Weight loss - Alcohol - finding balance....
 

Hi all

After reading a recent weight loss thread, most comments tend to yield great results from quitting alcohol. It has been a while since I have been training and would like to get back into race shape.

I really think I could benefit from cutting back on the beers, casual drinking, etc. Right now, instead of grabbing water or tea with dinner, it's a beer. Then a few beers on Friday night, and then a few more on Saturday night, then off course there is Sunday Football with the buddies. It seems like this viscous cycle continues. Obviously, then when the beers go in, fried food, pizza, chicken wings go in.... You get the point. :(

I'd like to ask how others have cut back/quit etc. and what works for you. It seems like the cycle just keeps going and it is hard to break. I'd like to keep the discussion to the "social" aspects of drinking and what has worked for you. I know "alcoholism" is a pretty big deal and there is a time a place for that discussion.

If possible, please include what tips you have tried to reduce intake, moderate, or abstinence in general. Is it possible to see this weight loss with a reduction or is it through complete abstinence? Has anyone set a budget of say 2 or 3 beers a week and it worked? Also, what process do you go through when the buddies want to meet at a sports bar to watch the game?

Thanks!

Don't keep beer at home. Then it becomes only a social habit. You have to leave the house to drink, which is a pretty significant threshold to overcome. The cost comes out the same in the end

Go on a bike ride instead of watching football! Or watch at the gym on a stationary bike.

When I decided I was going to lose weight in early 2015, I dropped alcohol off the menu. I didn't drink much anyway, so it was pretty easy. But in general, I don't like drinking my calories.

Way back in my early 20s, I worked in a donut shop. After about 8 months there, I had to go to my boss to get a uniform in a larger size. Oops!! It was then I decided to do something about it, and the only change I made was to drop all the drinks with calories ... all the calorie filled fountain drinks, etc. etc. In a month, I dropped 5 lbs. So dropping calorie filled beverages does have an effect.



As for the suggestion above about watching football at the gym on the stationary bike ... better would be to watch the football on your TV at home while riding your bicycle on a good-quality trainer.

Do commercial intervals to keep things interesting. :)

At 5' 8.5", I've dropped from ~180 lbs. this past winter to ~150 lbs. now. Going from 180 to 170 just required some exercise. 170 to 160 required no more regular drinking (one or more per day as I typically did) plus regular exercise. 160 to 150 required more exercise and a focus on eating less and even less drinking (maybe 1-2/week). I have seen 146 lbs. after a good sweat so I have my eye on the low 140s/high 130s as a goal. I can tell you now that there will be little room for beer in that plan.

One way I deter myself from having a beer with dinner or even eating too much at dinner is planning a night time run after the kids are in bed. I have run after a big meal and a strong beer and it isn't fun. Feels much better after a light meal with water. On occasion I'll still come home and have a beer and some chips/pretzels as a snack but that's only after a long run where I feel I've earned it :)

Of course, anything is possible. If you have enough time to train you can lose weight while eating anything. Just make sure calories in are less than calories out. I'm lucky to carve out 4 hours/week lately so watching what I eat has become a necessity whereas when I've previously lost weight I paid little mind to what I ate (pre-kids). But back then, 10+ hours/week was easy.

I've abstained from any alcohol for the past 7 1/2 years [for reasons unrelated to the topic of the thread.]

What is related to the topic of the thread is finding a reliable substitute. I still enjoy the social aspects of "drinking", and most professional conferences that I attend have networking events with alcohol (sometimes even at bars).

I enjoy my "sparkles" - sparkling water with or without flavoring. The carbonation makes me feel like I'm drinking something interesting. While I can no longer have club soda with bitters, it can also be a good alternative (bitters still have alcohol, but so little is used that the calories are marginal.) "Mixed drinks" with grenadine and fruit juices will still have some calories, but are at least a bit healthier.

In your case, it sounds like there's no reason to give up beer entirely. Replacing some beers with low calorie and healthy alternatives might help you feel like you're drinking rounds with your friends while cutting back on some of those calories.

