Really? I can’t tell. 
Congratulations!!!
So I am recently single and trying to work out, etc., to occupy my time and exercise out the stress/grief I’m dealing with. I’m also hoping to put myself into better shape for re-entering the dating world.
I’m also going through a bit of a shift in my social life. Instead of lots of time with my girlfriend, I’m spending more time out with friends - usually over drinks. It seems that anytime I have some beers, I have a fairly large spike upwards in my weight. Is it more than just the “empty calories” of the beer? Are mixed drinks, say a Gin & Tonic, a better option for reducing weight gain?
Thanks,
MeanJoe
I’ll take the silence as beer having zero-impact on weight gain. Woo, time for a beer! 
(Kidding - anyone have an opinion on the above?)
Well if you go with diet tonic for your GT, all you are getting is the 70 to 100 calories for the gin depending on your strength. Beer is going to run you about the same unless you go for something like a Guinness. You’re probably retaining water and noticing that on the scale
Anyone know of a lower (or zero) calorie cocktail? If I’m going 70-100 even with a diet tonic, I might as well have the beer. Mmmm… beer.
MeanJoe
Honestly, I don’t know of much you’re going to get for fewer calories than that. Light beer or a shot of alcohol with a no-calorie mixer is about as low as you get. Alcohol has a certain number of calories, so as long as you’re drinking it, you’re taking them in.
So a light beer, a 4oz glass of wine, and a drink with a shot of alcohol (and no other calorie-filled mixers) are all about the same.
So if you like beer, do it! Just don’t drink too many.
I keep seeing this commercial for something called MGD 64 which is Miller Genuine Draft’s 64 calorie lite beer. Personally, if I’m going to drink beer I’m going to drink something excellent that I really love and figure out how to fit the calories in rather than drink 64 calorie swill just so I can drink more but that’s just me. I’ve never had MGD 64 so I don’t really know it’s swill, just an educated guess.
One thing I’ve noticed is that when I’m drinking I can eat a lot more. Dulls my sense of fullness and also dulls my resolve in terms of dieting. Check to make sure that the beers with the guys aren’t accompanied with bar snacks in larger quantities than you realize.
Today I doubled my walk/jog. Got in 11000 steps before breakfast. Of course, now I’m exhausted. But I’m down to 158 on my scale. Hope to have a nice loss to show for my extra workout at my WW meeting on Fri.
We started our walking challenge today at work which was the reason for my doubling my morning walk. I want to stay in the top 100 this time.
Thanks for the replies folks… Let me ask a related question then:
Assuming calories are equal between a light beer, a shot of alcohol, or wine - is there anything else to consider in regards to each such as sugar content, water retention, etc., to consider when choosing?
MeanJoe - Who despises those pseudo-beers like Mich Ultra, etc.
Down one pound to 184. Ho-hum. Last weekend I went to my boyfriend’s family reunion, which involved some Real Food, so didn’t lose that week. Boo.
Not in my mind. Do you find yourself retaining water easily in general? Do you favor carbonated vs non-carbonated?
I mean, we could REALLY stretch things and talk about the health benefits that supposedly exist for drinking red wine and stuff, but to me that’s reaching.
Drink what you like and be done with it, man!
I had a business breakfast last week and planned to wear my grey suit. But when I put it on, the pants were sliding off my hips. This wasn’t going to be a subtle hitch to keep them on…this was going to be a Look Out if I Bend Over type situation.
I grabbed my grey suede skirt (that I’d had altered) instead and this weekend I cleaned out my closet. I tried on everything and if it didn’t fit, it went into a trash bag. I found some very nice outfits that I can wear again, as well as some that were too outdated to keep. I got two full trash bags to donate to charity, my closet is half empty, and I told my husband to tell everyone I want gift cards to clothing stores for Christmas!
Wow, ivylass, that’s terrific! The clothing thing is very gratifying, and motivating. It’s taken me about year to lose 10 lbs, even with tons of exercise and portion control, but yesterday I wore pants that hadn’t fit in 2 years!
I’m about 8 lbs from my dream weight, and 4 from a realistic 39 yr old standpoint. I won’t give up chocolate or cream in my coffee, which no doubt adds to the creeping slowness of my weight loss.
