Hi all you 20-somethings! I just wanted to know if anyone has any suggestions or advice on what to do when your friends drag you to the bars or happy hours? I like to go out and have a few drinks on the weekends and wanted to know what any of you do when you want to drink or any cocktail suggestions that have less calories,sugar...etc.
Anything would be helpful! Thanks!

Hey there. I always ask for a wine spritzer, which is half wine and half club soda. This way, you can socially drink but with half the calories!

My consultant said that wine, or light beer was the best, but, if you want to have a cocktail have it with Diet Soda, or, diet juice, if they have it.

I LOVE wine. I just finished a week's vacation to wine country, and I successfully maintained. Honestly, I probably would have lost if not for some of the food I ate. So, I always order wine. I just make sure to drink a glass of water for each glass of wine, and I get my arse on the treadmill either later that night or the next day. Just make sure wherever you are going out they don't have those dangerous snack bowls. Also, if your friends order appetizers and you have the same type of willpower I do, politely ask them to put them on the other side of the table. I've learned from my incident of losing 25 and then gaining it all back, that I can't put myself on a diet I can't realistically follow forever. So if you like to drink, just find a sane way to do it. We're in our 20s; that's hard enough. Don't ask me to go through it without a little going out and a drink or two.

My fav is Diet Coke with a splash of Vanilla Vodka...mmmm yummy! Vodka is 100 cals, so I have them do just a splash so that I can split the cals over two drinks - I count it as my snack for the day. So far I haven't gained, so it must be going okay!

well i like to drink with my friends but i dont do it often. So when i go to the bar and its preplanned. I minimize on what i eat, so i may skip my 2 snaks and salad at lunch. Ill eat dinner and go out. I dont know like beer or wine, i like cocktails or hard drinks. there is nothing wrong with diet coke and rum.

I like to drink also, The last time I had a drink was Superbowl Sunday I had some rum and soda but my drink of choice is wine-coolers, Dont care for anything else but Long Islandi Ice-Tea's are pretty good, That is the first drink I had when I became "Legal" Oh by the way, although I like to drink, I only drink every 2 years

My best suggestion is to stay away from anything sugary. (i.e. cosmo's, fruity shots, apple martinis etc). I normally drink skyy vodka and soda water and to cut the taste you can add a splash of cranberry juice or squeeze a couple of lemons or limes into it. I also like dirty martinis if you're into the martini's. I would stay away from even light beer or wine. Wine has too much sugar. Champagne is better b/c it has less calories or carbs than wine. Hope this helped.

Crystal light and vodka! Keep in mind that you can add a "splurge" every once in a while. Ask your consultant- she will help you work it in to your menu for the week, and even tell you how to balance it out with exercise. Also, keep in mind that even though alcohol is high in calories and low in nutrients, it's just like anything else that tastes good; There's nothing wrong with indulging once in a while as long as you keep your portion reasonable and enjoy every last bit of it.

Your friends aren't supporting you on JC?! They're dragging you to bars like that...that's kind of mean but why don't you ask your JCC to allow for you to have alcohol a few times a week that way you've planned for it

Ladies,

Don't mean to be a party pooper but alcohol on JC is counted as fats, not starches as many of us might think. A wine spritzer is the best you can do weighing in at 1 fat exchange. All light beer and wine are 2. That is you total fat exchanges for the whole day if you are a 1200 cal/day JCer. Shots count as 2 fats as well. Regular beer is 1 starch and 2 fats. Martinis are 3.5 fats and unfortunately for chicks like me who only do the fruity frozen drinks daquaris and margaritas are a whopping 7 fats!

I always make the suggestion that you have diet tonic water or club soda with lime. It appears as though you are drinking but only you and the bartender know otherwise. If you really want a drink, get just one and then switch to diet soda or the tonic water with a twist. Also, most bars will have celery on hand to garnish drinks so ask for a few stalks to munch on instead of pretzels or peanuts while sitting at the bar.

Happy Bar hopping!

Hi There!
I used to have just one Jameson a night. I made this a point on my first consultation. I didn't want to change my life if there was no possiblility of having a few whiskeys, albeit not every night, but some times.
I was told early on that I could have my Irish whiskey if I gave up my salad dressing and two snacks.

I did waht I was told. Unforntuately, when I weighed in that week I showed 0 gain/0 loss. I dsicussed this on the forums. I had a few people respond to tell me that even when they "built a drink into their menu" they had the same experience.

I was so happy to know this when I went in for the weigh in! Though I would share just for future reference!

Cheers!
Knievel

I think the biggest issue with alcohol is not the calories or exchanges. Your body needs to metabolize it before it can metabolize any other calories you put in your body. Plus, unfortunately alcohol usually goes hand in hand with grazing/snacking and lowered inhibitions when it comes to food. I still go out for drinks once in a while, but for me my weight loss has become more important than a couple of beers. I just get a diet coke and enjoy the company.

