I am nervous about this as I JUST started healthier living on Monday of this week. I am considered a heavy drinker. I plan to only drink on the weekend and in moderation for more reasons than the calories or weight gain.

This is slightly off topic, but I thought it interesting to note that the medical community defines binge drinking as being three or more drinks for a female or four or more drinks for a male "in one sitting" whatever that might be.

I read this this thread earlier today and didn't have anything meaningful to contribute. Ironically though, I came upon this article (I love psychology and hit several psychology related websites) and found it interesting regarding adults and binge drinking. According to the article, 1 out of 6 adults is a binge drinker.

One in six adults is a binge drinker

I'm an alcoholic (see that Anyone else... quit drinking thread). I haven't had a drink in years.

Alcohol is a problem when it affects your life. There are college students that can have 5 drinks in a night, and then get up in the morning and do their exams without an issue. Is that a lot of booze? Yes, but if it doesn't affect their life in a negative way then it isn't necessarily a problem is it?

Lucky8, if it affects your life negatively, makes you feel bad, regretful, etc. then I'm not saying you're an alcoholic, I'm saying it may be time to quit. Frequency isn't an issue, one does not have to drink daily to allow it to negatively affect their life (which is why so many alcoholics refuse help).

Anyways, good luck to you If there was a particular food that made you sick, would you stop it? Booze is no different. It's okay to say no if it upsets you.

And yes, medically, it is considered binge drinking. However, alcohol is also relative to bodyweight and we don't know the ratio of OP's drinks. They usually have more booze than the standard. For all you know, it could have been 3 "drinks" or 9 "drinks", nobody knows. At home, probably more than less.

I wonder if there is a cultural clash here too, I know in England it seems to be more common to drink a lot all at once rather than say, "a" drink per night. I know a few girls from the UK whose idea of binge drinking is not the same as mine (here, it is very common to just have a beer with lunch, a French tradition, even on a work lunch). Whereas say, in the US, you would never have a beer at lunch while working, but a few after work maybe.

yeah i think your right x

heeeeyyyy there, you need to ease up! If you feel like drinking you don't have to go over the top!
If you want a fun drink (more fun than vodka and coke anyway....yuck), try this:
1 shot of mix of masters lite margarita mix
1 shot of tequilia
fill the rest of your cup up with diet sprite

It doesn't taste as good as a sugared-up margarita, but it's acceptable. There's hardly anything in it so you don't have to feel guilty (calories/carbs-wise I mean).

Hmmm, I can understand where you're coming from. I can have a drink or two and stop, but after that I start slamming them down as if prohibition is coming back. Once that switch flips, it's not good. Alcohol is something that makes it VERY hard for me to lose weight, and I've come to the realization that it's not even something I really like, so I only will have more than one drink on special occasions, maybe twice a year. Five years ago I would have never thought this possible.

I think the biggest thing is that if you're going to drink, check what's in the mixers... if you're having five regular cokes with vodka, that's probably upwards of 1000 calories vs. 500 or so if you had it with diet. That's an easy way you can limit the impact, I think.

I agree with what others have said. I have a hard time losing weight when drinking because I get the munchies. What i am trying tis time around is drinking seltzer water with a lime. No one else has to know I'm not drinking (could be gin/vodka tonic) and I can wake up the next morning and feel good and back to my work out. I don't like people constantly harping me to drink. Ultimately I think just make a plan that will work for you and try to stick with it! Good luck!