14 replies to this topic

[nmbt]

I am a newbe and doing ok overall but having a really hard time giving up that nightly glass of wine especially when my hubby still has his!

[I Called Jenny]

nmbt, on 26 October 2011 - 09:21 AM, said:

I am a newbe and doing ok overall but having a really hard time giving up that nightly glass of wine especially when my hubby still has his!

Welcome! Hope you'll come to the boards often to chat, ask questions, chime in on discussions or just whine about your wine.

Look, no one is saying that you can never have a glass of wine again BUT you also have to be willing to put up with the consequences. I'm not even talking about the calories (which runs about 125-175 for a FIVE OUNCE serving so you would have to be DILIGENT about measuring the wine) but wine is VERY high in sodium so that means you might have to double your water and increase your exercise.

So talk to your JCC and ask if you can exchange your snack for a FIVE OUNCE glass of wine. Or, if you can indulge maybe ONCE a week.

Basically if it's THAT important to you AND you're willing to put up with consequences (water gain, possibly slowing your weight loss, etc.) you may be able to have that ONE, SMALL glass of wine.

But, you know, it's a slippery slope. Once you allow yourself something you shouldn't have (and don't judge by men because my husband eats cakes and ice cream every night and chips and all kinds of fattening things and he still has a 32" waist and men, in general, will lose weight faster and gain slower), you may be more inclined to say to yourself, "Well I'll just have ____ just this once." Or, "Well I messed up with ___ so I'll start over again on Monday," then be aware of what you're doing.

I'd say have a FRANK discussion with your JCC and see what she/he has to say.

Seriously, I had to give up wine too (and TONS of other things) but as the saying goes, "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels."

Phyllis

[sweetj]

Limiting my wine intake is the most challenging aspect of my lifestyle change. 'Tis true that drinking alcohol sabotages your weight loss efforts, through extra calories AND water retention. Something to keep in mind is that the changes you are making are not just temporary during your weight loss effort, they need to be for good (the weight will pile back on REALLY fast if you aren't careful). That said, giving up wine completely for me would be like giving up sunshine and puppy dogs. I've accepted my once a week glass of wine splurge, (strict 8oz measurement, my minimum for that warm fuzzy feeling). I look forward to it all week & savor it like gold.

[Lizrs]

My JCC now laughs at me about my wine. It's true that many of the changes we are making cannot be temporary. But the response about it being like giving up sunshine and puppy dogs is so right on! I've been finding that there is only a certain chronological time where I crave my Cabernet and if I can get past that time, I'm good. So I try to have club soda with lime and lots of icon hand. The sparkly, fresh taste of that makes me feel really good about skipping my 5 oz.

The other thing my JCC told me which has stuck with me is that the alcohol in wine, which we know from high school health class stays in our system for 72 hours, messes up our metabolism for 72 hours. Our liver thinks it's being poisoned and the entire time it has to "fight the enemy" our metabolism for food intake goes down. For three days!!! It's a bummer and while it's not a deal breaker for me, it's a deterrent.

It's about changing habits. And you'll find that it gets easier with success.

PS I still have wine...but it's carefully planned for and totally appreciated.

[Pamela A]

I promise you that the craving for your nightly glass of wine will pass. I substituted a cup of diet hot cocoa (20 cal) for my wine, and now I really look forward to THAT.
I found that while I was getting started on Jenny, I had better luck and motivation when I just stuck to the program. No eating out, no alcohol, no off-program snacks. The two times I did go off I messed up my week's weight loss goal completely! It just was not worth it.
Tell yourself that you will get to have wine again one day, when you are slim and healthy. Good luck! Jenny ROCKS!

[juliebrown]

Me too! I also miss my bathing suit.

[matchingoutsidetoinside]

I am struggling with to wine or not to wine. My inhibition for food goes down too. I think I will limit my alchohol or knock it off completely until I'm halfway. It just seems to early in my plan to waste the time and money by derailing myself with alchohol.

