Weight-Loss What affects does hard alcohol have on a dieting body?

Weight-Loss
Alcohol is empty calories, and really bad for kidneys and liver, even in small amounts.

You have to question whether it's really that important to you, or if you can forgo it for awhile while you are getting in shape.
 
Thanks everyone for your input, good to get different views, and hoping reading this back will be enough for me to stay off the pints of lager when i meet up with an old friend i havent seen in almost a year tomora evening, old habits die hard and all that, but I gotta start shifting the old habits!!

Cheers,

K x
 
I've heard that red wines and dark beers have some health benefits, like preventing heart disease and stuff. Maybe that's just researchers trying to justify drinking... I don't think there's any way I could give up alcohol - this is a lifestyle change after all! But I do try to keep it in moderation - one glass of wine or one pint of beer - and I'm careful not too eat tons of extra food along with it.
 
1-3 beers every week usually

I like to have a couple on my free day for the week (that being 1 day only). I don't really work it in to calories, as I wont sacrifice food for booze. However, I don't get "hammered drunk" off of 2-3 beers, so I have less stupid drunken ideas, like 24hr breakfast joints and pizza delivery. Had too damn many of those in the past. 2-3 beers I can run off tomorrow and aside from a slight and temporary gain on the scales Monday morning, I have nothing to worry about. I think for me the stupid drunken eating after the drinking was more hazardous to my health than the alcohol itself.

sirant
 
definitely benefits...

smisen said:
I've heard that red wines and dark beers have some health benefits, like preventing heart disease and stuff. Maybe that's just researchers trying to justify drinking... I don't think there's any way I could give up alcohol - this is a lifestyle change after all! But I do try to keep it in moderation - one glass of wine or one pint of beer - and I'm careful not too eat tons of extra food along with it.
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The addition of small amounts of alcohol is a healthy practice that has been followed for thousands of years and does have well known healthy effects. The same can also be said for green tea, garlic, tomatoes and many other foods. The key of course is moderation. One beer, one glass of wine, etc does have scientifically proven health benefits, but, 10 does not.

I am not prepared to begin drinking a beer everyday though, but not a bad idea...

sirant
 
Well, thanks for all the replies, and after going out on friday night for the first time in ages, and not drinking THAT much, well not compared to how much i used to drink in my first two years at uni on an almost daily basis, I had an ok night, but had to battle with my willpower massively over the munchies, but i did win that battle, felt awful the whole day yest, so have decided I am not drinking again for atleast three weeks, dont need hangovers like that, and dont need to hinder kick starting my weight loss journey when the outcome is feeling like that!!

No way am i giving up booze forever, but for a while wont hurt.....

K x
 
I have a glass of red wine on Saturday and Sunday nights, but that's all, and I'm thinking of cutting that out completely because I'm not really enjoying it any more. I still love the taste, but since I've been exercising regularly, every time I have a drink my legs really start to ache and it's got to the point where it's so uncomfortable that I don't think it's worth it any more. I'll just have to explain to my partner that she'll have to drink the whole bottle on her own.
 
I hate the taste of alcohol (I will always prefer no alcoholic drinks and can't eat desserts that to me have been wrecked by alcohol),so there is never a problem resisting it. The problem I do have however, is that all my friends love the stuff and it is just part of our social outings. Such as how we are always going out for wines- I hate this as the event is 'going out for wines,' so you can't really say, 'yep, I'll come,' without of course agreeing to have wine. Unless you want to start up a really annoying convo about how you'll join but won't drink. So frustrating, I hate having to justify why I'm not drinking. Now I just say I'm on meds and can't- But this this brings up the convo of what meds etc. urg.
 
ooo said:
The problem I do have however, is that all my friends love the stuff and it is just part of our social outings. Such as how we are always going out for wines- I hate this as the event is 'going out for wines,' so you can't really say, 'yep, I'll come,' without of course agreeing to have wine. Unless you want to start up a really annoying convo about how you'll join but won't drink. So frustrating, I hate having to justify why I'm not drinking. Now I just say I'm on meds and can't- But this this brings up the convo of what meds etc. urg.
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Bummer. Must suck to have friends who want to go out with you, have a good conversation with you, and care about you if they think something is wrong.
 
corndogggy said:
Bummer. Must suck to have friends who want to go out with you, have a good conversation with you, and care about you if they think something is wrong.
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I don't think that was the kind of sympathy OOO was aiming for.

