Alcohol Debate
 

So I have been at this 155 for like 3 years and I want so badly to get into the 140s but it seems impossible. I do tend to have a couple of glasses of wine every dinner and I am wondering if that is what is slowing me down so bad. Any thoughts on this? I'm definitely not an alcoholic I just like to relax a little bit after work.

Thanks....Amanda

TheSame7lbs...you ar such an inspiration to me! We are the same height and I would love to know what you eat most dayas to stay in the 120s?

If you think for one bit that it is hindering you, then try ditching it for ONE month. That is all it should take, 1 month to lose those 6 pounds and you will know for sure if it is a contributing factor. What may be a hang up for one person could be different for you. The only way to find out is to abstain from the alcohol.

There is a lot of documentation that alcohol can slow or stop weight loss. Plus the calories add up.

I try to drink 4oz of red wine every night around dinner time (sometimes with dinner, sometimes when I am cooking). Only 4 oz. That's less than half a regular sized wine glass and it is 90 calories. A full glass, of course would be twice that (plus a bit). Make that a couple glasses with dinner and we're talking some serious calories. Even if the alcohol itself isn't an agent in slowing weight loss the extra calories sure are.

I totally agree, get rid of it, cold turkey for one month. Then you'll know either way.

I cut out alcohol 100% out of my diet since trying to lose weight, not only because of the calories and carbs, but because it lowers my inhibitions and would lead me different eating choices than I would have made if I were eating stone sober.

I haven't cut alcohol out completely. I just can't imagine that. I love a glass of wine. Or a gin & tonic. Or a beer. Or or or... :D

But I have cut way back. Just having kids, I cut down from my previous, "One while cooking, one while eating, one while cleaning up," habit, because I'm not a very good mommy after 3 glasses of wine. And the calories will haunt you. Just do the math. Measure how much you are actually drinking. Three good-size glasses are easily 450 calories. That's almost a pound a week (3,500 calories to make a pound).

If you do cut it out or cut back, though, be sure you don't eat more to compensate. No sense giving up your beloved wine and not getting the intended result.

As for what I eat, click on my fitday link on the left, and you can see it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I log everything, even the stuff I'm not proud of. It's probably a little confusing -- I enter milk and sugar every morning, but that's really my coffee. If you see plain olive oil around some greens, that's my salad dressing (it's with balsamic vinegar but I don't bother counting the vinegar). If you see "misc1" that's just miscellaneous -- like today, one pack of smarties and a few miniwheats from my daughter's breakfast. :o

I love my wine, too. Daily. But when I lost weight last summer, I cut out drinking at home. I still drank wine when I had dinner with friends. The weight came off easily, and I didn't miss the wine as much as I had expected. Watching the numbers drop on the scale was relaxing enough!

A year later: back on the wine habit, and now I'm back of 3FC to lost the 10 pounds I regained!

Relax with tea instead of wine for awhile. Saves calories and it gives you a chance to try something new.

Personally, I gave up alcohol entirely for a few months and I'm glad I did it. I don't think I could have had the 2-3 pound per week weight loss if I was drinking. I drink now, but not every day. Maybe once a week, if that.

This thread really perked my interest. I've seriously committed to my diet this summer, and I'm worried that once I return to my college campus, where alcohol is everywhere and part of the college-way-of-life, I'll start gaining because of the added alcohol. I'm hoping if I amp up my exercise, and decrease my calorie intake I'll be able to compensate for a few drinks with the girls.

Thanks for the advice gals, it was very helpful. I am going to really try to just cut back on it to only eating/ with friends which shouldn't be more than once a week.

During the last 6 months of my weight loss program, I cut alcohol altogether, it wasn't until I was around 10 pounds away from my final goal that I allowed myself to have some alcohol, which is mostly wine and mostly on social ocassions (perhaps 2 or 3 times per month).
I loved wine but I realized that not all calories are created equal, and the ones you get from alcohol are perhaps some of the most difficult to get rid of!!!
Good luck with your goals!!

Caribbeann Girl