Yup, that's about it. The alcohol is very calorific, so it gives you energy (so to speak), just no goodness whatsoever. Some alcoholics practically live off alcohol and air!

amanda

I've known a few alcoholics, and all of them have been thin. And they ate too; so not eating isn't the reason. Perhaps there is something in the genes that predisposes people to being alcoholics that also tends to have them burn alcohol differently.

I guess it kind of seems obvious to everyone but me that I'm on the precipice of alcoholism. It's just so difficult to tell the difference between people who are just young and drink too much and people that are headed towards alcoholism. Everyone I know drinks. I work at a bar. I work in a college town of 10,000 in South Dakota where pretty much all there is to do is drink. These sound like excuses, and they are, but excuses are often also valid reasons. I know one person my age that doesn't drink, and it seems like such a foreign concept to me. A 23 year-old girl who doesn't drink...weird...I'm hoping that when my bff and I move to Oregon together there will be more stuff for us to do. I don't crave alcohol, I just crave fun..and I'm bad at fun sans alcohol.

I'm young and drinking is part of my life too (well, not as young as you, but I'm Australian and we seem hard wired from birth to binge drink).

I guess it's a choice you need to make, do you want to be thin or do you want to socialise? I have managed to do both on some occasions, but I have had to say no to my boozing friends a few times. That's cos I want to be thin, and I want it badly enough now to commit to doing it properly.

i still drink, but not nearly as much as I used to. I miss it, I miss drinking wine when I get home from work, I miss going to the pub with my colleagues a few times a week for a big old drinking session, but I won't miss this fat arse once it's gone!

I'm 28 so I've been there and done that...then at 24 the partying was out of the system and I wanted to to other things. If I wanted the social night life, I'd go the club and dance. It was easy to avoid drinking then because I would just tell the bartender I was the DD and get free diet cokes.

On the other hand, I have a friend thats 34 and still feels compelled to get sloshed every weekend...then call me to cry about how lonely she is...or call me the next morning to "speak her regrets".

So yeah, you might to just get it out of your system if that's what you need to do...just don't be like my friend, LOL.

Hi there,

Whether you're on the brink of becoming an alcoholic is anyone's guess, and I don't get the impression that anyone on this forum was implying in any way that this is the case. If you think so, then maybe you are getting worried about your drinking, but that still doesn't mean you're going to become an alcoholic. And even if you were on the way, you can always turn round and leave that path. A few years back, after a few nasty twists of fate in my life all in a row, I suffered from "reactive depression" and drank too much. Since then I have battled with alcohol, but not to the degree that my drinking was so out of control that I couldn't hold down a job etc, but it bothered me because I knew that once I opened a bottle of beer (at home alone or out with friends), I would feel like I couldn't stop.

Bizarrely enough, committing to low-carbing has given me the best control I've had over alcohol for about fifteen years! I know that low-carbing and drinking beer will not lead to any weight loss in my case, but I also felt that the LC WOL was definitely the right thing for me, and I wanted to give the WOE a chance to get some weight off. I've committed, drank far less often than for years and am slimmer and feel really good about myself!

If you think you can't stop drinking, then it's time to assess whether the alcohol is controlling you, or vice versa. The amount you're drinking is not really relevant.

All the best - and believe me, I've been there, it can be done!

amanda

I like to have 1 margarita a nite & found a margarita sugar free mixer called ZILCH. It does not slow my weight loss. I mix it with a sugar free-caffeine free lemonade drink call fruit refreshers(it is really onlu flavored water) I love it but try to limit my drinks to 1 or 2 a week.LOL

Dink! I bet her body fat did not change after drinking (or if it did it was for the worse).

Well if you work at a bar, it stands to reason that most of the people you meet and know will drink. I went to school in a town about the same size as you are in and although I did drink, I knew many people who didn't, or who drank very little. They are out there, even in small college towns. Of course, I worked in a gas station during school.

Check out page 6 of this report: http://www.acha-ncha.org/docs/ACHA-...ry_Fall2010.pdf
The differences between actual use and perceived use of alcohol by college students is pretty large.

On the other hand, binge drinking and other issues with drugs and alcohol are huge problems on most college campuses. See:
http://www.yic.gov/drugfree/alcabuse.html

Jessica, it really saddens me that in a college town of 10,000, you don't know anyone college aged people who don't drink alcohol. And that you think alcohol is necessary to have fun.

I don't drink. It's not a moral or religious thing with me, I just don't really see the need or point to it. I have friends who drink and friends who don't. But when I was in college, I didn't know a single person who drank alcohol regularly. Who has time and energy for that, when you are have class, studying and work? I loved college, but I was way to busy with school to have time to drink regularly. What kind of college is it that students don't have to be students?

I suddenly feel really old and out of touch. (I'm 37, fyi).

Faduckeggs, this is a pretty old post.. I'm not drinking nearly as much anymore. While I still have plenty of issues to sort through, I'm in nowhere near the same amount of pain I was in at the time. The town I was referring to was my home town, and yes, I didn't know a single person who didn't drink at least four times a week. I moved three years ago, and the environment is much healthier. I'm in school, working, and focusing on losing weight. I do go out and drink (more so in the last two weeks because I finished my ridiculous summer class), but I feel as though I have it under control.

Good for you Jessica. I saw '08 and I was thinking whew as much as we start-stop-start LC a lot can change in that time.

Good Luck Jessica!

Jessica, I didn't even notice the date. But I am hapy for you that you have found a nice balance for your life. And there's nothing wrong with some celebration time.

Now, when are you going to change your name to SkinnyJess like we discussed?

Okay....how do I do it?

Oh, I have no idea. Maybe one of the mods knows? There is a user hep section where they can give that kind of info.