Drinking my calories is my problem

No Snacks, no sweets, no seconds. Except on Days that start with S. Too simple for you? Simple is why it works. Look here for questions, introductions, support, success stories.

Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating

Post Reply
notcasey
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Feb 11, 2018 12:36 pm

Drinking my calories is my problem

Post by notcasey » Tue Jul 17, 2018 10:56 am

Hi everyone,

I bought the book off Amazon and have been lurking different forums for a while where people are discussing No S.

I KNOW this is the way forward for me - I've been restricting myself since I was 13 - I'm now 32! And each period of restriction (under whatever guise - healthy eating, etc) gets shorter and the 'rebound' gets worse. I'm now 255lbs! This seems to be a great way of being able to enjoy my life but also change my habits so I eat less overall.

In fact, the one positive is that I have managed to cut out snacks completely an d I don't miss them at all. I enjoy 3 sensible, home cooked meals each day.

My problem, however, is liquid calories. I normally drink 2 glasses of wine, or 1 large glass, in the evening, and I am kind of addicted to these Starbucks doubleshot espressos, with 140 calories each. I also like whole milk lattes. I drink 3-4 doubleshot espressos each day, and all this adds up hundreds of calories. I know it's holding me back from weight loss, but because technically it's not against the rules I find it hard not to do it.

I'm curious about how much other people drink (non-sugary drinks) and how you deal with foods you know hold you back but aren't technically off limits.

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Tue Jul 17, 2018 4:27 pm

I regard sugar-sweetened drinks as sweets, especially if it would take much more than a couple of teaspoons to sweeten them enough. To be honest, they are so unsatisfying to me in comparison to dense sweets that I rarely choose to drink much more and a bit of hot chocolate added to a big coffee on the weekend.

Although some people say not to worry about alcoholic drinks, that does not make sense to me. Another potato at every meal would make a difference. Without getting too stressfully calculating about it, could a bit of something go?

I suggest you calmly consider which of the drinks during the course of the whole day are the most important to you and slowly wean yourself off the others. Could you cut out one latte and stick to one glass of wine for now? Then see if it seems comfortable enough to reduce the others to a level that gets you more of what you want. You might surprise yourself after a couple of months.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

eschano
Posts: 2642
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Post by eschano » Tue Jul 17, 2018 4:49 pm

I tend to not worry about drinks the first one or two months then consider them. Oolala’s suggestion to do it in stages and separate. A glass of wine per day would be totally fine in my books if it didn’t make me be in a worse mood the next day
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

eschano
Posts: 2642
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Post by eschano » Tue Jul 17, 2018 7:17 pm

I found this reading the main information about NoS again. I hope you find t helpful:
What about drinks?

Sugar drinks, as mentioned above, are out. If you think you'll pop unless you get your pop, have a look at my hierarchy of pop alternatives.

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.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

ladybird30
Posts: 1118
Joined: Sun May 07, 2017 10:41 pm

Post by ladybird30 » Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:09 pm

I don't drink sweet drinks at all (never have) and gave up alcohol decades ago. So no help there. I do have have some non sweet foods which I can't indulge in daily in the amounts I want to and lose weight. If I feel like I really want them, I have them on weekends. These are foods which I can't realistically see myself not eating them for life, so I needed to decided on limits.
Three meals a day - not too little not too much, but just right

notcasey
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Feb 11, 2018 12:36 pm

Post by notcasey » Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:31 pm

Thanks all.
The problem is, although they are calorific drinks, they aren't sugary drinks. What makes them calorific is the milk. In the book it actually advises drinking milk between meals at the start if you need to. I don't drink soda. Anyway I've since learnt that there is a 2 drink recommendation, so I think I'm going to apply that to milky coffee drinks too and at least try and curb it.

Soprano
Posts: 1184
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2018 8:56 pm
Location: UK

Re: Drinking my calories is my problem

Post by Soprano » Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:36 pm

notcasey wrote:Hi everyone,

My problem, however, is liquid calories. I normally drink 2 glasses of wine, or 1 large glass, in the evening, and I am kind of addicted to these Starbucks doubleshot espressos, with 140 calories each. I also like whole milk lattes. I drink 3-4 doubleshot espressos each day, and all this adds up hundreds of calories. I know it's holding me back from weight loss, but because technically it's not against the rules I find it hard not to do it.

I'm curious about how much other people drink (non-sugary drinks) and how you deal with foods you know hold you back but aren't technically off limits.
Well done on cutting snacks. You know where the issue is, consider what do you really want most. To lose weight or continue to enjoy all those drinks that are stopping you.

I would suggest cutting them slowly if you can't stop them all together. They've become a habit, you can change habits with commitment and time :)

Aim to confine them to the weekend except maybe for one coffee or wine a day in the week. Once you see progress it will be easier to stick to....

Jx
Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.

eschano
Posts: 2642
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Post by eschano » Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:48 pm

A glass ceiling sounds like a great idea for milky drinks as well as alcohol. Let us know how you get on with it.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

ladybird30
Posts: 1118
Joined: Sun May 07, 2017 10:41 pm

Post by ladybird30 » Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:55 pm

notcasey wrote:Anyway I've since learnt that there is a 2 drink recommendation, so I think I'm going to apply that to milky coffee drinks too and at least try and curb it.
That sounds like a good place to start. Good luck.
Three meals a day - not too little not too much, but just right

Post Reply