red wine

It ain't so!! The key to weight loss is move more, eat less. I have never heard of red wine being an inhibitor to weight loss. M

I don't know about the red wine thing keeping on body fat? But I'm with you - I hope not. As for this general idea of giving up "pizza, sweets, hamburgers, and some other things" I say this - cut back on these things and try to eat more fruits/veggies, but don't give them up completely. Is it worth it to have a perfectly healthy body if you don't enjoy life? I swim because I enjoy it and it makes me feel good. It also has long term benefits that we all know about. But give up pizza - never! Cut back - definately! (Two slices instead of four.) I'll trade off a little higher body fat to enjoy life. I learned that my eating habits were bad because I didn't pay attention to what I ate and I didn't take my time. It's easy to just plow through half a bag of chips (or a full bag!) or a big second helping at dinner if you eat fast. But if you slow down, you will be surprised that you will feel full with less food eaten. I looooooove ice cream:) and refuse to give it up. But maybe twice a week eating two scoops instead of 4 times a week eating 4 scoops. That can make a big difference and the little treats can make you avoid the binges when you loose control because you haven't eaten ice cream in two weeks. Also, if you are going to eat something, eat the real thing. No "sugar free" ice cream. It doesn't satisfy my craving and I end up eating something else. Anyway, I come from a family where food is a social event. This is a tough habit for me to break and I still fall back to old habits from time to time. But with better eating habits (NOT perfect eating habits) and swimming, I have been able to lose 30 pounds in a year. Just my 2-cents worth.

I've never heard of the red wine theory either. I thought it was good for your heart...? What is it about swimming a good workout that makes us so hungry? I could eat a bucket of chicken after 5000 yards! My mom, who was a model back in the day, said her secret to staying thin was to "taste everything, but never eat more than half." Talk about will power.

I agree with Spansy. Its not always what you eat but how much. Personally took off 35 lbs over the past year through exercise and watching serving sizes. I was eating "healthy" but not losing the lbs until I realized that that amount of healthy choices I was eating was actually twice the serving size. Paying attention to this and getting the recommended servings of food groups made the difference. I still had the occasional ice cream and oreos (my favorites), I just did not do it daily or consume the whole bag at one sitting. It was usually as a reward for an especially hard workout. By allowing some "sins" you do not end up feeling deprived. In any event, the weight came off and I did not notice any appreciable difference in performance. And no, I did not cut out the red wine. mb

I had a big decision to make about three years ago - either start exercising regularly, or skip my evening glass of beer. If I did not make that choice I would continue to gain 1 or 2 pounds a year and look like a chunky middle-aged man next to my beautiful daughter. I chose to exercise. In fact, daily hour exercise has allowed me to add other items that I had already dropped from my diet - cookie at lunch, occasional pizza, and occasional glass of red wine. I am much happier.:p

Common sense doesn't seem very common anymore. :( Listen to your own common sense.

Originally posted by jerrycat If I drink a little red wine--will it keep the bodyfat on? say it ain't so! jerrys Everything in moderation. A glass every now and then won't impact the rest of your dieting that significantly. Jsut remember, there are nutrients and calories in wine too, so, count that into your daily intake.

Connie is right - my daily weight can vary all over the place. I try to look at the long term view. I have been losing weight and like to hit the next five pound mark. (200, 195, 190, etc.). And as I have hit these marks, I found that I will hit the mark for the first time and the next day I may be two pounds over the mark. But if I give it time I reach the point where even with the variations I am always below a given mark. So I know I have lost weight. On the other hand, maybe my weight is constant and my cheap bathroom scale varies all over the place.....:)

When I quit swimming in college I gained about 30 pounds! I lost all that weight plus more after I realized a few lifelong lessons. Through trial and error, I found that the key to weight control is eating 3 balanced meals a day with 2-3 HEALTHY snacks. NEVER skip breakfast. Breakfast "stokes" the fire of your metabolism. If you skip meals, your metabolism actually slows down. That is what lead to my weight gain! Special diets don't usually work in the long run either. People usually gain the weight back because they go back to old habbits. Don't waste your money on "fat free" products. Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Exercise and a well-balanced, portion controlled diet is the key. If you want ice cream, eat a SMALL serving. If you want wine, drink a SMALL glass of it. I truly believe MODERATION is key in everything. Sorry if I sound preachy. I just know what worked for me. Everyone is different though. Try it and see if it works for you! :D

I can't imagine drinking red wine is going to do a whole lot unless you're talking about drinking an entire bottle a day. What you may be finding out though, since you only started in August, is that the fat maybe going away but the weight is staying the same. When I started actually doing something, ie swimming again, just over three years ago I was around 215. I stopped drinking beer, I used to have one or two with dinner, and started swimming 3-4 times a week for an hour. I dropped down to about 205 in a couple of months and then it just stayed there for awhile. I mean I was eatting better, swimming more, as I had joined Masters by then, and my weight was not going anywhere. Well it was all muscle gain and fat loss which kept me around the same weight. I think people see weight as the only thing, and I did too, until I found out I was getting stronger and faster and didn't even know it. Currently I am down to 180 or so, faster then I was in high school, except for 50s, and much stronger. Weight is just a meaningless number though.