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Old 07-12-2007, 12:21 PM   #1  
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Default Giving up alcohol

Hi all!

I only have a few pounds to lose but you know how it with those pesky 5 pounds that can make or break your favorite pair of jeans.

My boyfriend and I are passionate about wine and food, its a HUGE part of our life actually. Our dates usually revolve around planning and preparing these elaborate gourmet meals and pairing it with wine. Of course we always start off with a wine and cheese pairing and well....that lifestyle is obviously going to hold me back in my quest to lose a few pounds and get into better shape!

We just got back from a trip to wine country and I feel absolutely gross and bloated. We've got another trip coming up in August and I've decided that its time to crack down, get serious, and I'm giving up the wine AND the cheese, at least until our next trip and then probably again afterwards until I'm back where I want to be with my body.

Fortunately my boyfriend is being totally supportive of this decision and is giving me lots of positive reinforcement and encouragment. However, I'm having a hard time with it!! I miss our fancy dinners and I miss how fun it was to pair the wine with the foods. I don't feel like I need to get drunk or buzzed or whatever, its more a matter of missing the lifestyle of wine and food. It was like "our thing" that we did and we were both passionate about it. I feel like having a joint passion made us grow closer. We have other things...biking, hiking, stand-up comedy, etc. that we enjoy doing together, but boy do I still miss that wine and food pairing!

I guess I just want to hear from some of you who have also given up alcohol while dieting. Does it really make a difference? Does a glass of wine or two three of four nights a week really make a huge difference??? Is it worth it?
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Old 07-12-2007, 12:32 PM   #2  
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I am also a wine lover...

Honestly-I didn't give it up. But-I did cut back. I only have wine now once a week or so, and I only have one or two glasses.

My advice would be to look online for a nice recipe that is low calorie/healthy that you can cook together, and have a glass of wine with it once a week. Wine averages around 100 calories a serving...so you can have it occasionally and sensibly. Just savor it slowly, as well as the food, and enjoy it in moderation.

You can still have a low calorie diet, and exercise, and all that-without giving up EVERYTHING. You choose your battles. I chose to keep a weekly glass of wine, and a square of extra dark chocolate in my week. It is about 300 calories over the course of the week for the two treats-but I couldn't live without them. (I would be REALLY cranky if I did anyhow. )
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Old 07-12-2007, 12:40 PM   #3  
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I love wine, too. As well as all other forms of alcohol. I am convinced that my alcohol intake is slowing my weight loss. I'm sure this varies from person to person, but I think it's necessary to almost completely cut out alcohol while trying to lose weight. Especially when you are as close as you are to goal. Those last 5-10 pounds are the absolute hardest to lose. My weight is up right now, but I've been down in that area before.

The two times that I've been most successful at losing weight were times when I abstained from alcohol. I think of it as a "red light food" to borrow the old Weight Watcher term. It's something that is difficult for me to control and not over indulge in...just like potato chips.

I recently viewed Bob Greene's new Best Life Diet, and he requires you to cut out alcohol completely during the first two phases of his plan (I think these are both weight loss phases). He does allow for it to be introduced back in when you start maintaining.

I've also read that alcohol can cause you to retain fluids (2-3 pounds). Can't cite the source at the moment - it may have been in the Bob Greene info but I'm not sure. Another thing alcohol does is stimulate cravings because of the sugar/sweetness of it.

I'm cutting out all alcohol for the next 3 weeks to see if I can get my weight loss restarted again. I think it's necessary for me. BUT, it's not forever.
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Old 07-12-2007, 01:47 PM   #4  
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I love learning about wine too, but as for giving it up to lose weight - well, I am conflicted. I do think alcohol does slow down weight loss, and for me I think it is not only the calories but also the water retention. However, I also think changing behaviour temporarily to lose weight is useless in the long term, since as soon as you go back to your 'regular' way of eating and drinking...poof it's all back again. So for me the challenge is to find a way to be more healthy and balanced, but not give up completely on the things that I love and know will part of my life in the future.

And here's a trick I found - if I use one of those huge beautiful wine glasses I drink way more than if I use a small, 4oz wine glass. I can still feel like I had 2 or 3 glasses of wine and actually drink only 10-12 oz total. If I use one of those big ones, 2 glasses can empty 3/4 or more of a bottle.

PS - maybe cheese is more the culprit...we can hope...
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Old 07-12-2007, 01:52 PM   #5  
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I work in the wine industry so, there is no way I could cut out wine completely! When I go tasting I spit. It's what wine cirtics do, so I don't find it uncooth or rude to do so. It's true you still absorb some, but not nearly as much if you drank all the wine you're poured when you go tasting.

At home I have wine once or twice a week. I'll have a 4oz glass and savor it with dinner. I know exactly what 4 oz looks like in our glasses (I measured once.) I might have a second glass from time to time, but it's very rare. I haven't noticed it effecting my weight loss efforts.
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Old 07-12-2007, 02:04 PM   #6  
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Having a 4oz. glass of wine once a week with dinner, or watching a movie with my husband doesn't affect my weight loss, either. The key is to limit it to one or two glasses, make sure that you include it in your calorie allotment for the day, and to not do it all of the time. (Having 2 glasses every day!)

Also, watching out for cheese, and other things that you might eat with it that are adding calories.

A glass of wine once or twice a week actually has some health benefits. Not all alcoholic beverages are the same-it isn't like doing a shot of sugary schnapps like Apple Pucker or something.
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Old 07-12-2007, 02:05 PM   #7  
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Originally Posted by zenor77 View Post
I work in the wine industry so, there is no way I could cut out wine completely! When I go tasting I spit. It's what wine cirtics do, so I don't find it uncooth or rude to do so. It's true you still absorb some, but not nearly as much if you drank all the wine you're poured when you go tasting.

