At the risk of sounding like a drunk...
 

Does anyone else here struggle with not "binge" drinking on the weekends?

One definition states that 5 drinks for men and 4 drinks for women must be consumed on one occasion at least once in a two week period for it to be classed as binge.

I can easily drink more than 4 in a social situation. Example: I did a bike race and they gave beer at the end, I had two beers - then we went to the pool - I had two more drinks - then we watched college ball and I had four more drinks. I never got drunk either. So, I had 12 ounces of vodka and 2 beers on Saturday. Definitely a binge.

This is definitely something I struggle with in social situations.

How do you handle drinking and dieting?

It's hard for me too, especially coming from a military background where off duty hours were planned around drinks.

I still drink. One thing that helps me when I'm out is alternate a drink with a soda. I normally order a rum and diet single tall. Next just a diet coke. It looks like I'm still drinking, but not having drink after drink after drink.

1.5 ounces of Vodka (depending on the brand and proof) has between 90-130 calories. SO that 12 ounces of Vodka had between 720-1040 calories in it! Was it worth consuming that much calories to you??

Maybe before you drink.. check how many calories specifically it has.. and maybe that will deter you from consuming so much.( I really wish they would print it right on the bottle..but you usually have to google it.)



I think you need to look at WHY you drink. Do you just like it? Are you feeling pressured to drink because others are drinking?
Could you have 1 drink like vodka and a diet soda and then just drink the same soda the rest of the night?

GOOD LUCK.

This isn't helpful for everyone but once you get to a certain body fat % and body weight, you can only handle a couple drinks max.

Friday night I had dessert-flavored vodka shots with lots of water after. I might make a habit of that.

4 drinks is considered a binge drink!!?? What!?

Anyway, I don't so much struggle with it on the weekends, and I don't go out drinking anymore (2 kids and a husband will do that to ya, lol). BUT I do enjoy having a couple drinks (sometimes a couple times a week). Lately I've switched to Jack and Diet sodas. Jack has 65 calories per ounce, from what I can find online. Although I do much prefer beer and wine.

The thing I've been wondering though, is if it is still hindering my weight loss even though it fits into my calories. I read a long time ago (and I don't have any links, so who knows if what I read was legit) that alcohol can inhibit your body's ability to burn fat for up to 72 hours after consumption. SO if I have 2 drinks every 3 to 4 days, that would mean that my body is perpetually hindered. Guess I should just cut it out except for maybe once a month either way. WHY ARE ALL OF MY VICES CALORIC! Sometimes I miss smoking.

"Binge drinking" has really different meanings depending on who you ask...to me, it's not "binge drinking" unless you're having so many drinks so quickly that you are wasted and incapable of making decisions.

I don't miss smoking at all tbh, listening to the guy in the office next door coughing and spluttering and hacking is pretty good reinforcement that dropping cigarettes was a good idea.

When it comes right now to it, I suppose I really don't either. I just celebrated 4 years smoke free. I don't miss having trouble breathing, or smelling like an ashtray. And when I see my dad, a life time 2 pack a day-er, struggling to catch his breath just walking down the hall and constantly coughing and hacking, I know I made the right decision! I have found myself fighting the urge to want to smoke lately, though. I will never regret quitting, of course, but every once in a while I do miss it just a little.

I will just force myself to ask for water after a certain number (usually 1 or 2) unless its a very special occasion that is designed for drinking. For example, my birthday, my bff's birthday or her husands birthday all equal meeting at the same bar and getting hammered. We plan far in advance since our bill is astronomical and we all need rides home.

Any other occasion is not worth it to me and you can have just as much fun stopping at 1 (or not even starting) and going with water. At least thats how I feel. Chocolate on the other hand is a whole different ball game on my end lol!

This wasn't intended for the whole caloric lecture or anything of that nature, but more curious as to who else struggles with the social aspect of drinking while dieting.

I typically drink whiskey or single malt scotch, straight on the rocks.

It's no fun being the only sober person watching a football game.

mammasita - I need to get on the "alternating" plan.

krampus - My tolerance is actually a lot less than it used to be at 325lbs. I believe this. lol Edit to add: My best friend does that. She calls it "front loading" where you do two or three shots and get your drunk on, and then move to water/soda. You get the effect quickly and then choose what to do when you start to sober up.

LockItUp - I know, right? 4 drinks really isn't that many. I dont ever drink M-F, really. I typically just drink during the games over the weekend. LOL

I used to drink a lot too... since I've gotten a bit older, my body doesn't tolerate alcohol as well as it used to - I don't sleep well at night when I go to sleep drunk and wake up tired and groggy and semi-hungover if I've had more than 3-4 drinks the previous night. This made me realize that I don't wanna feel so shitty the next day (it was causing me to miss my workouts) and I'd rather be able to commit to working out well instead of sulking and feeling yucky.

I have a drink that I drink very slowly, follow that with a glass of water with lemon so it looks like a drink and people don't bug me about it. Then I have another and I drink that very slowly as well. People don't bug me as long as I have a drink in my hand and I sometimes lie and say I've had more than I really have had if they bug me about it. Whatever.