I know how that is to have friends who want to go out and have a girls night and drink lots of wine. Its fun, but its also hard because while they respect that you are on a diet or whatever, they still might feel slightly resentful that you cant really join in on the fun fully.
 
corndogggy said:
Bummer. Must suck to have friends who want to go out with you, have a good conversation with you, and care about you if they think something is wrong.
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At no point was I trying to say that my life is so hard, my friends suck, or whatever it is that you are getting at. All I meant was that I dislike the way choosing not to drink when all your friends drink and expect you to join in, can alienate you. The same applies for food to some people, wanting to eating healthy while instead their friends want have a group pizza feast or something, then hassle at them for not participating fully.
 
Alcohol Consumption in the Severely Obese: Relationship with the Metabolic Syndrome


Results: There were 486 subjects, 84% women, with a mean age of 40.6 ± 10 years (range, 16 to 71 years) and a body mass index of 45.3 ± 7 kg/m2 (range, 34 to 77 kg/m2). Alcohol consumers (N = 276) showed a marked reduction in the adjusted odds ratio of type 2 diabetes (odds ratio = 0.29; 95% confidence interval, 0.16 to 0.55) compared with rare or nonconsumers (N = 210). There was a U-shaped relationship between the amount and frequency of alcohol consumption and fasting triglyceride, fasting glucose, hemoglobin A1c, and index of insulin resistance measurements. Consumers of <100 g/wk had more favorable measures. The effect was attenuated when diabetics were excluded from the analysis. Timing of alcohol consumption did not influence outcome measures.

Discussion: Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower prevalence of type 2 diabetes, reduced insulin resistance, and more favorable vascular risk profile in the severely obese. We would propose that light to moderate alcohol consumption should not be discouraged in the severely obese.
 
ooo, I know what you mean about the alcohol or food related events. The best solution I have found is to just tell people "Oh, no thanks, I'm fine for now." and if they ask why you aren't drinking (or whatever) just tell them "I wouldn't miss this just because I don't feel like having a drink. I love these get-togethers!".
Other things you can do: Volunteer to be the designated driver; look for non-alcoholic beverages you can drink; look for very low alcohol content (low-carb beers are very popular out here, and available pretty much everywhere, low-carb wine is starting to show up, as well); organize a non-food-and-drink related evening out with your friends. Or even an evening in. Play some games, set up a hike to a local landmark or park, etc.
Sometimes it means having to take a leadership role, in order to get what you want.
 
Barley makes you thinner.So if you have drinks you will probably be thinner.Once in a while drinks are OK.Or a glass of it per day is OK but not more than one glass
 
I have a glass of wine every other night.It isn't that bad.I also have beer.I an trying to stop the wine consumption and change it into beer
 
You can get the same "health benefits" from grape juice and from eating barley.

I am not suggesting that one quit drinking altogether, but I am suggesting that if you are endeavoring to improve your health and overall quality of life, a "break" from alcohol is never a bad idea. You'll save money and possibly some brain cells, and won't be consuming empty calories. If you truly don't have an "issue" with alcohol, then a break will not cause you any distress. And if it does, it's a good idea to think about what role alcohol has come to play in your life and whether or not you want to keep it that way.

As to what one might say to drinking friends - you don't have to defend or rationalize not drinking. You can still be fun and not drink. Just say, "Nah, not tonight - but thanks - I'm taking a break for my health." with a smile. Friends who badger you after that - you have to question whether they are really your friends or just party buddies? How meaningful is it to you to maintain a friendship like that? A good friend will say, "that's cool - you want a club soda with lime, then?" or something to that effect.
 
I have a drink once in a while and try to drink something relatively low in calories - usually vodka. It's only about 60 calories per ounce. I also work it into my calorie total for that day.
 
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