Liquid French Fries

I'm from rural Western Wisconsin. The town I live in has 3,000 people. Do you know what there is to do here for fun?

Drink, be an overzealous WI sports fan while drinking, bonfires while drinking, winter drinking activities, you get the picture.

And it's probably not the type of drinking you're thinking of if you're not from around here. We get "socially smashed."

If you're from Wisconsin, you can identify with that awkward moment when you go to the doctor & they ask how many times a week you consume alcohol & in what quantity & you're actually too embarrassed to be honest. The standards for alcoholism should be different for us. Unfortunately, the effects on our bodies & the ability to lose weight are not.

ALCOHOL IS LIQUID FRENCH FRIES.

Alcohol, I confess, is what separates me from my goal weight & it's what is keeping those last 10 lbs on me. That thing I call "tolerance" that's covering my abs? That's actually called "beer gut." I can seriously drink my daily allowance of calories on a Friday or Saturday night. Or a Sunday, if the Packers are playing.

I love wine. I could seriously never touch beer or liquor again, except for the sad truth is then I'd have NO social life. Frankly, I'm 24, single, and from WI...& sometimes I just WANT to get make-bad-decisions wasted.

So this is my pledge to myself:
-ONE night per weekend of drinking
-ONE glass of wine on ONE weeknight as long as it is not one of my two days off from the gym

Weekend drinking will be confined to low calorie beers or vodka tonics with lime, or Bloody Mary's.

What stands in my way?
-not planning sober weekend activities
-not managing my work/grad school stress well
-keeping alcohol readily available

Do I suggest this for you? Honestly, I suggest a lifestyle you can be comfortable with long-term. Me? I'm probably old enough to start growing out of heavy drinking anyway. If you're not? Just make sure you accommodate with diet and exercise, & be realistic about your weight loss goals accordingly.

Tonight might be my wine night.