..or do the rest of you think that advertising the Sunday Times Wine Club all over this site is taking the mickey just a little bit?

Now where's my chardonnay!

Just a tad, yes. I guess advertising pays for the site but it could maybe be better targeted advertising. Chardonnay? I prefer a nice red myself. Not that I drink since I have been trying to lose weight. Oh okay, just the odd one or three.

On a serious note re: Chardonnay...with 1.5 stone to lose within 3 months, what do people believe is a legitimate amount of alcohol to drink each week? It just seems a shame to give up totally...

A shame to give up totally? I am not sure I could manage to give up totally. I enjoy it too much but everything in moderation etc etc. A 4 fl oz glass of red wine is 95 calories so not that fattening really (at least compared to a viennese whirl which is 137 calories!!!). I don't think a glass of wine a night on average is going to make a huge amount of difference though I have noticed if I consume, say, half a bottle a night my weight balloons.

Excellent...380 calories tonight it is!

Thanks Sue.

And I'm sure that we should all take careful note of the recent research showing that drinking in moderation actually seems to make you live longer...!

Simon Crompton
Body&Soul

And red wine is actually quite good for you.

I found this:
http://health.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=11123 0

To quote it: Just 83 out of 100,000 Frenchmen die from heart disease compared with 230 in the US. The difference? The amount of red wine they drink.

Now I have an excuse *says while pouring herself a nice glass of red wine*.

Wish I'd noticed this thread earlier, have cut out wine completely and really missed it, way more than chocolate.
As it's Friday I will celebrate with a nice glass of Merlot. We're trying venison for the first time so it should go nicely.

Thanks everyone, more justifying wine facts very welcome.

Here's a justifying wine fact that med me laugh,Wendy....

As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.

In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 ltr of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. coli) - bacteria found in feces.

In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.

However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whisky or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.

Remember: Water = Poop



Wine = Health.


Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of s**t.

Okay, more justification.
I have an old Rosemary Conley low-fat diet book. You're allowed 1-2 glasses of wine per night - no doubt later editions restrict it more, tell you to stay within official guidelines. In the trials, the people who drank their allowance lost more weight than those who didn't.

Also, I gave up wine for Lent one year. I drank water instead, no fizzy drinks, and lost a measly 2lbs.
If you're drinking what you think is too much then obviously it would be worth cutting it out/down. Otherwise, life's too short to miss out such a pleasure.
Di
x

just luurve this!!!

also i have read that red wine is good for your memory (and i have managed to remember that so it must be right!)

and anti-aging so i think i shall work at looking like a thirty year old. hic!

I have gone through periods of not drinking and found it made very little, if any, difference. I am talking moderate drinking here though. I am sure it would show on the scales if I was drinking a bottle of white wine a night. But the odd glass or two of red wine spread over an evening makes no difference to my weight loss. As one lady here said, life is too short to miss out on that pleasure. I can do without chocolate and the really sweet foods I love but a glass of wine in the evening will relax me, especially after a stressful day. On that topic still, has anyone tried the Weight Watcher's wines? I noticed them in Tesco the other day.

Our local Tesco had a tasting of 'light' wines last week, I think they were Lindeman's (sp?), would they be the same?. I tried both red and white, they were okayish but kind of thin, watery. And they were £4.99 a bottle!
I think I'd prefer to just add soda to normal wine, or drink less of it.

Thanks Diane, that has answered my question. In that case I don't think I will bother. If I have been good diet-wise that day and exercised, a nice glass of wine is my 'treat', something I really enjoy and if the wine wasn't so nice I think I would feel a bit cheated.

Sue, my philosophy is to eat really well, be as fit as I reasonably can, and hopefully live long enough to enjoy the benefit - but I need to be happy too. A nice glass or 2 of wine (and regular chocolate!) are part of me being happy.

I don't have several stones to lose, or any serious food problems. We eat real food, bought as much as possible from local suppliers.
I'm here because I do need to get fit; I haven't been able to do much for a while, but am determined. The discipline of logging in here and logging activity helps. So far so good.
Cheers!

Good philosophy but you said the C word! Unfortunately I am totally undisciplined when it comes to chocolate so I tend to avoid it. I can't just have a small amount. Wine is easier. I can savour it and control what I drink (usually).

I find I am starting to lapse a bit on logging food and activity. I am still watching my diet and exercising but I know I am keeping up with it so I am not sure I need to fill in the logs any more.

Good luck with it Diane. You certainly sound positive!

Sue, sounds like you have a really good attitude. I find I get a bit bogged down everynow and then with trying to eat 5+ fruit and veg, eat seasonal, low fat, local etc. Shopping becomes a nightmare especially when you factor in trying to keep to a family budget.

Must try not to bet obsessed and remember that the odd glass of red prbably helps in the long run.
I have found logging everything is helping too, so am determined to keep going.

Wendy.

Sue, you're right its hard to control the chocolate once you get started. A wee glass of wine is easier to keep an eye on. Did I say wee - who am I kidding!

I also find that if I stop eating chocolate for a period of time, I stop craving it. I sort of lose the taste for it. But if I give into temptation once, that is me hooked (I sound like a drug addict).

Sue - I'm the same, I can cut it out for weeks and don't really miss it, but as soon as I have one bite, I can't stop!

I haven't had any for 3 days so far... good for me i suppose

32 days without alcohol and counting... 3 days to go

Wow@Kirstin! I admire your willpower, seriously. I am not sure I could manage three days without my medicinal glass of red wine.

EJM, I don't have chocolate in the house but it is everywhere isnt it? I go to fill my car up, lovely tempting display of chocolate, the same at Tesco. It is hard to avoid!

i have given up drinking wine during the week now as I got into the habit of having 2 glasses of wine a night.Trouble is half way down the first glass I would then crave savoury things. Initially it was difficult but 3 weeks in i have got used to it. Found myself last sunday wanting to open a bottle to have with our sunday dinner but knew that then on the monday evening I would be having the remainder well assuming there would be some left!
On a plus I have lost 3lbs so I am thrilled.

michelle