I'm pregnant right now so I haven't had a drink in 9 months, but I am strongly considering giving up alcohol after as part of my fitness/nutrition regime.

Problem with alcohol... aside from the calories of the drink itself, is the ability to suddenly rationalize 10 hot wings and a bag of potato chips.

Did anyone give up alcohol? I'm not a big drinker, so two drinks got me really tipsy and I would begin eating crap. Of course, I felt like crap the next day too (eat an entire bag of chips, for example, and get a belly ache). The calories of the drink itself doesn't interfere (I would typically have one or two rum & diet cokes, 150 cals?).

Is there a "no booze" support group around here?

I never went through a day where I decided, "I'm not going to drink alcohol any more!" But I haven't had a drink in who knows how long. Every time I think about the massive amounts of empty calories, I just can't do it! But I've never been overly addicted to the stuff, and it often makes me sick. Not drunk and happy-go-lucky, but sick.

So that's something you'd have to decide for yourself. If you really like drinking, make room for it as a treat once a week. Whatever works for you.

I haven't given up alcohol completely, but I keep it as a treat item. Generally I have one beer or glass of wine per week, on Friday night, while we are having our special Friday night dinner at home. (Tonight it's Thai food! Yum.) I always eat more calories on Friday due to this dinner, and the alcohol is just part of that--so I'm not going off-plan or eating more due to the booze. Or, I may have some wine at a family function or holiday every few months, and that's also "on plan" for me.

Hey, i'm in the same boat.. since i started seriously on this journey.. i have about 2 drinks a month. I realized from before when i went out and had a few drinks the next day i weighed like 6 lbs more.. NOT WORTH IT.

I can count the number of drinks I have in a year without using my toes, so its not really an issue for me at all. I am also a light weight as far as booze is concerned. 2 beers and I'm already drunk. Oh yes..I am a cheap date. LOL If I could never have a drink again, it would not be something I would even bat an eye at, but I do enjoy having a beer with my husband every few months.

When I was PG, I thought I was going to D.I.E. I missed beer the most. So I tired every non-alcoholic beer I could find (Beck's makes the best, with Guinness's 'Kaliber' a close second). NA beers have JUST as many calories as alcoholic beer, but none of the happiness at the bottom of the bottle. I CRAVED beer when I was PG. (In fact, I think it was the only thing I craved... and not even the alcohol part of it - I missed the cold frosty bubbly goodness of a good, tasty beer on a hot summer day while sitting out on my deck)

(Do I sound like an alcoholic yet?)

Anyway... I refuse to give it up. I love wine, I love beer, I love mixed drinks. But I can have one or two and be happy. What I have started to do is I am limiting myself to ONE weekday evening where I can work some drinks into my plan for that day and ONE weekend evening. (I have beers with a friend of mine on Wed. nights and we chit chat and talk about our sons and hubbies)

Not only does alcohol have calories and weaken your inhibitions, but it also depletes your body of vitamins. When you drink, you body stops digesting fat and your liver gets to work trying to rid your body of the 'toxin'. Alcohol works every way it can to prevent weight loss.

So... I am cutting back. I would love a thread that focused on limiting or giving up. I am going to the bar with my sister tonight... and I am going to drink Cran & Seltzer's.

UGH! My main problem with drinking is that it sets me in a cycle for undereating and eventual weight gain. I usually am busy at work, I am a server, so I am running around 4pm-11pm like crazy on Saturday, Sunday and I do not get a chance to eat a good dinner if any at all. By the end of my shift I am whooped and think that nothing sounds better than a drink. So I go have only 2-3 drinks on an empty stomach. The next day I wake up, feeling sick to my stomach and do not want to eat. Then I go to work run around like crazy, my diet is even more limited this day because I did not eat much at all for breakfast and lunch. If I decide to go out that night then I am really in trouble. The next day or two will be spent eating more to make up for the water and nutrients I am lacking. I end up weighing more than I did Saturday morning. It is a vicious cycle that I am working on breaking by keeping meal replacement bars and fresh fruit in my purse at all times.