Weekend cocktails ruining your progress?

They sure are ruining mine. Last week I started coming to this site and soon became obsessed. I love having a place where I can be held accountable for everything I put in my mouth. HOWEVER, come every Thursday or so, I love to relax with a few drinks. For the calories, I've decided to drink Bacardi Limon w/ Fresca (68 cals). This worked well Thursday night, but then fast forward to Saturday. I was so stupid to "save" my calories from lunch in order to party big, but as the night wore on, hunger kicked in, pizza arrived, and I indulged. Between Friday and Monday, I put on nearly 5 lbs. I still lost a pound last week which puts me right at my goal, but I could be progressing so much faster if only I could put the drinks down! This is the downfall of every diet I get on. Sorry about the rant, but maybe putting it out there might help me have the control to leave the drinks out for a while. Anyone else have this issue?

Jennifer

Oh my gosh this thread is hilarious! I am seriously laughing out loud. I have this problem all the time and it is so refreshing to hear that other people do too! So funny story about late night munchies...One time in college I was trying to lose weight and I had nothing but healthy food in the cupboard so that I wouldn't be tempted when I came home after a night of over indulgence. Well, one night I must have had the munchies so badly that I stuck my hand in the peanut butter jar and ate an entire fistful of peanut butter! I woke up the next day to find remnants of my late night snack still on my fingers. So don't be ashamed folks...it doesn't get much more pathetic than that.

set24: HAHAHAHA! That's great. You know, I had the same problem once... My buddy and I used to kill a bottle of SoCo every night after work, and we were watching movies one night (drunk). Of course we didn't have any food, but he did have a package of seaweed.... yeahhhh. Needless to say, we polished off the entire bag, and it was absolutely delicious! (and healthy, I might add)

Seaweed huh? I can't imagine that does much to ward off the hangover.

Haha I love this forum! I can relate so much to all your stories. The seaweed and peanutbutter is hilarious...actually reminded me of some of my drunken nights. Last year in college, the drinking then binge eating got so ridiculous on the weekends that I had to clear my entire apartment of pretty much everything. Knowing that I had nothing to eat at home, I actually went through my someone's kitchen at a house party and totally slipped a thing of popcorn and velveeta mac and cheese in my purse...as if that wasn't bad enough...I totally got caught on my way out. Talk about ridiculous! Luckily they could care less I attempted to steal their food and they actually thought it was funny. Still, that is pretty pathetic I had to resort to stealing food from a party. Needless to say, I too, have had to pass up many nights of going out simply because I can't control myself when I drink with the whole eating thing...frustrating! If I'm not "stealing food," I'm either ordering pizza, baking a cake at 3 am,calling jimmy johns for the beach club, or asking my neighbors for food after returning from the bars.

I would be okay with the calories in occasional drinking on the weekends, as long as I didn't binge eat after, but the food calories put me over... I really wish I could just come home after a night out and just go to bed (as hard as that sounds and all ha...) I don't just want to go out again because of it. But seriously, how can I just say no to the late night food?!!

LMAO!! This thread is so REAL!!!  I'm a big Captain Morgan and diet coke fan -- I have had to rethink my alcohol consumption in light of the fact that I am taking a hard look at my caloric intake.  I would not think anything of the Cap'nCokes when i was on Atkins because of the sugar alcohols but when you calculate ALL THOSE CALORIES, man oh man!!

I have an alcohol munchie story to tell...one was when I had been drinking out by my pool all afternoon and then got hungry come darkness.  I was still in my two piece bathing suit but was so hungry I whipped out the pan and started cooking up some curry chicken in my bathing suit.  Well, somehow managed to seer the skin right above my belly button on the side of the hot skillet and I had a burn mark that very much resembled Mick Jagger's famous tongue on my abdomen for a while.  It was weird.  Thank gosh it didn't scar, although there is still one faintly pink area where it burned the deepest.

I have made a big effort to cut back or at least really count the calories.  It is easier not to drink at all and save all those calories.   I haven't completely stopped but it is sometimes harder to stop at one or two than to even get started.  I've taken up *gasp* housecleaning and chores, lol.

Summer72 you stole food from a party?!? That is classic! I've also made several attempts at baking at 3 in the morning...never really worked out though. Thank god I didn't burn the house down!.

