No alchohol in Feb. Challenge!!!! Sign up here!

I have found the challenges on here to be very helpful in my battle of the bulge so I thought why not take the one thing I am still struggling with and turn it into a challenge and maybe help some others as I help myself.  So here it is... for the entire month of February I want to challenge myself and you to be alchohol free!  I will be taking names until Feb 5th (because it's so close to the first) and will divide us into 2 teams. 

If you want to sign up please submit your current weight because every thurs. I am asking everyone to weigh in and admit to any *gasp* cheating.  Let's see which team looses the most weight and cheats the least...or not at all.

FYI-  I wanted to see exactly what alchohol does to your dieting efforts and was pretty shocked.

According to conventional wisdom, the infamous "beer belly" is caused by excess alcohol calories being stored as fat. Yet, less than five percent of the alcohol calories you drink are turned into fat. Rather, the main effect of alcohol is to reduce the amount of fat your body burns for energy.

Some evidence for this comes from research carried in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition [4]. Eight men were given two drinks of vodka and sugar-free lemonade separated by 30 minutes. Each drink contained just under 90 calories. Fat metabolism was measured before and after consumption of the drink. For several hours after drinking the vodka, whole body lipid oxidation (a measure of how much fat your body is burning) dropped by a massive 73%.

Rather than getting stored as fat, the main fate of alcohol is conversion into a substance called acetate. In fact, blood levels of acetate after drinking the vodka were 2.5 times higher than normal. And it appears this sharp rise in acetate puts the brakes on fat loss.

Not only does too much alcohol put the brakes on fat loss, it's also one of the most effective ways to slash your testosterone levels. Just a single bout of heavy drinking raises levels of the muscle-wasting hormone cortisol and increases the breakdown of testosterone for up to 24 hours [6]. The damaging effects of alcohol on testosterone are made even worse when you exercise before drinking [1].

The effect of alcohol on testosterone could be one reason that people who drink a lot carry less muscle. In fact, a 1993 study shows that alcoholic men have bigger waists and smaller muscles than teetotalers [2].

(I got this info from Christian Finn's facts about fitness)

And then there's the weekends, Fridays, the day before friday, humpday, thank-god-it's-not-monday, holy-hell-it's-monday, quick!-get-a-drink-in-before-moday....

Okay, when I first saw this post I thought "Geez, I couldn't do that".  After a while it dawned on me that, if I honestly questioned whether I could do it - that's a pretty damned good reason to do it!  So count me in.  

(Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I've never been involved in a challenge before - what exactly do I do now?)

SplitRail 

Thank you for your response ltlmsmfft and tauretszenjazz ? and to the others who are honest enough just to say, ?It?s not something I want to do.? 

Actually ltlmsmfft, this is going to be a lot harder for me than I?m letting on.  There?s nothing like relaxing with a couple of beers in the evening after a busy day.  Strange thing is ? those euphoric moments have lead to and continue to be the biggest factor in this unhealthy pattern of behavior. You sound like you know the pattern well.  This challenge will be good for us and I am looking forward to it!

Tauretszenjazz, congrats on 4 years ? that?s huge!   With that kind of determination, you are sure to get the pounds off as well.  I am rooting for you!

TanteK, thank you for your support as well!  By the way, what does ?formerly TheNewMrsV? mean?

I?m am not real clear on how everything works on this site, however; I now see that, ltlmsmfft is in my friend list.  Hello Friend :)

I will check back in later.  It is nice to have some type of connection here :)!

Thanks

Karen K

My username was "thenewmrsv", and I just recently changed it, so I've got that little note there for people who don't know me as "TanteK" yet :)

splitrail- welcome!  i was going to have everyone record their begining weight and compare at the end of the month to see how are weight loss might differ w/ no alchohol but nobody has weighed in so I would say just check in when you can and let us know how you are doing.   If you are struggling we will motivate you and support you!

i'm in =) this could be hard...but i know that alcohol is the reason i can't drop weight.

I would like to try this challenge, just because there are so many things going on this month. Blah i dont want to share my weight, i never do wtih anyone but...

211.5

After doing my calculations today, my alcohol calories usually added up to my calories burned (or maintenance calories of 1700), which is why I wasnt losing last year even if I exercised. I wasnt gaining either because I did watch what I was eating.  I did not drink alcohol since Jan. 19 and am down 4 lbs. (water?? whatever)

I'm 156 lbs, 5'4" and 48 today, so I will see what happens in Feb. 

Christine

chpastor- ya know you made me think when you posted your calculations.  Do you know that I was consuming an average of ...... 16,500 calories a month in alchohol!!!!!!  I'm blown away by that number.

karenleek-  Try adding up your average monthly intake of alchohol calories for motivation in Feb!

ltlmsmfft -  Thanks, I just did and and although I went with the highest possible amount, it is outragous!  Around 19,800!  ugh ... I knew it was bad but I never did the actual numbers.  That is motivating to know what a waste of unhealthy calories that I have been consuming and it should help to get me through this challenge.

Christine (chpastor)  Happy Birthday!

Itimsmfft.. thanks for the welcome... and thanks to everyne else who is doing this month alcohol free. I think I am actualy looking forward to a weigh in for the first time ever.

Well this is day going to be my 4th day w/ no drink.  I started early because I put this post up and for matters of integrity I felt that it would be really crappy for me to propose a challenge and not stick to it.  (I really had to push myself not to drink the 1st 2 days, yesterday was a bit easier).  I feel good and my skin actually looks better.  Not so red!  My energy levels are higher as well.  Anybody else notice any changes?

Well kids - one day down!  Everyone geared up for our first Friday night? 

well, I blew it the first day of February! I went to a movie and out for a beer afterwards with some friends. As I sipped that beer, I thought, "wait a minute, it's February!" How quickly we forget...and remember! I decided to enjoy the beer and hop back on the wagon today...I'm back!

I'm also curious regarding alcohol and weight loss. I know I gained today.

No alcohol ey? Hm, it's worth a try. :P Going out tomorrow night though :/    

ok guys, here's our list of members so far-

ltlmsmfft

anniemarie13

yvetteroma

tankgirlxx

chpastor

karneleek

tauretszenjazz

splitrail

helmsaj

k8iemay

Keep strong everyone!  If you fall off the wagon we'll stop and pick you up.  We still have room for more members so sign up and get fit :)

Day one down!  This weekend will be a real challenge though.  We'll be attending an upscale restaurant with strict dress code, piano, etc.  It will be so difficult to say no to a cocktail.  Then there will be Superbowl Sunday. We can do it though!

Yvetteroma - Today is your day one!  That kind of cracks me up because I know how it is to just "forget" . . . however; for me,  this time, that's all I have been thinking of :/

karenleek-  ask for a virgin daquari or pina colada!  you can still feel like your having a yummy drink that way.  On superbowl sunday I suggest if you really need to feel like one or two drinks non-alchoholic beer.  I have had several brands in the past and they are pretty close to the same thing minus the mood altering effects.  You can do it!!!!!!

I think I'm going to pick up a bottle or two of "POM Wonderful" pomegranate juice to have in the fridge.  It's credited with all sorts of beneficial properties (although it's fairly high in sugar and carbs), but it's definitely a nice "sipping" drink - like wine - and not something that I would normally have.