At home I have wine once or twice a week. I'll have a 4oz glass and savor it with dinner. I know exactly what 4 oz looks like in our glasses (I measured once.) I might have a second glass from time to time, but it's very rare. I haven't noticed it effecting my weight loss efforts.
I am curious-what do you do in the wine industry? I have loved wine for ages, but I have recently just started going to local wineries now and then and doing tastings.
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Old 07-12-2007, 02:14 PM   #8  
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Zenor~love the new avatar!!!

I'm a wine lover, too. I have successfully (in the past) given it up for weeks at a time, and am trying to give it up again so I can lose these last few pounds. I know I can do it, I just am having a hard time finding the motivation to do it!
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Old 07-12-2007, 02:17 PM   #9  
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I don't drink alcohol, but that's just a choice for me. My fiance is an alcoholic so when we started dating 6yrs ago I just stopped drinking. But I have a lot of friends that drink wine on a regular basis and as the girls before me have said I don't think it's necessay to cut it out completely to lose weight. As with everything it's all about moderation. 1 or 2 glasses of wine a week isn't going to make or break your weight loss goals. Set aside 1 day a week that you and your boyfriend can do a date night like you use to and just cut down on your consumption and you should be fine.
Good Luck!!!
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Old 07-13-2007, 12:21 PM   #10  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tj north View Post
I love learning about wine too, but as for giving it up to lose weight - well, I am conflicted. I do think alcohol does slow down weight loss, and for me I think it is not only the calories but also the water retention. However, I also think changing behaviour temporarily to lose weight is useless in the long term, since as soon as you go back to your 'regular' way of eating and drinking...poof it's all back again. So for me the challenge is to find a way to be more healthy and balanced, but not give up completely on the things that I love and know will part of my life in the future.

And here's a trick I found - if I use one of those huge beautiful wine glasses I drink way more than if I use a small, 4oz wine glass. I can still feel like I had 2 or 3 glasses of wine and actually drink only 10-12 oz total. If I use one of those big ones, 2 glasses can empty 3/4 or more of a bottle.

PS - maybe cheese is more the culprit...we can hope...

lol, i love that trick! I was at a winery last weekend and they poured and ENTIRE 750ml bottle of pinot noir into one wine glass. I wouldn't have believed it unless I'd seen it with my own eyes. It was pretty amazing!
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Old 07-13-2007, 12:25 PM   #11  
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Whether or not its helping me lose weight or not to cut alcohol out, its too soon to say but I do know this:

Cutting out wine was a serious step for me that helped me shift into diet mode. I know there are schools of thought out there that say you shouldn't think of it as a diet and that if you restrict too much you will binge, etc.

However, for me, I've noticed a tendency to just "sorta" diet. To just "sorta" eat heathier and when I sorta diet I only sorta exercise and I just sorta lose weight but not really. Does that make sense? So basically, when I committed to obstaning from alcohol for the next three weeks, it told my brain that this is serious, that I'm taking it seriously, and I've discovered that I am exercising more and eatting smaller portions and just overall taking this as a real diet.
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Old 07-13-2007, 12:28 PM   #12  
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I am curious-what do you do in the wine industry? I have loved wine for ages, but I have recently just started going to local wineries now and then and doing tastings.
I'm a production assistant. In other words, I do a bit of everything. I help with lab analysis/bottling QC, enter data for FDA tracking, write up technical notes, order supplies, help monitor our water/waste management system, run errands, make coffee, and what ever else the winemakers decide to throw at me.

I started in the tasting room and worked my way into the production side. I can tell you things you don't want to know! Some of it I wish I didn't know, but I still enjoy wine.

We are moving soon though and I'm not sure if I'll be able to stay in the industry. It has been a lot of fun!
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Old 07-13-2007, 12:34 PM   #13  
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PS - maybe cheese is more the culprit...we can hope...

I am pretty sure this is a big part of it. I drank wine quite a bit over the last year without it really impacting my weight too much, but I have noticed that when we started doing these wine and cheese pairings over the past two months, my body got jiggly. I am not very heavy in terms of pounds for my weight, however my butt and back of my thighs have a lot of cellulite right now. The difference in how they look now compared to say in February or March is remarkable. The biggest change in my diet was the addition of all of this cheese as well as a lot more eatting out at fancy restaurants.
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Old 07-13-2007, 12:58 PM   #14  
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Can I ask how your exercise and activity are? I have found that you can look firm and fit at a particular weight, or you can look jiggly at that same weight-if you aren't staying firm with exercise.

Besides the cheese pairings with the wine, is there anything else in your lifestyle that has changed in the past year? A change to a more sedentary job, less exercise, etc.?
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Old 07-13-2007, 01:04 PM   #15  
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Can I ask how your exercise and activity are? I have found that you can look firm and fit at a particular weight, or you can look jiggly at that same weight-if you aren't staying firm with exercise.

Besides the cheese pairings with the wine, is there anything else in your lifestyle that has changed in the past year? A change to a more sedentary job, less exercise, etc.?

I do pilates twice a week, I walk for about an hour four times a week, I do cardio once a week (increasing that now to 4 times), and I do weight training once a week. I either mountain bike or hike once a week on the weekends also.

The biggest change in the last year is that I got a new job where I am in front of the computer the majority of the time. My activity level during the day has decreased SIGNIFICANTLY and I eat a lot more "real foods" than I used to. My diet in the past consisted of non fat lattes, frappucinos with no whip cream, oatmeal, etc. I didn't eat a lot of fat. THen I started dating my boyfriend and we cook together a lot and I'm eating way more "regular" meals...grilled chicken, grilled veggies, etc. It all sounds healthy, but when you consider that we cook with olive oil and I wasn't getting much fat before, its definitely an adjustment.
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