I really struggle with this. Fortunately... though not so fortunately, I like hard liquor, so I have no issue just taking shots. I do my thing... usually i dunno, who counts?? 6 shots? But I drink crazy water afterwards, and make sure i burn some calories dancing.

But I also agree that it's not 100% the drinking. Twice of the 4 times I've been out since starting JC, AFTERWARD I wanna go with everyone else to Denny's or Jack, and I just say "F" it.

It's really hard for me!!!!!!! I almost dread weekends, because I WANT to go out, i WANT to keep my same social lifestyle, but I feel so crappy afterward and beat myself up about it for days.

I'm in my 3rd week of Jenny. The first week I partied, drank 2 nights, AND ate bad one night, then lost 7.8lbs. But everybody loses hella their first week, so I dunno, I need to find a balance.

I don't know!!!!! it's an internal battle, but I really needed to vent.

Alcohol completely screwed me this week! I just started JC a week ago and I've been really good on the food and exercise but I wasn't really sure about the alcohol..and so this weekend I drank too much beer, mixed drinks, shots and I barely lost 1 pound this week. What a bummer! I don't usually drink nearly as much as I did this weekend but there was so many awesome events and get-together! None of the bars I went to had lite beer!..?
So my consultant there's as much fat in a lite beer as there is in salad dressing..so if salad dressing is a limited food- does that mean I could have 3 beers and be alright?!

what I have found most helpful is alternating glass of wine with a diet soda... my big problenm is when a party gets to be too much fun I get the drunk munchies, so after having a few too many calories with alcohol i end up munching on stuff without realizing this... anyone else have this happen?

I just started JC a week ago, and this past weekend was so difficult for me because of the no alcohol problem. That is all my boyfriend and I do is go out with friends get food and drinks. And on top of that my boyfriend has never been fat in his life so he has no idea about calories, or starches, or carbs or really anything other then beer . But anyways, I found it makes everyone happy and keeps me on track to volunteer to be the DD. Problem solved, I am not drinking and everyone is still having a good time.

I do the same thing! Works every time... plus I'm saving soooooooo much money not buying booze anymore, its nice extra padding on the 'new wardrobe' fund


The first couple of months of weekends was really rough. My friends just didn't get it, but power through and it gets easier!

Now the biggest problem (also a new challenge) is that men are occasionally offering to buy me drinks!!! I think its a fun problem to have...

I love the idea above for crystal light and vodka! I hadn't heard that one before.

Sadly as of November 18th I must move up to the 30 + category but in the meantime, I am still 29 lol.

I do have to say the alcohal piece is the hardest for me to deal with as well. I still go out with friends for after work drinks at 29 and have throughout my 20's. This is my first week and I have been out twice to a bar and have resisted having any alcohol, but I do have to figure out a way to fit a drink in here and there.... (particulary when I turn 30 in November!!!)

So has anyone found a way to balance it and still lose weight? I had thought if we drank a water for every drink of alcohol and worked out we could be okay - don't want to end up gaining by mistake so for now I will try to contain myself. Great post by the way!

I am wondering if anyone has come across this problem...I have been on JC for about a month and I have gone out twice and had maybe two lite beers. Well each time that I've done that, it has been brutal on my stomach! I have these horrible pains that keep me up all night. Before JC, I would go out like one night a week and have a couple of beers with my friends. I stopped doing that for about 2 weeks, then did it one night on my third week. My stomach hurt, but I got over it. Then just the other night (during my 5th week), I had the equivalent of two lite beers and I could not sleep at all my stomach was in so much pain. Has anyone gone through this? And what have you done to make sure you don't have that problem?

~Ashley

I am 28 and this has always been the hardest part about dieting for me. Not only do I have great friends who I love to go out with, but my second family owns a bar and both my brothers and alot of my friends work there. It is where my husband and I used to spend about 4 nights a week and drink with everyone. I love beer and wine and just enjoying being around everyone. I have started 2 plans at a the moment: one is that I alternate every beer or drink with a diet coke and i have switched to MGD 64 most nights. It has half the calories, but also half the alcohol content. I have allowed myself a few "real" beers and I have had a few wine nights. The biggest thing for me is drinking alot of water that day and the next day. I have been drinking around 2 nights a week, but have cut down to 2-3 drinks a night. I think the biggest thing to me is that ALL my friends know about my diet. I feel that the more they know the more supportive they are and the less likely to question my nondrinking nights or to try and buy me a bunch of jager shots.
I have talked to my JCC and she has said that I will be fine. I am treating this as a lifestyle change and not a diet and I am never not going to include alcohol in my life, it just isnt realistic for me. I have lost 9 pounds in 3 weeks and I am really pleased with that. I think that as long as you plan and cut back you are fine. I am actually really enjoying the time with my friends and family and am able to cut back without really missing anything. Plus the hubby and I are saving money so that is always a good thing.