HELP!! Sabotaging Myself With Booze!!!

nolagirl2 · June 5, 2006

I totally agree - once you start, you can't stop. But I am fine just sipping crystal light, then I never miss it. And DON'T try "if i eat healthy things its ok." Because 1000 calories of healthy stuff or even 500, is still 500-1000 more calories than you should have.

Yeah, stay AWAY from creme liquers. They are delicious, but deadly.

cris35 · June 16, 2006

When I was on tthe Atkins diet a few years back, I tried all kinds of things so I could "DRINK SENSIBLY" LOL.I f you wanna stay away from carbonation so you don't permanantly stretch your pouch, then try mixing liquor with crystal light. southern comfort mixed with the iced tea flavor is real good, vodka and raspberry ice, and jack Daniels and the orange flavor. All very good. Order a jack and Water and bring the crystal light to go packets with you to the club and add it to your water. WALLAH! instant mixed drink. It worked well for me and I continually lost weight.Sad to say I gained it all plus some back cuz I went carb crazy. Started eating all the carbs I could.Not the diet for me lol.

sgreiff · June 18, 2006

I think Chardonnay might be your answer. As far as calories and carbs it's one of the lowest. Stay away from the mixed drinks, Fruit Drinks and definitly anything that is frozen. However you might really reevaluate why you drink so much on the weekends. Seriously, you can still have a good time without a LOT of booze.

Leona06 · June 20, 2006

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:

Hi Xann! I am 21 (22 in august) and am about to be banded on July 5th... I love to go out and party on weekends and live in NYC during the school year (I go to Manhattan School of Music for my Masters). I think the best thing to do about drinking is lite beers (my nutritionist said beer has fermented carbonation so its ok to drink with the band) and vodka and crystal light. I'll be back to NYC in late august if you want to meet up for one of those crazy nights out! I'm in the process of getting an apartment... fun fun, but have to wait until august to get one... I'm hoping to live in Washington Heights.

Hope this helps!

Leona :o

babsintx3 · June 20, 2006

Hi,

Not trying to be judgemental, since I was at one time the biggest party dog in the universe and now I am just an old geezer LOL

I personally did not drink my first 6 months of banding although admittedly, I was not much of a drinker since I have had children to wake up to in the morning.

Suggestions: Lay off the booze for a while until you get used to banded life and focus on weight loss.

Drink less and stay away from the high caloric drinks. There were some good suggestions here: Crystal Lite and Vodka. Red Wine since it is low in calories and actually aids weight loss. diet cranberry and vodka. Stay away fro rum. It has lots of sugar in it and will not help you at all.

Wine is my drink of choice to get a buzz and sometimes vodka and cranberry.

Babs in TX

334/180 ish

-150 ish

shantell · June 22, 2006

Hi Everyone I was just banded June 20th, Some of you say you mix the Vodka with carbinated drinks I was told I will not be able to have that again is there a trick to it? does'nt it make you feel sick or scared of slippage?

RavensRiches · June 22, 2006

Actually I was kidding when I said the "Good Drugs" posted by Cashley

Not a bad idea! Except that whenever I've choosen this route, I end up drinking even more!!! Gosh, those were really fun times........

Have you thought about getting your band tightened so that you restrict even MORE calories throughout the week to make up for your fabulous, "sucking the marrow from life", weekends? If your under 30, have no kids, and aren't running for President anytime soon, I say party hardy girl!!! Rockin' like Slayer Mannnn!!!

Leona06 · June 22, 2006

Yep shantell, no more carbonated beverages for life! But you could mix crystal lite packets in an extra cup of Water at a club and then get a shot of vodka for it...

but you are NOT supposed to drink at ALL for the first 6 months after the band because of vomitting or any other complications... so talk to your surgeon or nutritionist about drinking before you do... I know how its a "liquid" and all, but.... lol come on

Leona06 · June 22, 2006

Hi,
Not trying to be judgemental, since I was at one time the biggest party dog in the universe and now I am just an old geezer LOL

I personally did not drink my first 6 months of banding although admittedly, I was not much of a drinker since I have had children to wake up to in the morning.

Suggestions: Lay off the booze for a while until you get used to banded life and focus on weight loss.