Mykanosdelight, housekeeping should NEVER EVER be a substitue for drinking!! Come on! Get it together!  Also, I think that you could pitch the idea of "bikini chef" to the food network.

By the way...tomorrow is Friday, so good luck to everybody!

You know, I just got done reading some of these posts to my husband, and I got to thinking... this is the ONLY forum that I've seen so far where people aren't inhibited about talking about their alcohol use. Most of the posts I've come across are something like "gee willikers, I have TWO glasses of wine on a Friday night. I'm so bad!!". I love this forum, cause we're all KEEPIN IT REAL!!! HAHAHA!!!

On a serious (ha) note, I can't say I've ever tried baking post-bar, but I did make a run to the grocery store one night after a couple. I came home with shrimp, pesto, and pumpernickel bread. After my friends came by and the party really got going, I decided I'd make us all a yummy snack. I did all the cooking (barely) and when we were serving everything up, I went to have a seat on the couch. My husband brought me a plate over with the stuff "I" had cooked, and I freaked out. I was like "what are you talking about? I didn't cook this crap!" You know when you're drunk, and in your head you're thinking 'I know that this doesn't make sense, but I'm gonna say it anyway?' Yeah, totally had one of those moments. Needless to say, I ended up enjoying this mystery food, and it was delish!

And finally, to Set24 and mykanosdelight: I am ADDICTED to watching the food network. It's almost scary! I think Bikini Chef might fly for some late night cooking entertainment.

Good luck tomorrow night, everyone!

 

Haha I agree, I think the bikini chef would be hilarious and a big seller. Speaking of which, they should have a cooking show called late night after bar binge (how to eat late and not gain weight). That would be so great for people like us.

....yeah I wouldn't recommend the late night baking...luckily I've never burnt myself, ouch! or burnt the place down for that matter. One drunken college night last year I apparently baked a pan of brownies sometime past 3 am after the bars then laid on the couch for "just a minute" watching a movie...totally passed out within seconds until the next morning. Luckily my friend was in town that weekend and got the brownies out of the oven just in time. The next morning when I woke up, I first thought was "I made brownies last night?" Then I started to freak out, thinking omg I must have ate the whole pan...I finally made it to the kitchen and I was in shock cuz they hadn't been touched(well for about 2 seconds that is)...geeez,there should be laws against drinking and baking.

Anyway have a great weekend everyone and best of luck! I actually think I'll be staying in this weekend..hopefully I'll stay out of the kitchen...

Anymore ridiculous late night eating stories?

liljdoll: OMG, Im obsessed with the Food Network too, I usually watch it before i go to bed...I dont know what it is, but it kinda realxes me...and there's some kick ass ideas on it too.As my new years resolustion I have decided to give up booze for 30 days...it's now been 10 days and Im ready to lose it lol.  Its extremely hard and dont advise anyone to do it hahahah.

The hardest part is breaking the habbits Ive formed...for instance, I was thinking of cleaning my room, so I immediatly thought " hum, I should pour myslef a glass of wine..." or when I get home from work and immedietly go to the fridge for a beer...

I dont know how long it's going to last but hopefully I;ll make the 30 days... great, and today's friday (the worst day for wanting a cold, refreshing beverage) lol.

Summer72: Ive done that too except it wasnt brownies, it was a grilled cheese on the stove... thank god my younger more responsible sister was home :)

im in college so that basically means me and the bottle are best friends plus i have a rediculously high tolerance! and its honestly the only reason why i havent reached my goal . i play 3 sports and im extremely active yet i cant loose weight cause once i go back to school its game onnnnn and then when im home for summer and dont drink as much i drop 15lbs like that. its crap!! womens health magazine said the best drink if you gonna drink is a gin/tonic or vodka/tonic but tonic is gross. please let me know if you have any other drinks that are low calorie and overall not too bad that taste a little better!!! good luck with the weekends cause i know how you feel and it sucks!!! but if you already at your goal or close to it im sure you can do it!!!! good luck =]

larkink2: One beverage that I discovered since counting calories is Citrus-flavored Fresca and Bacardi. DELICIOUS!! And only about 65 calories! The Fresca is almost entirely harmless because it has no sugar/calories/caffeine. It's definitely a guilt-free way to get CRUNK!!! Hahaha!

