alcohol is my DIETING problem!

I know many others on here have this problem too. It sucks because I'm seriously proud of my work outs and my eating is almost perfect. But I bartend and perhaps a creature of habit but I don't think I know how to sit down and count my money without a beer in hand. And once I've had one, I've had 10 plus some after drinking munchies. Aside from the fact that it's Summer and with all the BBQ invites, festivals, etc. ....I WANT TO DRINK!!

Good news is I'm maintaining because my "good" days out weigh my bad days. Bad news is I feel like I'm defeating the purpose of all the hard work. When I'm in the gym I am so serious that I literally tell myself "I will NOT drink this week!" But then I do.

So, the ques for you guys/gals that LOVE the alcohol is how do you overcome those urges? Do I need AA, a new job or just a better way of thinking along with a change of lifestyle? Lol.

I do understand about the lower cal options but I will STILL drink 500-800 cals of those drinks. :)

FYI- my drinking is about 3 nights per week now, but my work outs are 6 days, and my cals are between 1200-1500 (EXCLUDING the drinks.)

Help!!!

 

Wow, are you ever in need of AA. Seriously. You have major "warning signs" of being an alcoholic. I don't live too far from you (20 minutes, maybe) and I know the local culture--but you gotta stop, now. Cold turkey and no excuses, and get whatever help you need. You are endangering yourself and others and by posting here, you are admitting that you are aware of the seriousness of the problem. I am sorry to sound harsh, but not one mile from me, an alcoholic barreled his car over another and killed a woman who was 7 months pregnant and her ten year old daughter. You don't want that to be something you do one day--and even if you are not at rock bottom now, it is only a matter of time before you ARE. Stop now, save yourself. Your whole life will be so much better once you get through and away from this terrible disease that has you in its grip.

God bless.

LOL!!!  When I was in my early twenties I was a bartender as well.  The drinking definitely made me gain weight - unlike you, I wasn't at the gym, so you have that going for you!  What also killed me was all of us going out to eat after the bar closed - you know those 3AM sit down meals.......killers.  I also learned how good Taco Bell was on the nights we didn't go out as a group.

No easy answer for you here.  The same applies with drink as with food - no calorie deficit, no weight loss.

I'm 38 now and don't go out anymore at all - I have a beer every night at home after work and look very much forward to it.  But, I have to say, I was going through a hard time when I was drinking as heavily as you are.  Obviously, I know nothing about you, but as for me, there was a whole lot more going on than just liking to drink - it became a by-product of much more serious things going on in my life.

In no way am I trying to mother you, just be careful.  10 drinks in one night is a lot....if it is truly just a phase you're going through than so be it.  But, be honest with yourself about possible other reasons you may be imbibing so much.

WOW!!! SORRY I'M LAUGHING MY ASS OFF RIGHT NOW, AND IT JUST OCCURED TO ME THAT YOU GUYS DON'T KNOW ME OR GET MY SARCASM. AND THAT SOMETIMES WHEN THINGS ARE WRITTEN INSTEAD OF SPOKEN THEY CAN BE INTERPERTED 100 DIF WAYS. SO I APOLOGIZE.

SO I'LL START BY SAYING, NO I DO NOT DRINK 10 DRINKS IN ONE NIGHT. THAT IS MY WAY OF SAYING 'MORE THAN MY CALS ALLOW'. I HAVE ONE BEER WHILE COUNTING MY MONEY, THEN I GO HOME TO A SLEEPING FAMILY AND GET ONLINE RETURNING EMAILS, ETC. AND HAVE ANOTHER 2-4 SOMETIMES 5. IF I DON'T WORK I DON'T THINK ABOUT OR CARE ABOUT HAVING THAT DRINK. TO ME DRINKING IS SOCIAL AS SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN IN THE BAR BIZ A LOT OF YEARS AND ENJOYS SOCIAL GATHERINGS.

2ND, YOU DO NOT KNOW WHERE I LIVE AS I DO NOT POSTS THAT INFO ON ANYTHING I USE ONLINE.

