Wine + Phen a no-no

fitgirl · 11-07-2009, 02:10 AM

Sometimes I do have a few glasses of wine at night. I know you shouldn't, but at times, I just need to calm down or just enjoy the taste. Anyone else having this issue? I do exercise in am to de-stress, but evenings can be tough.

**pigpen065** · 11-07-2009, 02:28 PM

I would think that an occasional drink of wine wouldn't be an issue as long as it is limited to a few. Anything more than that would probably not be a good idea, but it sounds to me like that is not an issue.

**susanpesek** · 11-07-2009, 08:19 PM

One question is that if you have several glasses of wine, assuming 4 oz is 100 calories, how can you fit in enough calories to be nutritionally sound and still lose weight?

fitgirl · 11-09-2009, 05:21 PM

here is what i have discovered. if i drink 3 glasses of wine at 300 total cal., it is less cal. than if i eat food at night. i have rationalized that wine is less calories, takes longer to consume than food and i enjoy it. but, on the flipside, one could argue that i have transferred a food addiction to alcohol. and for me, i realize that is a slippery slope. bottom line is this. i used to binge on food. wine seems to be a splurg for me. i would like to have one day a week where it is ok to splurg, as long as i don't turn a splurg into a binge -- and that goes for food or alcohol. what would dr. drew say? that is the question. sometimes i just feel so old. can't drink, can't eat, ...must exercise often. living healthy is hard. it has been since i was a child. sometimes i think i should just accept this weight, although 25 pounds high, and just be happy with me. but i simply don't know how to stop trying to lose the weight. or how to stop exercising, or simply giving up. sometimes i do give up and feel like i cannot do this any longer. it feels like torture. but on the other hand, if i give up and gain weight, that also feels like torture. finding a happy medium is the goal here. ok--i got a little off track and no, i am not drinking wine right now. more like tea. thanks for listening girls. you are wonderful!

**pigpen065** · 11-09-2009, 05:55 PM

Lol!! fitgirl, you have hit the nail on the head for probably at least 50% of the dieting community!! We all feel that way sometimes, or at least I know that I do, and have heard several others say the same. So finding that happy medium is a goal that most people are looking to find.

I would like to caution you, though, that even though the wine is only 300 total calories, your body does not use those calories the same as it would use 300 calories from food. I believe that the calories you are getting there are what they call "empty calories" because they provide no nutritional value to your body. So please keep that in mind. Now, that was the moderator in me talking, but the person who faces these problems themselves says that as long as you don't use it as a crutch, don't, as you say, replace the the desire for food with a desire for alcohol, I think that what you are doing is okay. I personally am not a drinker, but who is to say that enjoying those glasses of wine for you are like someone else enjoying a few cups of coffee or tea? I guess it all depends on how you look at it.

And, if you ever do find the key to being happy with ourselves the way we are, please let me know what it is, because I have been fighting that for almost 44 years and would love to find the answer to it!! lol!! I have been fighting my weight since I was in grade school, and it does get very discouraging, but you have to look at it that it isn't a diet anymore, but a way of life. We have to adjust all our bad habits into new healthier ones and then it will be much easier.

Good luck!! And don't give up!! We are here for you!!

fitgirl · 11-09-2009, 08:30 PM

thanks for your post pigpen 065- i have to keep myself in check with everything. from wine to sugar cookies. but the thing for me is that wine is not something i can drink every night -- the medicine reminds me of that. i do wonder if i should drink at all, probably not. am happy to say i ate linguine and clam sauce last night with NO WINE. i was floored. but i also took two phens--one in the am and one in pm. of couse i wonder, is that why i didn't want anything like wine or popcorn at night? for me, the wine represents the joy in life that i do plan to have for the rest of my life regardless of my size. i am not someone who eats a fat free, tasteless diet. you nailed it when you said we have to find out what works for us..eating diet food won't work for me. i have to enjoy the taste even if it's a smaller amount. i just wish i could do this weight loss without medicine. when i go off, i think about food constantly and that is all in my brain. i want the thoughts and feelings about food to shut off--hence the reason i take phen. i don't expect gillian michales or some size 0 fitness trainer to understand my disease--obesity is very complex and i am finally giving myself permission to take the track that many boo at--people hate it when you say you take drug to help with weight loss, but it is my reality and is less invasive than something like bariatric surgury or other methods. thanks for listening to my rant!!

**susanpesek** · 11-10-2009, 11:02 PM

Great letter, Kiddo!
And I love your choices. There are many on the forum who have noticed their epilepsy or ant-depression meds will alter their regular tastes...and manu take an over the counter called 5-HTP. It helps control hunger..
Have you looked into the Mediterranean Diet?

A wonderful gal that used to be active here was NYLON. She had some great ideas about delicious foods~