How do I stop overeating when I consume alcohol?

I was wondering if anyone had any tips as to how to stop overeating when consuming alcohol? On a day to day basis I am very good about my eating habits, stopping when I am full. However, when alcohol comes into the equation it's another story. I know I am an emotional eater and struggle with it on a day to day basis but have gotten it under control but I always lose my self control when I drink. Does anyone have any tips they could share or should I just not drink?

Thanks:)

 

Most people do this, you are not alone.  When you drink in excess you lose your inhibitions for everything including food!  Your brain no longer belongs to you!

It's even worse if you are an emotional eater.  There is no real answer or 'cure' other than take away the alcohol from the equation if you know where it is going to lead.  Sorry.

try making salads and other healthy stuff and keep it with you when you drink or something.

Your mood before you start to drink determines your mood when you are drinking, just excellerated.  Try eating a healthy meal before you drink, and as you consume, remember your diet.  If you feel compelled to snack, stick with a raw veggie plate(no dip!).  Whenever I drink, I feel so guilty about the 96 calories per beer that food is something I do not even consider.  On that note, Miller Lite(one of the lowest cal beers) is 96 cals a drink, Vodka and club(lowest alcoholic drink possible) is still 64 cals per 1 oz of vodka!  Just think of all the delicious forbidden foods you can indulge in if you gave up that night of drinking!  Don't get me wrong, Beer is my sole diet killer.  I am struggeling to swtich to vodka and club. 

Well, maybe something else happens to you when you drink. Because a lot of alcoholics acutally don't seem to eat that much because they a lot of times replace their meals with alcohol. You say you're an emotional eater so maybe...well, maybe drinking gives you that feeling of euphoria so you tell yourself, it's no big deal and overeat. Like, drinking makes you do things you normally wouldn't do. Maybe when you get drunk you don't care about yourself as much, or you don't care about what you're doing as much because it ruins your inhibitions. I think it's just because you're an emotional eater that this happens. I mean, let's say there's a young girl at a party and she's a virgin and she's saving herself for marriage, but she gets really drunk one night, loses her inhibitions and has sex--That's something she would never do sober! That's against what she wants and what she values. So it's kind of like, you wouldn't overeat if you're not drunk (well, you wouldn't want to), but when you drink you lose your inhibitions and do things you regret or normally wouldn't do. And I think basically since eating is a problem for you (it is for me too) that's what happens when you drink. So maybe you shouldn't drink until you don't have an emotional eating problem anymore. Maybe see a therapist about it? (And don't feel like you're a crazy person if you ever decide to go see a therapist--We all need therapy).

Heart, I think I pretty much said what you were trying to say in the first post. 

But I think she probably cares about herself hence the post regarding alcohol....  Please don't put words in other people's mouths or heads.

I think the easiest way is to make sure there's no bad foods in your house to eat, and only take a certain amount of money out with you when you go, so you can't afford to eat. I started doing that and it's completely eradicated my drunk munchies. Plus I'm almost obsessed with my dieting, so when I even begin to consider it, I feel guilty. Good luck!

Original Post by yourfavoriteblonde:

I think the easiest way is to make sure there's no bad foods in your house to eat, and only take a certain amount of money out with you when you go, so you can't afford to eat. I started doing that and it's completely eradicated my drunk munchies. Plus I'm almost obsessed with my dieting, so when I even begin to consider it, I feel guilty. Good luck!

 Hide the phone book too, there is nothing better than the Domino's Delivery Man. 

Look, in all seriousness, it's going to happen.  Just plan for it.  Yea, I love to come home to a healthy salad when I've been out drinking-NOT...why do you think fast food joints stay open until 3am on weekends!?!  I would have never tried a White Castle had it not been for alcohol.... 

The guilt doesn't hit you until the next morning.....along with your horrific headache.

Original Post by healthybmi:

Original Post by yourfavoriteblonde:

I think the easiest way is to make sure there's no bad foods in your house to eat, and only take a certain amount of money out with you when you go, so you can't afford to eat. I started doing that and it's completely eradicated my drunk munchies. Plus I'm almost obsessed with my dieting, so when I even begin to consider it, I feel guilty. Good luck!

Hide the phone book too, there is nothing better than the Domino's Delivery Man.

Look, in all seriousness, it's going to happen. Just plan for it. Yea, I love to come home to a healthy salad when I've been out drinking-NOT...why do you think fast food joints stay open until 3am on weekends!?! I would have never tried a White Castle had it not been for alcohol....

The guilt doesn't hit you until the next morning.....along with your horrific headache.

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHHA at the healthy salad idea...too funny

I think I've cured this one!  In my case 1 glass red wine led to 2 glasses or 3 glasses and then on to cheese, chocolate, crackers and - in my darkest days - a takeaway to round the evening off!!! Very Elvis...

The answer is..... COFFEE.... :-)

After that first glass of alcohol drink a very strong cup of coffee.  The caffeine sobers you up ever so slightly and 'breaks the spell'.  Off come the beer goggles, the munchies are suppressed and it's really easy to not carry on drinking and eating.

WOW i'm so gonna try that! ....come to think of it, a couple weeks ago when i was in new york partying it up with some friends this girl wanted a cup of coffee after we drank..i was all like "thats weird who would want coffee"(in my head of course not out loud). I'm going to try this trick next time I drink with the thought in my head that it will help which will hopefully make a placebo effect on me if anything

Thank you so much for all of your advice:)

No sober up trick works. The only thing that will sober you up is time. The time it takes to drink the cup of coffee is what is sobering you up. But you may feel more awake from the coffee buzz, but not more sober from the coffee itself.

This post made me laugh, because.. well, I can relate.  I'm not an emotional eater, but I AM a hungry/snackie drunk!  LOL.  In college it was an ordinary thing to hit the pizza place on the way home from drinking/dancing.. Yikes!

The funniest thing ever was when I was doing Atkins (obviously this was a FEW years back), and I remember heating up FROZEN SPINACH at 3 a.m. and drunkenly munching away.  My roommate thought this was the funniest thing she'd ever seen, I thought it was dedication!  haha!

No but seriously, what I do now is... come in the house... and bypass the kitchen.  I don't even walk in, because I know if I do, I'll head straight to the fridge and polish off some cheese/lunchmeat/leftovers, who knows.. Avoid the kitchen, avoid the regretful midnight snack!

(I agree with others though, too - it is good to bring something like a Luna bar or crackers in your purse while you're out.)

Every time i go drinking, i end up eating something bad..  So i do ocassionally. 

Only go out drinking 1 or twice per month...  Sometimes i drink a lil bit and its fine..  if i go overboard and end up eating bad, then its not a big deal as long as the next day when i wake up i come back on track.  I had lost 63 pds in 6 months and i had gone drinking badly 4 times.  If you go out to drink heavily weekly, then it may be a problem, so maybe start taking it easy some days so when u go overboard u dont feel bad