Fortunately, my interest in drinking disappeared after college. I rarely drink now. I think I have always been careful with alcohol because my mom had a problem with it, even though she wouldn't admit it. And my dad wasn't a drinker, and since I admired him I guess I never felt like drinking alcohol.

I live in the land of delicious beer, and often my get togethers with friends include it. However, I really don't enjoy liquor, so I pretty much stick to beer, which I love tasting and trying new kinds. Since it's bubbly the beer usually fills me up so much that I can't drink more than 3 in a night, especially if food is also involved.

If I'm going out for a drink or 2, I make sure I stick to a drink or 2 and count those calories. If I'm going out for a night on the town, I just try to eat healthfully during the day and cut my losses in the evening.

That doesn't really make sense to me. If you're in a caloric deficit, your body has no choice but to burn fat for energy. When I lost 55 pounds last year, I had one or two glasses of wine with dinner about 5 times per week, and it didn't hinder my loss at all.

F.

I agree. I went on a mission to try to find this information, and I could not. I'd bet I read it on some blog a million years ago. It's always stuck with me, now I will let it go!

I used to have a bigger problem with binge drinking on the once in a blue moon occasions I decide to have more than one or two drinks. But over time I have settled into the have a few drinks during the weekend mode. I don't remember the last time I actually binged which is great to hear myself say. :)

When I started, I couldn't even IMAGINE giving up my glass (or 2) of red wine a night and when I posted something on that ... WOW, did I get the lectures. Obviously, they are unwanted and unneeded and unnecessary and rude and arrogant .... etc. Either way - I'm 5 weeks in, I did take a sip of wine and the taste was totally off to me for some reason. When I phase out, I'm more than willing to throw in 45 minutes of cardio to get that glass :dizzy: I do like that I've basically detoxed on it though since I think I might have been getting a little too much red wine in :D

Yes, I hear you! I don't have an answer, but I have the same problem... just the other day we had a small, but wild party. The day after was a terrible eating day. Luckily that doesn't happen too often.

Yes, I binge drink. I'm good throughout the week then bam, Friday hits and I've downed a bottle of wine. Or 5 beers and a shot. Then a few Sat, and again on Sun. It's a social thing for me too. I usually end up eating HORRIBLE the next day or I'm good all week only to negate that by consuming ungodly amounts of calories in alcohol.

Sometimes I think, just don't drink for 3 weeks and you can lose weight! But it never happens. :(

Alcohol is always touchy to talk about in a group setting. I think of binge drinking as drinking a lot quickly with the intention of getting drunk as quickly as possible. I think that is very dangerous behaviour. But I was young once and I certainly had my bad decision moments! lol

Calling the number of drinks binge-drinking is dubious. It takes the liver 1 hour per drink to process it. There is a huge difference between having 4 drinks in 4 minutes and 4 drinks in 4 hours.

I love certain drinks and wish I could drink more, but sadly I cannot handle it physically as I age. I have one glass of wine every evening with dinner. A really well made martini or a good scotch is always heavenly to me. But I cannot stand feeling drunk, nor the hangovers, so I drink sparingly.

Each person has to figure out their own tolerance levels. There is so much conflicting information on the internet, I never pay any attention to number counting type articles.

I don't drink too often. Maybe once or twice a month, if even. So when I go out that one time or a second time, I really don't mind having a couple of drinks which would range from 4 - 8 drinks. I just don't let it get to me. My drink is vodka and I have since switched my mixer to diet coke so it is slightly better than regular coke. But the past couple of times I have gone out, I've been drinking cider which I hear is not good at all but since I don't go out often, I simply do not let it bother me. I don't even think of my drinking as binge drinking.

I just went back to the original post and don't quite get the one drink difference between men and women, I mean some of the guys I work with weigh way less than me...it could be the other way around.

I agree w/SleepingDragon, I think binge drinking has more to do with the mindset/intention, just like binge eating, I might have a drink a few nights during the week, but it depends on how my day went on program, on the weekend DH and I might split a bottle of wine with dinner, but I don't consider it bingeing, it's not like we're opening and drinking every bottle of wine we have then.

SoMuchFattitude, it sounds like you're in control, I was going to put that quote about believing half of what you read or half of what you hear, but I can't remember it...lol, it must be the beer and a half I just drank...lol

I know binge drinking is serious, just a little humor :goodvibes

best to all
:sunny:

For myself, I didn't hardly touch alcohol my entire life until I met my husband 4 years ago. He drank heavily, but it never 'seemed' out of control and I began to join in. That is when I went from 128lbs to nearly 200lbs. What started out as drinking on weekends in social settings, quickly became drinking on weekends no matter where we were, then became drinking every single night of the week.

We did tequila shots. And when I decided that I didn't want to live like that anymore (2 months ago) I was easily able to do 8 shots a night, every night of the week, with no after effects the next morning. I went on like this for 4 years.

I tried a few times to go back to just drinking on weekends, but that ended up as every night drinking within a few weeks. Finally, I decided that I had to stop altogether and I did. Cold turkey.