THEN 3RD, PERHAPS I DO NEED TO SEEK HELP IN STOPPING DRINKING, BUT I DO NOT DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS YOU ARE IMPLYING SUCH AS ENDANGERING OTHER PPL'S LIVES ETC. YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THAT... (VERY STRONGLY- FYI.)

I THINK I DRINK BECAUSE IT'S FUN OR RELAXING IN A SOCIAL SETTING OR EVEN UNWINDING FROM A SHIFT OF RUNNING MY BUTT OFF AND WATCHING EVERYONE ELSE HAVE FUN.

AND JUST A LIL NOTE- I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS LONG PERIODS OF NON DRINKING IN MY LIFE WITH NO SUPPORT GROUPS. I DIDN'T WORK AT ALL THE LAST 5 YEARS AND STILL ONLY DRANK DURING THOSE 'SOCIAL SETTINGS'. MEANING 5-10 TIMES PER YEAR. THE POINT I WAS MAKING IS THAT I FEEL LIKE BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF MY WORK I SHOULD FIND SOMETHING BETTER TO DO WITH MY CALS, MY TIME, MY MONEY ...ETC. AND ADVICE FOR THAT.

REGARDLESS OF WHY OR HOW I DRINK THE POSTS WAS ABOUT ALCOHOL AND IT'S EFFECT ON DIETING AND WHAT OTHERS DO TO SURPASS THOSE SITUATIONS.

THANKS :)

 

I was just about to come to your defense Odie when I read the 'Wow, are you ever in need of AA......'.  Please! 

I understand where you're coming from.  I was in your situation when I was in a similar job while in college.  Summertime was great, all the parties and then after work.....  I laughed when you mentioned counting money with a beer!

You sound like you have an almost happy medium going on, no one is perfect.  If you are enjoying life, work, family and friends and still making time to take care of yourself, you are doing a lot more than most.  Trust your gut, both in instinct and if it starts growing!! 

Rock on sister!

Thanks and I do realize that if you don't know me you don't realize that I'm trying to make a point of using needless calories & how to better control that. I don't see anywhere that I wrote about slamming drinks and then driving all over the place.

But anyway, my bad for thinking everyone would know that's just me being me. So I apologize.

Thanks and I do realize that if you don't know me you don't realize that I'm trying to make a point of using needless calories & how to better control that. I don't see anywhere that I wrote about slamming drinks and then driving all over the place.

But anyway, my bad for thinking everyone would know that's just me being me. So I apologize.

I did not mean to offend.

This is a weight website and was trying to keep it in that vein of topic.

As I stated, I do not know you and was only speaking from my past experience.

And, I agree, words can be very misconstrued on message boards without being able to actually "hear" the words being spoken.  I understand now that you don't drink 10 drinks a night.

Only you know you.  I know me (most of the time, lol) and when I was bartending was the best and worst time of my life.  And in an effort to keep this about food/weight/calories, if only in that regard, you have to watch what you drink because it is calories, regardless - I know I gained weight during that time.

 

I think it helps a lot to go with the challenge of zero beers for just a week or so.  It's not 'forever' so it's a realistic thing to do.  As a wine-lover that could very easily sip glasses of the stuff every night of the week without blinking, that's how I stopped the rot.

The advantage is that if you go with a flat zero you consciously have to find other things to drink, other ways to wind down and it puts a temporary halt to what is essentially just a bad habit.   You're forced to come up with alternatives and your behaviour changes as a result.  You can bump up your food intake a little if you're not drinking which is always a cheery thing to do.  :-) At the end of the week when your weight-loss is better than normal that might spur you on to keep up the good work and realise that you can manage on less.

Of course, if you really struggle to go one week without alcohol then you might be asking yourself if you've got a problem... but that's a whole different conversation.  Best of luck 

Oh, I feel ya.  Alcohol is definitely my number one dieting problem.  Sometimes I wonder if I'd probably do better with an AA site because I struggle with beer binges.  I just freakin' love beer - it's my chocolate.  Great taste, empty calories, gives me the momentary illusion of happiness, and then I hate myself the next day.  Not too different from how I've heard food binges described on this site.