Babs in TX

334/180 ish

-150 ish

Just to you know... that wild, crazy night out doesn't have to have alcohol and the 6 month thing is something I take very seriously

but thanks for your concern

Leona

freeradical · June 22, 2006

I make sure, and I drill it into my head before leaving the house, that every other drink is going to be a large diet coke or ice Water. Something without calories. Another trick if you're sitting at a table or bar is to order a large diet coke or ice Water along beside the alcholic beverage. Every two or three drinks pick up the water or coke and drink quite a bit of it instead of the alcohol. I'm usually very glad that I've done this the next day. I don't feel so hungover!

Hope this helped.

Freeradical

FunnyDuddies · June 22, 2006

ok. bartender checking in here. :confused: and professional drinker/partier. Ask around...its every weekend for me. And when I go out, I go out with one intention. I want to walk home on my lips after a night of flirting, drinking, smoking (no drugs please/thankyou) dancing and other unspeakables.

lets go over some basics of alcohol.

Dehydration: We all know that alcohol has calories. It also dehydrates you. A day after mass consumption of etoh will cause the next two days' weigh ins to be high just due to Water retention. You should, if you are smart, have at least 4oz of Water with every 1oz booze you down. This will help you to not become dehydrated, and will even chase away the next morning's hangover.

Beer/Mead/Ale/Lager: Most of these are carbonated, some are not though. They are HUGE on the carbohydrate scale...EVEN THE LITE BEERS. Just cause it says lite...just means it is lighter than the regular ones. Don't let this fool you. Now lets talk about the brewing process. When it is brewed in the tank it seperates into different levels. Alcohol is chemically lighter in weight than everything else you will have in there. That means the ingredients added to give you taste will sink to the bottom. The darker the liquid, the lower the alcohol content. That also means the richer the contents. The richer the contents the higher the calories. Guiness is low in alcohol volume, it takes more of it to get you drunk, and is higher in calories. The lighter the beer in color, generally, the lower in calories and the higher the alcohol content. Conclusion? You get drunk faster off of fewer drinks. There are exceptions to this rule, but it is a good thing to keep in mind. Beer generally has 12% alcohol.

Wine: Wine has a LOT of sugar in it, and while it is good in Vitamins and antioxidants, goes well with fish or beef, you will be packing on the calories if you try to use wine for a night of wild and crazy partying. You should save this for a nice dinner out. Enjoy the flavor. Maybe use it as a dessert alternative. Champagne and sparkling wine is, again, carbonated and not really a good choice for bandsters.

Mixers: Most mixers used at bars are PURE SUGAR. The powder packets used to make barmix (this is used for EVERYTHING.) and other fruit juices in most bars are nothin but sugar that turns to Syrup behind the bar. It is baaaaaaaad news. Basically if you want to stay away from calories stay away from any sour drinks, and margaritas or other frozen drinks, tom collins mix drinks, sweet and sour drinks, etc. juice drinks are like this too. Drink your juice at home in the morning with your Cereal. At least then you will be getting the nutritional value from it. And soda drinks (rum and coke, tequila and coke, creamcicles, jagerbombs, quaterbacks, etc.) have the carbonation to deal with, and the empty calories from the soda/energy drink used to make it. "But Amy! I use diet soda!" you say? No you don't. LOL I'll let you in on a little secret. Bars sign the contract for coke and pepsi to supply their fountains and tanks to get them for free and in return they promise to buy their syrup from them. Then after about a week a guy shows up to the bar before it opens, and offers the bar to buy syrup from him at 1/5th the price. MOST BARS CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS GUY TO SHOW UP!!! And the diet tastes like diet, but is not diet. So if it is coming from the fountain...do not think for one second that you are 100% sure it is diet. If you want diet, make sure they are getting it out of the can where you can see them.

Cream liquers/all liquers: The base ingedient in liquer is SUGAR. Pure sugar. Liquers are a flavored alcoholic sugar liquid. This is a fact of ALL liquers. They are also notoriously the LOWEST in alcohol content. They are used to flavor other drinks. These are not drinks you want to try to get drunk off of. You will ingest more calories than you did all week long before you start feeling ANYTHING. Now there are a few liquers out there that are higher in alcohol content that will get you drunk fast, and taste good, and I use them a lot because it only takes a little to get a long way. These include the following:

99 Bananas

99 Apples

99 Blackberries

99 Oranges

Calories (kcal) 91

Carbohydrates 8.1 g

99 proof. High alcohol content, great straight, or mixed with a diet soda Personally I love it straight. Blackberries and Bananas are GREAT together!! A few of these will have you feeling very happy in no time.