I'm only 5 lbs above my optimal weight of 155, if I was concerned enough about getting back down to my peak athletic weight in my 20s, almost 40 years ago. Took several years to get down to 160 from 205 lbs. Got down to 175 by 2015 and resumed cycling after years away. That took care of the few remaining pounds.

To pare down that 5 lbs of fat, mostly around my waistline, I'd need to cut out beer almost completely except immediately after a hard workout. And I'd need to cut out all unnecessary carbs -- cookies, muffins, etc.

I have cut back on social riding, which usually involved visits to pubs and delicious local craft beer. More due to time constraints than concerns about weight, but I did drop from 165 lbs last winter back to 160. And I usually have a beer at home only immediately after a hard or long ride. On my rest days, like today, I usually don't drink beer -- just don't crave it as much until I'm hot and thirsty.

I could keep the same diet and increase my workouts -- effort, duration or number of workout days. But it's hard to find time and energy for that right now. I might add an indoor trainer for that.

But I'm not really concerned enough about it. I'm at the point where diet sacrifices wouldn't equal commensurate returns in weight and fitness. I'm not competing with anything or anyone other than myself to get faster and fitter. Weight isn't holding me back as much as limited respiratory capacity so there isn't much incentive to give up the few vices in my diet.

Best of luck with your plans!

I usually drink low/no alcohol beer. I like Becks n.a. I sometimes have Sleeman 2.0 (I’m in Canada). There are many more options. I say still hang out with your buddies, just explain that you’re getting back into bike racing. Not sure quitting everything ‘cold turkey’ is easy, maybe go gradually. Like have a one beer night after a good ride. And then look forward to the next week.

I think if you just quit you’ll find the urge to have a beer goes away in 3-5 days. After that it’s relatively easy. I usually have a beer a night but it seems that tends to progress to 2 beers fairly easily. That makes weight loss difficult. I wanted to drop 10 lbs at the start of this year so I had a ‘dry’ Jan. I actually kept it up until a Cycling vacation in feb. Try it in Nov.

Edit: If you haven’t had thanksgiving yet Nov might be tough.

Coor's NA is my choice following a good ride. Have tried a bunch of NA beers and Lights but they just don't satisfy my beer taste buds.

Firstly, kudos to anyone that has eliminated alcohol. I eliminated sodas and other sugar-added drinks but kept up with the fermented beverages just watched how many. Never was much into distilled, just a few on rare occasion so not much to worry about. Not a social butterfly so never really partake in 'social drinking' I suppose at a party or bar it'd be more tempting to keep going but on my own I have more willpower and 1 is enough. I'm down enough weight that my friends say I'm going to disappear or get blown away in the wind lol. I think a little fermented beverage actually helps digestion too. But I always wonder if quitting entirely would help my races & recovery noticeably. I'm happy with where I am at though and that is what is important.

If beer after ride is routine - pour over ice. Diluted it goes farther but still satisfies that beer craving.

I have the same need to eliminate beer and wine from my "menu". I can now do it during the week, but weekends are hard. I'm 62 and old habits are hard to break. It is especially difficult in the winter for two reasons - one, I get less exercise; two it gets darker earlier and darkness has been by "permission slip" to have a beer (or more). I wish you luck and will try to use some of the tips posted here.

Good replys! Sounds like what is really needed is a plan and some goals.

Can anyone shed some insight to:

Weight loss with a reduced alcoholic intake (example only 3 beers a week)

compared to:

Weight loss with complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages. What I am also interested in if if there is scientific reasons for the abstinence (vs. just calorie cutting) What I am trying to figure out is: Does removing the alcohol completely give you some kind of benefit than a diet with a few drinks.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I cut out alcohol along with a bunch of other lifestyle changes about 7 years ago to lose weight and get in better shape, which worked great for that, but looking back I notice that my social life has also changed pretty dramatically over that time too. It didn't happen right away, but what I found was that I became much less interested in meeting people for a drink after work or watching a game in a bar, or staying out late when I did go out. Things that I used to enjoy over a couple of beers became tedious and boring with a glass of seltzer water. I went from spending a lot of time socializing with friends, co-workers and clients to spending almost no social time with those people. I don't think adding three beers a week would have changed it that much, but you never know.