BUT!  It IS momentary.  And drinking beer is what got me into this shape (5'1", 190lbs).  I doubt it was the beer alone, but after I've had one or two, the sense of healthy eating sense is out the window, and here comes Taco Bell or Sonic!  And before I knew it, I'd probably packed on 3000+ calories in a day.

I can't imagine the temptation of being a bartender.  Yikes!  Or even just working in a restaurant because I've known people who did, and apparently the food/drink party starts at closing time and sometimes goes on until 4 or 6am.  And you're right - when you're with people who wanna let loose (and you just wanna let loose, too, after all that hard work!), it's so difficult to stay on track.

I've found that the best thing for me is to just not keep more than one drink in the house.  My grocery store sells singles of really GOOD beer for $2 per 12 oz, so now I stop by after work (an 8-5 job) on days I know I'll exercise, and I get ONE beer (instead of a 6-pack).  After exercise and a healthy dinner, I get to have that one beer as dessert, and it really is a treat.  Also, my tolerance is down.  So if I decide to have two beers on the weekend, I actually get a little tipsy.

I guess my number one suggestion would be to keep alcohol out of your living space if at all possible.

Good luck and healthy wishes!

Oh do I love me some alcohol...

I usually designate Fri or Saturday as my cheat day, except I don't cheat all day.  I actually eat super healthy all day and reserve a lot of calories for going out.  Since I've been doing this I haven't gone over, or been anywhere near, my daily burn (I work out like crazy though).

Unless I decide one day to be a figure competitor (I won't) then I'm not giving up alcohol.  I'm sure one day I won't have as much time to drink or maybe won't like it anymore, but until then, bottoms up.

I feel like you just took a page right out of my life. Drinking has been one the hardest things to control in my effort to drop some weight. And now with it being summertime (especially with 4th of July right around the corner!) with BBQs, parties and just so many social events I'm finding it even harder to control.

The best advice I've seen is to learn that its all about moderation. Don't say that you're NOT going to drink this week, instead just limit HOW many you'll have or what DAYS you'll drink on. I work a typical 9-5 job so I really only allow myself to drink on Fridays & Saturdays. And I make sure to work out on those days..basically so I don't feel so guilty.lol

Unless you really cut back on the drinking its going to be pretty difficult to lose any weight. But at least you're working hard and not gaining any weight. I think you should give yourself some props for that because some people would just give up and stop working out and eating right. I've reached a point where I know that my weight loss is dependent on my alcohol intake so losing weight tends to be a slower process because I have my good weeks and bad weeks. Wish I had some better advice but its all I have from my own experiences, so good luck =)

Oh i feel you on the booze as a college student lol! My freshman year I made it up to 135 ( I know it's not that much but...) I was drinking 3-4 nights a week, part of my gain was due to playing lacrosse believe it or not because all we ate on the road was fast food!

But since the winter I have been dealing with some stomach issues (don't want to give TMI)and cut out almost all of my drinking and I lost 9 lbs! This was before I started calorie count and I had also changed my eating habits to a healthier style and began exercising more...i started calorie count 3 weeks ago and I have already lost 4 lbs now that I'm actually counting!

We talk about this is my nutrition class...the big problem with drinking (besides the 'empty calories') is the "tag along foods" who has a beer and an apple? So when I do drink I try and drink Mich Ultras and watch my snacking!!

Hope this will give you some motivation!

I have to say I feel the same way.  Although I am not a bartender and am not at all a daily drinker, I used to be.  Especially when I was in my 20's.  I drank almost every day socially and that added lots of extra pounds.  Then in my 30's I had kids -well obviously I stopped the drinking every day - but add on the added pregnancy weight that never came off plus the extra pounds from years of drinking and eating crap and that put me many lbs over where I wanted to be. 

Now I still indulge in drinks - mostly on the weekend if I partake at all.   And I have started eating much better now, watching my carbs, refined sugars, white flour intake, eating whole grains instead, etc.   When I do drink - I watch my calories and reserve enough for the beers or wine that I intend to drink.