Southern Comfort

Calories (kcal) 65

Carbohydrates 2.7 g

70 Proof but NO! you say? Southern Comfort is a liquer?? YES!!! But god is it good! All of us like to channel Janis every now and again, and this stuff will get you happy in a heartbeat!! Great mixed with anything, or just plain straight. It is ULTRA sweet though. Watch yourself now!

Liquor: Not to be confused with Liquers. REALLY different. These are made from many different bases. Rice, potatoes, grain, engine oil... You name it someone has probably tried to make alcohol from it. These are going to have your lowest calories to highest alcohol content ratio generally. I will give some examples of some basic liquors you can find behind the bar, and what we are looking at calorie wise so you can drink band-smart the next time you go out. Depending on taste and personal preference you can mix these liquors with various other liquids to enjoy them. Personally, I like to find what tastes good straight, and drink it like that. But like I said, I am a pro.

Vodka

Absolut (Anything)

Calories 69

Carbohydrates 0g

Most vodkas are going to run around 80 proof. Absolut is your typical bar vodka and it comes in a bazillion flavors. These flavors are added chemically. There is no lower calorie flavor between them.

Rum

Bacardi

Calories 69

Carbohydrates 0g

Most rums are going to run around 80 proof. The main exception is that most coconut rums (Like Malibu) are going to be much lower in alcohol, and has sugar added. Stay away from the Malibu. Dark and light doesn't really make a difference. So enjoy a nice spiced rum on the rocks. I know I do!!

Scotch/Whiskey/Burbon

Glenlivet/Crown Royal/Old Grandad

Calories 69

Carbohydrates 0g

Most whiskey drinks (which includes scotch and burbon, but does not MEAN scotch or bourbon. That is another discussion entirely) are going to, again, run around 80 proof. There are exceptions. Old Grandad is 86 proof. Yukon Jack Canadian Whisky is a honey based whiskey and is 100 proof and will knock you down fast.

Tequila

Jose

Calories 69

Carbohydrates 0g

Usually 80 proof. VIVE CUERVO! Oh Jose...you have been the downfall of many a night for me. LOL Most tequilas are going to be the same as the other alcohols in caloric and carb content. Drink it straight and you are on your way to a good evening without too many calories. I do not have the nutritional information on the worm. So just stay away from it.

Grain Alcohol

Everclear

Calories 190

Carbohydrates 0g

Holy hell. Even I don't drink this shit. LOL This stuff is 190 proof. That means that it is 95% alcohol volume. Straight pain. This stuff has to be mixed with something. anything. Or it will burn a hole in your throat, and you will be stupid in nothing flat. But as far as calories versus content goes...this will get the job done for very little. Good luck on that one.

Well I hope that i have been able to shed some light on this. If you are determined to go out and have a fall down good time, do a little research. Plan ahead of time. Work out a strategy. It will only last for about the first 2 drinks if all goes well, but at least your intentions were good. Happy partying, and I'll see you on the dance floor!!

nolagirl2 · June 22, 2006

Wine: Wine has a LOT of sugar in it, and while it is good in Vitamins and antioxidants, goes well with fish or beef, you will be packing on the calories if you try to use wine for a night of wild and crazy partying. You should save this for a nice dinner out. Enjoy the flavor. Maybe use it as a dessert alternative. Champagne and sparkling wine is, again, carbonated and not really a good choice for bandsters.

Wine is actually probably a better bet than a lot of mixed drinks (unless you bring in your own crystal light). A glass has between 65-100 calories, and 1-3 g carbs.

Woodys · June 22, 2006

If you live in the States you may not have this problem, however...in Ontario our Ministry of Health does not allow a customer to bring in their own food or drink to an eating or drinking establishment.

As an owner of a restaurant I'm very leary of anyone who brings their own food or drink into my establishment....even if its just an envelope of powdered drink mix. Health Dept rules or not, I would not permit it. If you got ill from eating or drinking something in my restaurant.....how would we know if wasn't the result of something you brought in.......the liability factor is not worth it......my insurance is high enough now as it is.

Carol

nolagirl2 · June 22, 2006

Granted, post-band, for me a night of getting good and drunk off wine can take anywhere from 3-5 glasses. Most liquors have similar calorie counts per serving. Wine has more carbs, but doesn't need any mixer.

FunnyDuddies · June 22, 2006

Yes absolutely. But my post was geared towards what is going to get you drunk, which most of us are trying for when we actually go out to party. Even if we don't want to admit it. Calories versus alcohol content, there are many better drinks you could consume to get the job done with fewer calories. Wine is best saved for the enjoyment with a meal, or good friends in the yard.