you know, I have the same problem. But you know what, my friend who lost 36 lbs. during the course of a year, said that she learned that the real key of losing weight is 80/20. Be good 80% of the time and you can play around the other 20% of the time. I love to have my drinks and fun on the weekends too. And if you know that your just gonna binge later, it's best to eat something low in cals before you get drunk than to eat any food that passes your way. That used to be my downfall before, but I just learned to eat good the day of and the day after a nite of drinking. Besides, for a while there, I was doing calorie counting really good during the week and than bad on the weekends(b/c of drinking), and I was still losing weight. And if you have to binge, binge on a home cooked meal instead of McDonalds or Pizza Hut!

by the way, thanks for the tip on fresca and bacardi. I'm gonna have to try that!

noaaiona: I definitely agree with that 80/20 theory. Before I came to this site, I would eat really well (or so I thought) during the week, but I would completely abandon all my efforts on the weekend. Weigh myself on Monday morning and WOW, what happened?!! I used to weigh in on Fridays too just to see how much progress I had made that week, and it was always something positive. Then BAM, Monday morning, back to square one (or even worse).

Now that I've gotten so completely obsessed with this site, I still try to keep track of my weekends, entering all drinks consumed and everything! Sometimes it's disappointing, but most of the time I still stay on track. And minus the holidays, (namely New Years week where I gained 2 lb) I've been consistently losing weight while still enjoying my beverages. I will say, however, that the week I gained 2 lb is the week I had almost a 12-pack of cider in one night (200 cals EACH), plus unlimited munchies. Yikes! Clearly not an 80/20 week.

Oh gosh, can I join this thread?  I have exactly the same issues, my day is just not complete without a glass (or two, or five) of wine in the evening.  Honestly, I'm so good during the day, but when it comes to the weekend or a super stressful day at work, I turn into a complete wino.  Unfortunately I have also developed a high tolerance to wine, so I can drink hundreds of calories without getting drunk (which would usually be my signal to stop).

 Although I have found that I also enjoy vodka with Crystal Light fruit punch.  I don't know if vodka is any lower in calories per serving, but since I don't have the tolerance to spirits, I find myself only able to have one or two drinks. 

brtaylor: Vodka actually has about 20 cals less per serving than wine. I've also tried to break my wine habit and replace it with hard liquor because I too have the tolerance issue with wine. After 4 hard liquor drinks, I'm pretty good... but leave me alone with an econosized bottle of my favorite wine, and I'll be drinking all night long! Welcome to the forum!

Finally a post i can relate to! I just recently graduated from college, where we all know that no drinking goes on! :o)  I came home to find my friends party just as hard here.  We go out multiple nights a week.  It is so hard to say no to any social event for me, I love meeting new people! It is also really hard to go and not drink, especially when they are FREE! (I work at the bar we go to most often!) I have recently moved from blue moon (170 calories a pop!) to bacardi and diet, but I still end up having a good share of calories! Im also trying to be the DD as much as possible, therefore Im still around the chaos but I cant drink, it helps me to not be "allowed" to drink sometimes! I have actually been doing really well the last week or so, but my birthday is just around the corner so Im sure I will be making up for all my missed cocktails! Good luck to all my fellow cocktail friends! Try being the DD now and then... no drinking and driving might save some calories now and then!

I found people just like me! I try to be so good all week and count my calories (almost obsessively...ick!). Then the weekend comes and I feel like I need to reward myself with a drink or two. But one or two is never just one or two...it is more like an all night party. I am such a beer drinker, but have switched to gin & tonic. I love being social and my friends are pretty fond of hanging out at bars and listening to live music. Thanks to everyone on this post because now I don't feel so bad.

natoo321: I definitely think being the DD helps my drinking habits. Lately I'll offer to drive my husband around and give him the option to drink (while simultaneously crossing my fingers in hopes that he'll say no). Although it's not as much fun to be the (weird) sober person, I feel pretty darn good the next day, sans headache and poochy stomach.

I told my mother about this thread and she laughed so hard. She was excited to hear that other people are just like she is. Now she wants to join CC!!