So my advice - all in moderation.  Drink - but in moderation.  I try to only drink 1-2 times a month.   I enjoy the drinking but if you listen to your body afterwards - really listen - you'll notice that your body really doesn't like it.  Well at least my body doesn't really like it.  I get bloated and feel horrible the day after - headache, lethargic, blah.  Sure feels good during - but after sucks.  So I really limit myself and try not to overdo it where I feel drunk.  Anyway, just giving you my perspective.  I think you're fine just by keeping in mind - all in moderation.

Good luck!

hmmm, no i didn't get any warning signs from your post & i got your sacrasm.  but maybe because i go through some of the same things as you, except its not in my work place

but anyway i hear ya.  i dont really like drinking in bars/clubs too much, even though i go to those places to socialise, unless there are some killer cocktails and someone else is buying.  i really just enjoy nibbling on things in my home or someone elses or a restaurant with some wine. which is why i had to ban wine from the house (mostly)

although last week since it was tom & one of my favourite wines was on sale, i splurged. it really isn't the alcohol itself that is the problem, it is the food during & afterwards that sabotages me.  a few weeks ago i tried to say 'no alcohol' for 6 weeks, but could only hold that for 2 1/2 weeks. as gi-jane said, it helps to curb the habit without being too strict, which always backfies on me with anything.

I think a lot of people are nodding their heads while they read your post. I fall off the wagon almost every weekend. I'd give you some advice, but I don't follow it. Like:

drink water between drinks, save calories for drinks, make sure you work out extra hard if you're gonna be drinking, stay away from bar type snacks while you're drinking - if you get drinking munchies, chew on carrot sticks or something...

yeah. but that stuff its hard, because, for me, one drink and I'm like "ah, f*** it!" and I have several drinks. and then I crave pizza...and if I'm hungover I want eggmcmuffins...the only advice I do stick to is that I usually only drink wine or light beer. A light beer has like, 60 calories less than a regular one and those calories add up. Have you been logging alcohol calories, btw? IT's scary when you add 7 beers (don't freak out, CC, this is like 7 beers over 7 hours type stuff) to a daily log...

As a college student I completely understand. If I didn't drink on weekends I'd be going to movies by myself or something LOL. Sad, but true, weekends revolve around bars and then the munchies start to hit it.

I definitely try to "save up" calories during the week and eat as healthy as possible during the day Friday so that I have lots of leftover calories for beer.

I have managed to lose 20 pounds so drinking beer is not an impossibility for weight loss. You just have to work a little harder during the week and be OK with a little slower loss!

Hey. thanks all :)

I loved reading every single post about this because it made me realize that we all go through this.

Tons of good advice, but I think I'm going to try Gi-janes approach for a week. Then maybe I will appreciate it more and not take advantage of it when I do drink again.

Anyway, love the support and personal experiences!!!

And no hard feelings Cavaliers. :)

You guys are wonderful!

The first reply to this thread is pathetic.

 

I'll go out on a weekend and throw back ten drinks, no sweat. I'm young, I'm in college. Yawn.

OMG I feel your pain! I am not a bartender, but I am Ukrainian, and we Ukrainians love to drink :) Also, I work with guys only, and we go out for drinks at least once a week.  Hence, I do drink quite often.

So, again I know what you are going through.  The only thing I can suggest, and maybe you are already doing that, is to switch to light beer.  I swear it tastes almost the same, and has the same amount of alcohol, BUT so much less calories.  I also started drinking more white wine, because I like the taste and it has less calories.  Maybe when you get home after work, try sipping a glass of wine instead of beer.

Good luck!

 

i am like gi jane and love wine..  and i agree with almost everyone else on here that it might not be the drinking that adds on pounds, but the loss of inhibitions while drinking that leads to poor food choices.  that is my weekness..  i will just start nibbling on whatever is in the house (thank good ness i try to not keep bad foods in the house).  alcohol makes me munchy and hungry!  like i said, i do like my glass of wine in the evening, so i include those calories in my daily intake..so as long as im not over my cals for the day, including the wine and whatever snacking it "made" me do, hahaha..i dont worry so much about it.  i eat very healthy and exercise, so for me, its okay.