Any advice appreciated!

[heather42]

HI ,
Just started the No S diet on the 25th of August, but have a quick question for any individual with a similar situation.

I am finding it difficult to totally give up my beer each night, although I know it is loaded with calories. (150 per bottle approximayely)I can limit myself to one bottle, however, even that accumulates to a huge calorie total at weeks end.

So just wondering if anyone has had weight loss by continuing to drink alcohol beverages in this manner. Thanks for any input.

[la_loser]

I'll lay money that Reinhard's official answer will be that liquid calories (unless they'd be considered a dessert-like a milkshake or straight coke/pop, etc.!) do not count as S's. It may be that if you can use a beer during dinner in the evening or even later to signal to yourself that you're done eating for the day, it could be a good thing and will help you avoid snacking.

More importantly--get your habits of No S ingrained first for at least a few weeks then see what happens.

From the web-site:

. . .What about drinks?

I don't count alcoholic beverages as esses. I usually have a drink or two a day, which I've read is supposed to be very healthy. 2 drinks is my "glass ceiling," however, because I've read (and experienced) that more than that can be pretty awful. If you drink that or less, I don't imagine it'll have much impact from a caloric point of view. If you drink much more, you may have a different sort of problem altogether.

The subject of drinks isn't to be viewed in purely negative terms. It's not just about avoiding liquid calories. Drink water proactively, to ward off hunger. Thirst is often confused with hunger, and a glass of water can be an effective snack replacement. No, it doesn't taste quite as good, but yes it can work. . .

Good luck.

[Betty]

The best thing is to decide what you want, what you're willing to do, and then stick with it.

I do count alcoholic beverages as S's (mostly because if I have a beer I almost always want a salty snack with it )

On the other hand, I almost always have a latte in the morning, which most likely has the same caloies as a bottle of beer. I just love my lattes, and can't see myself giving them up!

It sounds like beer might be a deal breaker for you. My advice is to legalize it and enjoy it.

Betty

[heather42]

Thanks so much for the replies La Loser and Betty!

I think I will most likely go for it, but if I do not lose any weight over time, then I may have to rethink my strategy.

[kccc]

Heather, that sounds really reasonable. If the snacks/sweets/seconds don't do what you want, then you can "tweak" after a month or so.

And I find gradual changes are SO much easier to live with. IF you do come to the point where you do need to cut back, it may not be so hard by then.

[reinhard]

Hi Heather,

People drank beer and wine with dinner for thousands of years and stayed skinny. Just look at the proverbally skinny French. I wouldn't worry about this (unless you're drinking more than a glass or two a night). I personally usually have a drink (or two) with dinner.

Yes, booze is caloric, but you've got to look at the whole behavioral package of eating and drinking, not just the calories of some component. My bet is that the habit of moderate drinking actually helps keep ones weight under control, and there's even some evidence to back this up.

http://www.newsgd.com/enjoylife/living/ ... 070014.htm

Reinhard

[heather42]

Thanks to everyone for the replies and thanks for the website link, Reinhard.