I’ve just added weightlifting to my usual hiking and stairmaster, thanks to a thread on the dope where several people recommended stumpuous. I hope to keep it up 3x a week and maybe see a little more *speed *in the weight loss/strength gain department.
When winter snow starts, it’ll be snowshoeing and xc skiing, both of which are more intense than hiking for me, so I hope to keep off the deadly winter-comfort-food gain.
That is so awesome, congrats!
I bought a pair of jeans last week that are 2 inches down in size at the waist. They are a motivational jeans at the moment. The bonus, when they fit so will a lot of other jeans in my closet! Woo!
MeanJoe
Brilliant, Ivylass! Nothing nicer than revisiting old clothes friends not to mention getting a whole lot more new ones! That is one of my goals; to be able to buy new stuff when I go to England at Christmas. Here in Japan I am Massive Elephant Size even at my perfect weight, sigh…
As of yesterday I could get back into some jeans. This is good new but not wonderful as at the moment they are only Really Uncomfortably Tight as opposed to Bloody Impossible To Do Up. But I am getting there.
I think I weighed in last Friday (need to check) so I’ll keep my weight loss announcement till then, but its not going as well this week, sigh…
Current Weight: 196.4
Starting Weight: 203
Total Loss: 6.6lbs
Goal Weight: 185
Goal Date: 12/15/08
I’m on a business trip the next two days which means eating out, etc. Add to that a bachelor party on Saturday and the beer and food involved in that and I expect to have my weight bounce up a bit. I’ve made it to the gym on Monday and Wednesday. I’ll go again on Saturday morning.
Walking tall and looking good, shoulda stayed in Hollywood…
MeanJoe
I again weight the least that I have in a dozen years at 83.4 kg, about 183 lbs. I’ve kept the weight off for about a month. This is down about 20 lbs from my high. Some little thing is keeping me busy!
Hi everyone! I haven’t checked in for a while so I thought it was about time. I gained about a pound in September and early October which was a bad time with birthdays, parties, weddings, trips, and not enough time to exercise. I’ve quickly dropped back to 163, though. After taking a bit of a hiatus this summer to relax and maintain, I’m back in the mindset to start losing. My goal is 155 pounds.
Some non-scale victories to share:
- Last weekend my husband enlisted my help to lift the oak hood from our 125-gallon aquarium. This thing is huge, and heavy. I was able to lift my end off and later back on with no problem. Last time we did this I thought I was going to die. He commented on how much stronger I am now than I was back then. All that weight-lifting is paying off!
- Getting out my winter clothes is making me realize just how small I have gotten. I’m a little sad that some of my favorite stuff is way too big, but it’s thrilling when something I love that was too small before fits perfectly.
- I bought a size 8 pants a few weeks back. That was a huge leap for me. I was terrified. I think my biggest fear in losing is that I’m not going to be able to maintain once I’ve reached my goal. But I had to force myself to go another size smaller because all the 10s I’ve been wearing are too big. I did confide to a co-worker who has been very supportive of me that I was wearing an 8 (I needed someone other than my husband to do an ass check to make sure they didn’t look tight). She said they looked great and added, “You should have left the tags on so everyone would know!” Oh, and I also bought a sweater in a size medium. I never thought I’d see the day.
My goal this weekend is to do what ivylass did and perform a major closet cleaning. What doesn’t fit will either go to friends and family or get bagged up for Goodwill. I also need to make a trip to Goodwill to find some more clothes for myself.
That scares me too. But then I remind myself that I have Sparkpeople now, so if the weight starts coming back, I’ll have the tools to get it off again.
But it won’t come back. It’s weird seeing just how many ads and news articles and such are about weight loss, and realizing, “Hmmm…that doesn’t pertain to me anymore!”
I’m feeling very rebellious about the diet thing lately. I don’t want to exercise and I don’t care what I eat. I think I’m feeling the blahs because I have to lower my caloric intake a bit because I’m not losing anything and because it’s sooooo dark when I wake up to exercise and I’m feeling tired.
I’m considering this week a little break. This weekend I have to sit down with my diabetic exchange lists and plan out some meals and snacks so I can get a handle on the new calories (not a huge diff–from 1800 to 1600). I just need to spend a few minutes thinking about it. Hopefully, I’ll be back on track by Sunday.