If I'm going to a bar or two later, should I eat less during the day?

I am a 21 year old junior in college right now, so it's hard not to go out on the weekend with friends. I work out 4-5 days a week (jog/walk outside for 30 minutes or stationary bike for 30 minutes and lift weights every other day)...I've been eating well too...I'm just wondering, if I'm going to be getting more calories from beer later, should I eat less during the day? Let me know, thank you!

- Jeff

aaanyone? :-)

You could make it a maintenance day.

You can have an early dinner and therefore when you go drinking you'll need less drinks to get buzzed and therefore consume less calories.

Or you could consume less calories to leave room for drinks.

I don't know how healthy these recommendations are. I've tried all and usually see a small spike in weight gain the next day but some effort to minimize weight gain helps. Keep track so you can work it off the next day too. Good luck.

I'd say no... alcohol on an empty stomach is always a bad idea... and drinking tends to give most people the munchies so if you're hungry, you'll eat crappy bar food instead of real nutrients. Better to go in nice and satisfied and enjoy your beer/s slowly without the added extras.

I don't know if this is the right answer or not, but this is how I approach similar situations . . . I eat enough so that I'm not hungry, but also try to conserve some calories to off-set some of the extra that I'll be drinking.  If you're full, then you're less likely to overdo it, so a big salad or something that has a lot of substance but not a huge calorie load is a good thing.  That being said, I also try to realize that I'm going to go over in my calories for the day.  It's okay to do that once in a while, but not Thursday, Friday and Saturday night all in the same week.  Of course, I'm also of the mind that a cheat day is a good thing, so I usually let myself drink one night of the week without worrying about it. 

When I was in college, there were a lot of girls who went to the gym the morning after drinking to try to "burn off the calories" from the night before.  Personally, I don't think that works.  If you're hung over, you're not going to get a very good workout and you'll just feel awful.  So I just try to keep my drinking in moderation and otherwise eat healthy.

yeah, why do I want to eat more after I've been drinking?

Even though you might not like them, you can always order those low-car/ lite beers too, to help cut calories. I really like Miller Chill, which tastes kind of like Corona with a lime, but is considered a "lite" beer, only 110 calories a bottle. It might not be so easy to order at bars though...

I am in college and am going to drink tonight as well. I ate about 1000 calories today. I've reserved 550 calories for drinking. Plus I always eat after I drink (which is probably a good thing), so I have 500 more calories put aside. 2000 calories is way over what I want to eat, but I exercised today so my BMR is 2200. I just try not to go past 2200. Today is a maintaining day, not a losing day!!

have fun! :-)

ehh I like my darker beers...New Castle...:-). Thanks for your advice though...I worked out pretty hard today and all I ate so far was a whey protein shake, some wheat thins, and a 6-inch wheat sub from subway. So hopefully I won't drink over 5 beers tonight! I normally don't work out on weekends, so maybe i'll start to work out just to "undo" the bad eating/drinking I did that weekend...I know it won't really undo it...but it will definately do more good than not working out! 

I'd say don't eat less.  When I'm going to go out in the evening, I try to eat well during the day so I won't be extra-hungry and overindulge.  Also ditto to the badness of drinking on an empty stomach.

I never thought this was possible, but I actually have given up drinking for the past 3 weeks and surprisingly lost 10 pounds by changing nothing else.

I still go out 4 times a week, but just order soda water and lime now, mmm... so good that I crave it now!   just wanted to throw it out there. 

i'm not sure about you, but i've lost 70 pounds, and i don't log my alcohol.  i would say to eat according to how you feel.  i wouldn't eat less because of it though.

drink lots of water & get more exercise in  :D  AND try to eat "good" foods!  tomorrow too!!!

Original Post by snowfence:

i'm not sure about you, but i've lost 70 pounds, and i don't log my alcohol.  i would say to eat according to how you feel.  i wouldn't eat less because of it though.

drink lots of water & get more exercise in  :D  AND try to eat "good" foods!  tomorrow too!!!

 You don't log your alcohol??? Alcohol has more empty calories than just about anything. I don't know how often you drink, but you don't think those extra calories affect your progress?

Before you decide, Google "Drunkorexia" and read a few of the links, like this one:

http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/ 01/23/style_beauty/main3744289.shtml

When I was in college, I would alternate beer with water. In order to avoid looking like a weenie, I'd fill my beer bottle with tap water, so it looked like I was always drinking beer. I was able to stay sober, ingest fewer calories and avoid drawing attention to the fact that I was dieting. 

Liquor, depending on the type has a lot less calories than beer. So it sounds bad, but whenever I go out I get liquor. Rum and diet coke is a good option, depending on the rum you chose. Also vodka and soda water is good, even the flavored vodka drinks usually run you about 65-95 calories.

I wouldn't recommend not eating before drinking. Just another piece of info, your body processes alcohol as if it were a sugar or carbohydrate so its good to balance those carbs with some protein. Its hard to get a healthy lean protein with bar food though.

I'm 22 in college also.  Umm I don't technically have the answer for you but I find myself in the same situation.  I Can't just drink 5 beers in a night though it feels like a waste.  It would have to be a minimum of 9 (on an empty stomach) and no more then 15... (remember people, we are in college :) lol )

I would say try not to eat a lot that day.  The worst to do is eat before you start drinking if you want to get a good buzz because it will take a LOTTTT more beers to get you there because you are so full.  Then you would have loaded up on calories from food, then 1000+ more cals from beer.  Empty stomach gets you buzzed faster too :)

This is just my advice from one college kid to another. 

try upping your workout throughout the day and really push yourself to create a deficit between expended and estimated ingested calories. workout really hard, shower, eat a protein filled dinner, then drink. working off the calories beforehand is way more effective, and it's also like rewarding yourself for beating yourself up with your workout earlier.

I'm a 23 yr old college student and what I do is eat one substantial meal that day around 3 or 4 o'clock....therefore you're not too hungry but you haven't taken in too many calories, a stir fry or something is good....

 

Then I recommend drinking vodka, rum, gin etc, way less calories and gets you drunker, so it's a win win situation!!

the whole hard liqour has less calories thing is not very true- it's more like 100 calories for a full shot so the same as light beer.  It just might get you drunk faster.  Also, the problem with drinking on an empty stomach is that you might get drunk faster than you wanted to, and then once you lose all sense of control you're more likely to start drunk eating. And if you drank on an empty stomach, you'll probably be more hungry and end up giving in to the drunk munchies much easier--and drunk people usually like to eat things like pizza and fries etc.  And drinking on an empty stomach makes it much more likely for you to black out. Working out hard during the day before is a probably a good idea, and then get some protein in your last meal so it'll keep you full.

EXERCISE ALOT, SHOWER, THEN CELEBRATE THE GREAT WORKOUT WITH A FEW COLD ONES. IF YOU HAVE TOO MANY, THEN DANCE THE CALORIES OFF!!

i always find that after a night of drinking i weigh less. probably water weight since alcohol makes you pee a lot, but whatever, i'm not complaining. i usually try not to eat dinner and avoid the drunk munchies.