So I've taken a long hard look at my food journal as of late and have even thought about getting another fill, but when i face REALITY the problem is that I consume huge amounts of calories through BOOZE every single weekend! I don't believe I have a drinking problem. I'm 28 and live in New York City. No kids or anything. I go out with big groups of girls and guys every weekend and we just end up drinking sooooo much! I realized that I consumed 5475 Calories in total from Friday, Saturday and Sunday and 3200 of them were from Alchohol! I dance and stuff when I'm out so that's good, but still! All week long I'm really good with sticking around 1300 calories and going to the gym and then BOOM, weekend comes around and it's all lost. Does anyone else have this problem? I'd really, REALLY, REALLY appreciate anyone's advice.

:help: :help: :help:

Ok. I'm sorry but those who say "just don't drink", I think that's kinda crappy. Being banded doesn't mean that you have to go out with friends and sit and drink a bottle of Water. We didn't get banded and realistically expect to give up ALL vices. We gave up unhealthy eating habits, if someone want to have a few drinks (IN MODERATION) on the weekend- that's THEIR CHOICE!

**Stepping off of my soapbox** :Banane33:

Generally, when I go out I will order a couple of shots of tequilla or vodka & water on the rocks. But I get really excited if the place offers light cranberry juice. Then I have a Cape Cod-cranberry juice and vodka. This is generally also what I make at house parties.

Also, there are little margarita mixer travel pouches that they sell on www.bariatriceating.com where all you do is order tequila and water and open the pouch, stir and voila you have your own sugar free margarita!

Kristin

Thanks for that link Kristin - we used to get these daiquiri (sp) mixes like that and have not found them in 2 years, guess they quit selling them in our area.

That is about the only thing I would ever have if I drank anything - parties at our house we made those and everyone else brought other drinks.

I was a bit bummed when I read no alcohol after banding - 3 or 4 times a year we have bbq's and I thought NO ALCOHOL at all was allowed.

Going to order some of those now

yummm -A Mai Tai is an exotic pineapple, lemon, lime, orange, rum punch...

very tropical and lightly fruity.

I personally would try to order a glass of water between drinks. You still get to enjoy, but you can cut the calories in half by doing it that way. And this is just while you are trying to lose weight. When you are down and just maintaining, then you can go back to what you are doing.

How about ordering sparkling water with a twist of lime and tell everyone you are drinking gin? No one will know that you aren't drinking alcohol, and you are not consuming empty calories. You can then act wild and crazy without the booze and no one with notice.

I can't drink alcohol at all because I never had a stopping point like most other people. I often used to envy those that could drink 1 or 2 and stop. That was not a possibilty for me. The same held true for drugs and later with food. I guess being an "overdoer" means moderation is an impossibility for some of us. I know that some of the others banders I know say that a "seabreeze" is excellent for the waistline. This consists of vodka and cranberry juice. Then there's always a martini flavored any way you like with vodka or gin. Oh yeah, by the way, I used to be a bartender. One of the banders at my doctor's office has lost 160 lb.s so far and said she drinks corona light because it has less carbonation than other beer. Whatever you decide, the very best to you. See ya!

You say you don't have a drinking problem so quit drinking for a month and see what happens. I drink far less than I did when I was younger so I don't want to appear like I am being hollier than thow (See my signature below for confirmation) but I have have a suggestion. When I was a young man I would quit drinking every year for at least a month, my rational was that as long as I could do this I was able to confirm that I did not have a problem. My rule was I would quit drinking for a month until I was unable to quit. If I was ever unable to quit for a month it was time to quit for life.

I bet you would lose a few pounds too so it's all good

I have this exact same problem!!! I love going out and partying with my friends but really have to watch the calories. I stick to wine (90 calories a glass) and try to limit it to about three glasses, which normally gets me really tipsy. However, even those extra 300 calories can be bad news. I'm seriously thinking of switching to pot...

Like everything else in life, it's about choices. If you want to lose weight, you can't "waste" all those calories on alcohol. Adding to the problem is the fact that alcohol is an appetite stimulant.

Have you considered beginning the night and ending the night with one alcohol based drink and only drinking water or virgin drinks inbetween? Can you have the same level of enjoyment without the alcohol? Would your friends care if you decided to have fun, dance and socialize but NOT drink alcohol?

Ultimately, the decision is yours and I wish you good luck with it.

Choose wisely. Of all the things that my dietician and I discussed this past Monday afternoon, I brought those two words with me.

I love Bud Lite, there I said it! :bananadoggywow:

The only good thing is now that I'm not eating so much with the band, I have become a real cheap drunk. hehe

I myself dont have a problem yet with carbonation, but I have another fill on Monday (thank goodness!) Glad to know that someone else has issues with going out and drinking. Thought I was the only one. :Banane20:

Wow guys! I'm so happy to know I'm not the only drunkie-pants!! I really, REALLY appreciate all of your suggestions and I think I may try the "no drinking for one month" test. It's absolutely true that I just flat out do not lose weight when I'm drinking. I guess 1 drink wouldn't kill me but it's NEVER one drink for me. I go out with friends for "one drink" on a Thursday night and then it ends up being 6 drinks and staying out until 2am. That's sort of the NYC lifestyle and I DO love it, but I've totally put on 30 pounds since I've lived in evil Gotham and it doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize what the culprit is! I'm actually moving out of NYC in a few months and kind of looking forward to it because I'm hoping it will "Slow Me Down."

But trust me, I DO drink very low cal drinks -- almost exclusivly I drink vodka and seltzer Water now. I didn't think selzer has any calories but someone PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong. Wine makes me get really woozy and I didn't think I could still drink beer. Do y'all still drink beer? I tried a sip right after banding and was in pretty bad pain so I haven't tried it again. BUT I also thought that some people thought it could lead to stretching of the pouch -- what do y'all think??

etoh is a bear for the dieter. 1. You must choose a low calorie drink 2. You must limit yourself to two to three drinks per evening.

What I usally do is have one drink before dinner and two glasses of wine with dinner.

At a party-always a challenge because people hand you drinks- separate drinks with a soft drink or bottled Water. And again-limit yourself to two.

Good luck-you have identified a major weight loss barrier

If the beer caused you pain, then the answer is that you probably can't drink beer. Some people have no issues at all with carbonation and some people just can't handle it. Doctors don't agree on the carbonation issue either. Some say never, some say in moderation, and some say "as long as you can handle it".

Good luck!

I have gone to a few family/friends functions and ordered a glass of ice pulled out my Isopure apple-melon poured it over the ice and Appletini lol or so people thought.(yes I carry a big purse)

Hello everybody,

I have been reading the posts on this thread and note that no one has suggested increasing the level of exercise that you can do. Whenever I have a big eating / drinking event coming up I do an EXTRA 45 - 60 mins (per day) of cardio during the week proceeding the event. Given my weight and the length of time I am exercising I can accumulate a 4000 calorie deficeit, which I can then use for drinks and food during the event.

Hope this helps

Regards