The answer is no. It is just calories. Diets should be sustainable and unless you have a separate problem with alcohol, a bit of self control and limited indulgence will lead to longer success

I think it's a matter of motivation & that is personal, meaning different for everyone

a recent change for me was cutting out meat & alcohol to help fight my gout. I started with complete abstinence but now have worked some of each back into each week. I mean, c'mon, no meat or booze?

for the OP if you want to lose weight as well you're gonna have to crank up your physical activity (a little at a time) as well as cut out the junk

what helps me is repeating: "it's a lifestyle, not a diet"

good luck! be patient!

I'm a work in progress when it comes to weight loss. I've lost a bunch and have a bunch more to lose. I gave up beer all together. I only drink clear spirits on the rocks or with a zero calorie mixer like soda water and possibly a squeeze of lemon or lime. I restrict my drinking to only nights before days that I do not train and I do some sort of training every day except Sunday. That means Saturday night, we can go out and socialize and I have a few cocktails. It is my once a week break and it typically comes after my longest ride of the week ~3.5hrs right now. I should probably give up the cocktails, but one can only be so austere with their diet. Some might enjoy an cheat meal, I choose cocktails. Take it or leave it for what it's worth.

Luddite, just curious as to why you choose "clear spirits" only?

It's mostly just calories, as far as long-term impact on weight management. That said, other metabolic processes shut down while your body is metabolizing alcohol: fat metabolism stops, blood sugar drops, etc. So glycogen replenishment, muscle protein synthesis, and other mechanisms that are part of the normal recovery processes after intense exercise are inhibited until the alcohol is out of your system. Definitely not optimal if you care about athletic performance (as opposed to just weight loss).

I don't think there's anything "magical" that occurs with abstinence. It's a linear thing - cut out half and it's 50% progress.

There are certain types of people who can make sudden, radical lifestyle changes and stick to them. But most are better served slowly changing their habits, purposefully. If I were you, I'd first quit having a beer with dinner. Your body must prioritize metabolizing/dispensing of the poison you've ingested simultaneously with your meal. And you're not catching a buzz. Sound like a lazy habit. Those are the easy ones to fix.

Other easy fixes: snacking between meals, dried fruit, sodas and most other caloric beverages, french fries (eat two burgers, skip the fries and soda).

For the most part, calories are calories. If you enjoy a few beers and snacks with friends on social occasions, just cut back on other stuff.

On the few occasions when I do eat empty calories such as candy or junk food, I try to limit it to just before or during a bike ride to burn that off as quickly as possible.

I cut out sodas years ago and don't even drink diet sodas. Now on the rare occasions I drink a soda it tastes disgustingly sweet and I usually can't finish it. Occasionally I'll add a little sugar to iced tea but mostly drink it unsweetened. And I add a little sweetened creamer to my morning coffee, but drink dark roasted black coffee other times.

Little changes like that in my diet whittled my weight down from 205 to 175 before resuming cycling, then from 175 to 160 after resuming cycling. I still enjoy beer occasionally. I'd probably cut out sugar before beer if I was really concerned about that last 5 lbs around my waist.

I don't give up on alcohol, but change what I drink.

Change to hard liquors, and straight drinks like martinis or scotch or bourbon.

Folks may argue that the calories are in the alcohol and there's no savings. But, most people are going to drink fewer of the harder drinks than they do beer.

For my part, I find I get by fine with a single, or rarely, two martinis in the evening vs the 3-4 beers I would have drunk.

I quit alcohol years ago, and pretty much gave up soda pop about three years back. Everything else in moderation...I try to keep my intake slow and not stuff myself. I still like desert every now and again. :lol:

It's just the calories. But there's a difference between theoretical calories, and real world calories. Just one beer is theoretical, sometimes just one is real world, but sometimes a whole six pack is the real world outcome.

So the real question is which option you're better suited to. Some people can be satisfied with a little (we're not just talking alcohol here, it could be another drug, or it could be iced cream) and some people can't. For some people, giving it up entirely is a dreadful version of life and the occasional indulgence makes everything worth while, other people don't need that.

My personal advice is everything in moderation, including moderation. But pay attention to trends.