Holidays and drinking
 

Do you think it's a form of self sabotage to indulge in a drink or two at holiday functions? I thought it would be okay to have a little something (and find out the calories), but a friend of mine said if I was serious about losing weight I wouldn't touch any alcohol. Am I wrong in thinking it's fine to have a glass of wine or something?

I find the problem is less the calories in the wine, but the stupid food choices I make after having a glass or two. As long as you figure it into your plan and don't make it a regular occurrance, you can still lose weight and enjoy a glass of wine or two. I certainly did :D Just don't get any good ideas that eating one of each dessert on the menu or buffet table won't hurt- it will!

Mel :)

What your friend says seems odd, I don't see why having a few drink is bad if you include them in your calorie intake.
As long as you're not drinking regularly it shouldn't harm your weight loss, so go for it!

It's like Mel said--after a couple of drinks, self-control can go out the window. But pace yourself and sip each drink, and keep track of the calories. :)

Jay

Dry red wine is one of my non-negotiable items. I have a glass of red wine every (well, almost every) evening. Plan for it, but the others give wise advice; don't let it affect what else you eat. Plan both your food and drink when you attend, and you should be ok. Try to stick to lower calorie drinks if you can. Many mixed drinks have a lot of calories from the other ingredients.

Hmmmm...

I may be bad but I have been having one free-ish day a week usually a saturday where I indulge in one or two or three drinks with the girls.

It hasn't at all slowed my weightloss - I do notice flucuations as my fluid levels go up and down but the scales have been consistently going down.

Energy in = energy out - I figure I am evening out my calories over the week to be consistently losing weight still. I couldn't deprive myself like that - I like to be social and I like to enjoy a drink with friends and as looking after my weight is a life long commitment I figure I should learn to be able to have a couple and not feel I'm being "bad" or that it is going to undo everything I work for.

I guess the key is to find balance - have a few at a function, be good the next couple days, get an extra gym session in etc.

Have fun! =D

I don't like to drink my calories (unless it is a smoothie) which is one reason I don't drink. I also don't feel a need to drink either.

Maybe once a year or something I may have a drink but I can't even remember when the last time was.

Also keep in mind that a lot of people have a warped vision of "dieting", for lack of a better word. They think that eating or drinking something high in calories means that you're "cheating" and not really serious and those people are WRONG. Everything in moderation. If you're including an occasional drink in your plan and its calories are accounted for, then I don't see any problem with it.

Thanks! I think I need to make the decision on what to drink ahead of time and stick to it (like one glass of white wine). I'll try it - if it makes me pig out or gain weight, I probably just won't do it again.
Oh, and LindseyLouWho, I think you hit the nail on the head -- she now seems to think she should have an eagle eye on my food and tsk tsk me because she's "helping." The "diet" thing is hard to explain to those who have never needed to look at their food choices!

Some of us aren't great at moderation. For example, I've never been able to open a package of Milano Thin Mints and have just 2. After the first cookie, I desperately want the entire bag. I am now okay with this aspect of myself and work hard not to sabotage myself. I understand that moderation does not work for me.

I didn't drink while I was losing weight (except for a glass of wine on my birthday and a glass of champagne on New Year's Eve) and I think I have an excellent vision of "dieting." My "vision" of dieting emphasized foods with powerful nutrional impact over foods with minimal nutritional impact.

To me, alcohol is completely empty, useless calories. Like other people mentioned, it can also lead me to make poor decisions. It's kind of a ripple effect.

Everyone has to make these decisions for their own plan, to say that someone that chooses to abstain from alcohol is "warped" (when there ARE good reasons not to drink while losing weight) is kind of harsh. I also have no problems with people who decide that they can fit alcohol into their plan, but I accept that it's a personal decision.

There were two ocassions during my weight loss that we celebrated. And I had a couple of drinks both times. Tell your friend I still managed to lose over 100 pounds. :D

If you're serious about losing weight, you understand what you need to do to lose it, you watch your food intake, you exercise. You don't forbid yourself to have a good time or enjoy life. I think that's partly why so many people end up regaining their weight. Once they go back to living life, they try to make up for lost time.

I just read that woman drinking more than 3 drinks in a day have a 30% increase in coming down with Breast Cancer. I find it a total waste of calories since it has no nutritional value and makes us stupid in the bargain. If it's a matter of "fitting" in, have a virgin mary, a diet coke, or a diet gingerale. Looks like a drink.

Ready
I don't think a drink or two, here or there is going to hurt anyone, of course this is with no medical conditions or meds that don't allow alcohol. I don't do without a thing. If I drank, I would still have a drink now and then. I think those that gain weight back probably did without everything they loved. You can only do that for so long. I don't really understand drinking to fit in or be part of the crowd. That mentality stopped when I was about 10lol. If you enjoy haveing a drink from time to time I can't see where there is anything wrong with that.

Well I like to have a glass or two of wine at the end of the day while cooking and eating dinner, and I like going out for drinks with friends. It doesn't have anything to do with fitting in or being stupid and I think you're all being a little judgmental about it.

If you can fit the calories into your budget and can stop yourself from eating off-plan while you're drinking, I see no problem with having a drink if you want one.

I also think drinking in general, with or without weight loss, is a personal choice and in no way feel one choice is right or better than the other unless there is a problem involved -- I only meant (in my 2nd post in this thread) my friend who told me not to have anything to drink is a regular/thin-ish size gal who has never had a problem with food and she thinks you have to basically have dry salad, water and air if you want to get thinner which isn't true in my opinion and just goes to show she doesn't have the same perspective or understanding of dieting as those of us who live with the reality (and I don't want to speak for LindseyLouWho, but I think that's what she was responding to from my original post -- that my friend was the one telling me I couldn't have a drink).
I also didn't realize the breast cancer risk was so high from drinking (although I assume a certain amount of drinking must be involved for that percentage to hold true)!
I don't drink often or for acceptance or anything like that. I like the taste of a couple of things and I tend to have them at holidays or different seasonal events, that's why this came up now.
I'm still starting out with all of this, but really want to be able to incorporate things I enjoy (even if they're empty calories) with the overall healthy lifestyle I'm choosing to live. I was wondering how much of a detriment even a little indulgence could be in the opinions of people who have actually lived this and I can see it's as varied as everything else :)