I wish I could offer more insight as to how to control it, but I feel like as long as I was drinking any amount, I wasn't in control. And I know it played a huge part in my food intake as well. We'd drink, then order a pizza at midnight and eat almost the entire thing and go to sleep. Bad. :(

I hope you find something that works for you. I just think I enjoyed it entirely too much so my method of control was to stop. I miss it but I know that I'm not the type of person who is able to drink just a few.

Good luck!

It's definitely a problem for me. Well, I used to drink way more (at least 5x a week... I know that's bad... college life yo) but it started affecting my grades and body (alcohol calories + drunk/hungover eating), so I cut back for a bit.

I didn't know vodka had that many calories :o explains why I gained so much weight these past 3 years... wow

I allow myself one or two "wild nights" a month where I consume enough alcohol to get me tipsy, and that's it. Otherwise, I keep it to a beer or two. I eat when I drink a lot, so I have to watch it or I'll go off the deep end, and no one wants that!

I think if it doesn't hinder your weight loss, you're fine, but you might limit it to say every other weekend as opposed to EVERY weekend if you find it's messing you up.

I have a glass of wine with dinner almost every night, but I don't ever binge drink anymore. My body can't take it. I also lose all restraint over eating if I have more than one or two drinks.

F.

I usually order vodka crans and use diet cran juice if they have it. I'll have a couple but I'll sip them so slow you'd think I was rationing the last two drinks on the planet. I usually have a glass of water after a drink too because alternating is a good plan and also keeping hydrated is key to not getting hungover. Follow every alcoholic drink with a full glass of water and not only will you prolly drink half as much, but you'll feel full.

I REALLY need to try that water trick! I also think a coke could be good too. It is extra calories but could help with overeating later during the night or the next day.

When I wasn't drinking, I got down to 118 pounds. Calories might not be an issue for you, but they were for me. I can't drink and have just 1 or 2. It's always 3...4...6...more. etc. That's adds up quickly. It also impedes the way your body burns other calories.

when I was a younger chick, I used to drink diet coke alot when I was out instead of alcohol, everyone thinks you're drinking rum and coke or something, but you have to watch getting overly caffeinated, then no sleep and you feel a different kind of hangover...now I'm an older chick and don't much care what anybody thinks I'm drinking.

have fun ev1
:sunny:

I LOVE my red wine too. It's my biggest vice in this journey to lose weight. It has always been a habit to wind down at the end of the day with a glass (or 2) of wine. I think I might just have to go cold turkey! I haven't posted on this struggle at all here on this board for the very reason you write about...too many judgements are made. Sorry you had to experience that here. Not fair in my opion. We all have our struggles and these boards should be supportive, not rude and judgemental. Keep on keepin on girl! :)

Ever since I found out 4 drinks was a binge I've been trying to cut back. I do struggle with this and miss my 2-3 glasses of wine at night if I don't have them. The more I try cut back, the more I see I must of had a problem with alcohol. It's still a work in progress.

Not to worry, I can take the attacks - although they were completely uncalled for in my opinion also. So now I'm in Phase 3 and I have had the occasional wine here and there. It's pretty interesting how my taste buds have changed and how my body reacts. Once glass is enough and if I have a second, I'm very tipsy. My husband says at least I'm cheaper now :D I like my expensive dry reds so basically cutting back almost paid for this diet on a weekly basis!

I'm sure a lot more people struggle with this than are willing to admit it. They are just afraid of the backlash.

In hindsight, I see that those 2 glasses did make a difference in how I slept, how I woke up and my energy level. I'm hoping that by hitting the reset button I can easily stay to that 1 glass now as I do believe in the health benefits of a glass of red.

Keep me posted on your journey and if you need encouragement, I'll give it :)

I'm certainly in control - I'm simply curious as to others thoughts/views/challenges, etc.

I find the topic interesting because it seems very black and white - and it's not.

:D

I'm yet another 2 glasses of wine per day chick (we should probably start a Winos group!)

I acquired the habit of drinking after work 40 years ago and it certainly contributed to a steady weight gain. As my weight increased, I could tolerate more alcohol without feeling impaired or suffering from hangovers. I knew that it was dangerous with the medication that I was taking but I habitually consumed gin & diet tonic during "happy hour" AND wine for dinner.

I'm lucky that I was able to stop the gin habit cold-turkey earlier this year (I was also able to stop smoking, cold-turkey, about 20 years ago) but I feel for people who can't. No one deserves to be criticized for actions that are beyond their control, including an addiction to food. Most of us are on these boards because we are (or were) guilty of that.

As for the wine, I did cut back to 2 glasses per day but an expensive dry red with dinner is still a pleasure that I am willing to compensate for. I am mindful of the cost in terms of both $ and calories so I'm motivated to keep things to within limits. So far my weight loss has been fairly steady. I also have a plan to cut down to 1 glass with dinner if that should change.

I'm convinced that the best method of weight loss is to find a plan that you can stick to for life. Feeling deprived only reinforces the thought that weight control is temporary and once at goal, you can go back to being "normal" again. I know I have to add my glass (or two) of wine into my plan. It means that I have to compensate (more exercise, less food) but it is all about accepting the consequences.

I'll get off my soap-box now...