. If someone thinks you're boring because you don't drink...get new friends. Life is too short to hang out people like that. You should hang out with people that accept you for who you are, as you are. You deserve nothing less.

I still drink quite a lot but I have changed my drinking habits. Lots of people I know are very 'into' craft beers, so its hard for me to avoid the beer sometimes but wine is lots better and gin and slimline if I know I will be drinking a lot.
I also try and do some extra exercise on the day that I know I will be going out and then dance my *kitten* off at night because that counts as exercise too!
I frequently choose having fun over my diet but, so long as I am good in-between, then I am still doing okay. Most of all using this app has taught me to make better choices for sustained weight loss. Its no good giving up drinking for a month if you're just going to go back to it and put weight on. You need to find a way to make it work.

That's what I think anyway!

This is pretty much my biggest problem. I'm just finishing my first year at uni in one of the biggest clubbing cities in England, so it's difficult. Especially considering the fact that I hate going out sober... I know a lot of people have got a little bit pudgier since starting uni, just from the viewpoint of drinking, having to feed themselves and late night visits to the kebab shop.
When it's a party or we're going clubbing I can't not drink. I try to limit it by drinking vodka and diet coke, because vodka is quite a lot of alcohol for relatively few calories (especially compared to cider or anything like that) and during the day I do as much exercise as I can to prepare (I'm usually negative calories before I go out, and then the alcohol brings it back up to a decent amount). I know it's not the healthiest but as long as you don't do it all the time it's not gonna do massive damage.
And depending on whether you want to actually get drunk or just be part of the experience, you could just always drink one alcoholic drink and then make the next few just diet coke or whatever.
And if you get drunk enough to dance like an absolute idiot all night (not that I'd ever do that... not at all... ) you burn off a fair bit of the alcohol doing that :P

I love drinking, my boyfriend loves drinking, my friends love drinking..... It's hard to get away from.

If I know I'm going to the pub in the evening, i'll often get up early and go for a jog before work so I earn a couple of 'free' drinks and don't feel so guilty the next day.

Believe it or not, it's a lot more liberating to DECIDE to do what you want without the alcohol and then do it, than is losing a little bit of your control and then dancing. Having said that, if you enjoy drinking, as I do, then you might also feel, as I do, that it's not something you want to give up altogether. I don't like feeling deprived, and anyway, I don't anticipate giving up alcohol for the rest of my life, so I keep it and try to manage it. For hydration purposes, it's good to drink water in between alcoholic drinks. I also agree with the poster who suggested having one drink with alcohol and then having just the coke after. Bartenders are used to alcoholics avoiding pushy people's questions, plus, they just want your money, so they won't judge.

I think it might be more important to learn how to let loose/have fun comfortably without alcohol, than trying to find ways to make alcohol more healthy.

Most of us have certain things that make us nervous... but when you're sacrificing your health (and it's not just about calories, when it comes to the damage alcohol does to our bodies/brains,etc)... well, maybe it's time to re-evaluate.

You don't need alcohol to have a good time. Go dance anyway! Pretend you're buzzed if you need that excuse to dance.

You might fare better with Vodka, soda, and lime or the like. Rum's pretty high in calories if I remember right. Do some research ahead of time and pick a lighter libation.

p.s. woot, philly!