I had a glass of wine last night and felt so guilty about it, it didn't even taste good. Now the whole 72 hour thing? Wow, I think I'll make a list of things I want more:

having wine:

means fitting in with the group
means not making other choices
means waiting 72 hours for my metabolism to go back to normal
means feeling guilty
slows my weight loss down ;(
have to trade in snacks

not having wine:

no headache or hangover
feeling proud and in control
means I can have my snacks
means that the other hockey parents will tease me (like they did yesterday) when I ordered a virgin ceasar
means I'll have to come up with other drink selections

I am going to copy and paste this on my iphone. Next time I feel like a wine- I'm going to make myself read it. I hope it helps

give me some suggestions for other drinks in a social setting (lounge) that I can order that are no cal, low cal, and delicious

[stacigil]

I so agree! I greatly miss my wine while cooking dinner. To be honest, I still have it twice a week and make sure I spend an extra session at the gym. It has been the hardest change... Well that and smelling the fast food my son and husband eats.

I am on week 4 and did not feel in control until after the second week.

Stay the course everyone!

[alley2]

matchingoutsidetoinside, on 29 January 2012 - 09:20 AM, said:

I am struggling with to wine or not to wine. My inhibition for food goes down too. I think I will limit my alchohol or knock it off completely until I'm halfway. It just seems to early in my plan to waste the time and money by derailing myself with alchohol.

I had a glass of wine last night and felt so guilty about it, it didn't even taste good. Now the whole 72 hour thing? Wow, I think I'll make a list of things I want more:

having wine:

means fitting in with the group
means not making other choices
means waiting 72 hours for my metabolism to go back to normal
means feeling guilty
slows my weight loss down ;(
have to trade in snacks

not having wine:

no headache or hangover
feeling proud and in control means I can have my snacks
means that the other hockey parents will tease me (like they did yesterday) when I ordered a virgin ceasar
means I'll have to come up with other drink selections

I am going to copy and paste this on my iphone. Next time I feel like a wine- I'm going to make myself read it. I hope it helps

give me some suggestions for other drinks in a social setting (lounge) that I can order that are no cal, low cal, and delicious

Oh I love this! I need to remember it too! I love my wine but not what it does to my body!

[matchingoutsidetoinside]

I checked with my jc councilor and she advised no food tradeoffs, and no alcohol, but also said if I have to imbibe to trade it foe execise and drink lots of water. That being said it takes 30 minutes of running to knock off 200 cals for me so I guess this is still an opportunity to practice my willpower remember:

You are more than you appear to be, all the strength and power of the world resides within you!!

[jennybeth]

My JCC said go ahead and drink but give up your snack - your choice! Yes, she actually said that, though she did raise her eyebrows when I asked (lol, I was joking!) if I could do that every night, lol..
Never knew about that 3 day thing! Or about wine having sodium!
Wow. Food - or, er, Wine for thought

[mojoamy]

I am making a lifestyle change here, so I felt I needed to learn a different way to drink my wine. If I sat here thinking I am not going to be able to have wine anymore, it would gnaw at me and I would end up drinking a whole bottle. I didn't have alcohol at all the first week, but after that we were in social situations and I wanted to join in and not feel deprived. What I do is pour about 1.5 to 2 oz of wine in a glass and then top the glass off with seltzer water. I can still feel like I am having my wine and that one glass can last a long time. I do like a beer every once in a while also, so I have started having the Budweiser select 55 calorie beers and I limit myself to 2 at the most. I don't trade off food for my alcohol, but if I know I am planning to have a drink I try to get in extra activity to compensate. I do drink once or twice a week, I enjoy it, and I felt I needed to learn a way to incorporate it without totally sabotaging my efforts to lose weight. I am honest about it in my food blog and my JCC has not told me I can't do, in fact she was pleased I found a way to do it that was sensible within my diet.


Just like anything else, the important word to remember is moderation.

[drsboland]

I went bowling for the first time without beer. I felt good that I did not depend on beer for having a good time but just enjoyed the company and activity. The real reward was at my weigh in and I had lost 5.4 pds that week. I still have a couple of drinks a week but am choosey about when I decide to.

[manthony72]

hmmmm......guess I never thought out the whole alcohol thing b/c it's not usually an issue for me. I'm not a wine lover (just occasionally) but I was out the other night with fam and they were having seagrams 7, so I did too with diet coke. Maybe this was the reason for a lower loss this week.......................{thinking}

[I Called Jenny]

juliebrown, on 25 January 2012 - 03:09 AM, said:

Me too! I also miss my bathing suit.

Julie, welcome to the boards and thanks for the laugh! That's a great line in the sarcastic humor that I personally love. Hope you'll come to the boards again soon.