Search the Community

Ok, so, I drink either wine or beer (never liquor, as it makes me violent) and the two beverages of choice are always either Franzia's (boxed wine) Chillable Red/White Zinfandel or Coors Light (12oz). When I'm looking to free up calories for my diet but still get drunk (as my angry days very often make me wont to do) I go for the wine. I've had to justify this choice to a few people in my shop, and since I went through the effort of actually doing math calculations for them I thought I'd share it on NF. Just so the other angry people who are watching their caloric intakes while still drinking know that they're not, in any sense, alone. FCR/WZ (Franzia's Chillable Red, as well as their White Zinfandel) both = 105 calories per 5oz serving. I am not fancy, and have no wine glasses, so I have a tendency to just use the same 12oz glass I pour my Coors Light in. So: 12oz of FCR/WZ = 2 x 105 c + (105 / [12 / 5]) 12oz of FCR/WZ = 2 x 105 c + (105 / [2.4]) 12oz of FCR/WZ = 2 x 105 c + (43.75) 12oz of FCR/WZ = 210 c + (43.75) 12oz of FCR/WZ = 253.75 c Now: CL (Coors Light) = 102 calories per 12oz serving. This automatically appears to indicate that CL < FCR/WZ calorie-wise. But that's only accounting for one 12oz alcoholic beverage, and after an ANGRY day at the office, just one ain't gonna cut it - no, no, my friend: I am out to get nice and drunk! This is where the ABV (alcohol by volume) factor comes into play. Anything from a 6-pack and a half, to a 12-pack of CL will get me to the perfect point of inebriation (a bit wobbly and very sleepy, but not stupid or sick). FCR/WZ, on the other hand, only requires 3 of those 12oz glasses to see me to bed. That's because the CL ABV = 4.2%, while the FCR/WZ ABV = 9-13%. So: FCR/WZ 235.75 c x 3 = 707.25 c versus CL 102 c x 9 = 918 c CL 102 c x 12 = 1224 c Both beverages mean I have to skip a meal (usually by lunch I have determined whether I'll be drinking to excess come the evening, so lunch is the meal to be skipped), but while I can have the wine and not go over 1500 c for the day's total.... yeah, there's no way I can reconcile the beer. Of course, on a normal day that doesn't drive me to the brink of homicide, one or two glasses of beer is calorically acceptable, whereas the same could not be said of the wine. And THIS is how I know I'm a nerd.

Hello fellow rebels who like their wine! I'd like to hear your opinions on how wine has had a place in your getting-healthier diet (or not!). I have read contradictory things about wine. Obviously the antioxidants in red wine have health promoting qualities. Personally I have felt that wine helps digestion and feels good in my belly, but I just read somewhere that the alcohol may hinder digestion, so is not optimal for weight loss and nutrition absorption. That gave me pause. As with anything, personal experience trumps "facts" that I read, so I wanted to hear your experience and philosophy about it! I support those who choose not to drink alcohol for whatever reason, but I am not one of those people. I have one glass a few times a week with meals for pleasure and digestion (or so I think!). I'll try going without wine for a while and see how it affects my quest, but if there are those out there who've already tried this experiment, what did you find out? Thanks for sharing!

I've been stalking Nerd Fitness since February, but I just signed up for an account. I've adopted a paleo lifestyle and have lost 15 lbs in two months. I've recently fallen off the paleo wagon, stopped excercising, stopped stretching, and stopped reading ... so I figured participating in this challenge would help set me straight again. I hope. I'm really good at talking myself out of everything. Ugh. I live in the mountains and I enjoy a wide array of activities, but I haven't created a habit yet. I want to prioritize excercising, but I find a million excuses to not move my ass. #shame Here are my goals. Fitness 1. Return to nirvana I used to practice at least once, if not twice, a week and I felt uhmazing. I'd like to return to that. My goal is to practice yoga twice a week. I'm currently into Ashtanga, but I want to practice sun salutations in the morning if I can't get to a class. I will measure my success by the strength of my headstand. Currently, I can barely get my feet in the air for a second. Grading: A = 10 second headstand B = 8 seconds C = 6 seconds D = 4 seconds F = 2 seconds 2. Miles in the saddle I recently bought a mountain bike and a road bike cause ... cause why not!? I need to train my butt to love that saddle so I can ride longer rides. My goal is to get out on a bike (road bike or mountain bike) at least three times a week. I'd like to get comfortable enough to ride 70 miles in one sitting. I currently get out once or twice a week at an average of 15 miles. My longest ride so far was 46 miles. This challenge will hopefully set the tone for me to participate in a century ride (100 miles) in September. A = 70 miles B = 65 miles C = 60 miles D = 55 miles F = 50 miles Nutrition 3. Cavewoman goodness I adopted a paleo diet in March and I've loved every minute. Couple of factors have led me astray and I'd like to return to eating a strict paleo diet for 6 days of the week. I'm a sucker for wine, so this should help me in limiting my wine consumption to one night! On average, I lost one pound a week on paleo. I'll measure the success of this goal in weight loss. I'd like to see myself at least 6 pounds lighter. A = 6 pounds down B = 5 pounds down C = 4 pounds down D = 3 pounds down F = 2 pounds down Personal 4. Use my vowels! I'm the publisher and editor of a local newspaper so I've lost the motivation to read at night (and just drink wine instead!) so this goal is to get me back to reading for pleasure on a daily basis. I can't tell you how many books I have sitting in my house with bookmarks in them. I have a tendency to start books and never finish them. With this goal, I hope to read for at least 30 minutes before bed every night. By reading 30 minutes a night, I should complete at least 2 (full) books and potentially any others that I started but never finished. A = 2 books B = 1.5 books C = 1 book D = Finish only one book I already started F = Start a book (or two) and don't finish them Bonus goals: In reading other people's goals, I wanted to adopt some as my own, bonus goals. 1. Get up! I suck at getting out of bed. As a bonus challenge, I'm going to try and not snooze Monday through Fridays. 2. Pump me up I'm interested in weight training, so I'm going to try to explore that part of the gym (scary!) Nothing extreme. Just even going and touching the weights will be a start. I'm going to try the beginnger's body workout thing on NF and see where it goes... ___________________________ Review of week one: Riding the bike: I wanted to ride my bike at least three days but only made it to two. I don't feel bad though because I did ride my bike on Sunday (the day before the official start of the Challenge) and I went camping/hiking and that took away time from riding (which I would have done if I wasn't in the middle of the woods). Miles in week one: 24.6 (32.8 if I include Sunday's ride before the challenge ... which doesn't count). Yoga: I was supposed to do yoga at least twice a week. I made it to one class and it made me so sore, I didn't do yoga the rest of the week. As I get stronger, I'll be able to do yoga more frequently without crying like a little girl. Headstand progress hasn't changed. Can kick my feet up but they don't stay up. Paleo: Definitely went off track this week in terms of eating strict paleo. I've already been on a paleo diet for a few months, but I was adding more and more non paleo items into my diet. Although I would say I'm definitely not as bad, I did slip a few times (PIE!). And of course the wine. I failed in trying to just drink once a week. Sadly, I think I drank wine (at least one glass) every night after Monday night. Damn birthdays, and visitors, and friends, and fun times. I might try to wean myself off the wine drinking in a less drastic way since obviously I can't handle just drinking once a week. Despite all of that, I did lose 1 pound this week. BOOM! Reading: Although I did not technically read 30 minutes EVERY night, I did read enough to get me through half of my book. My goal is to read 2 books by the end of the challenge and at this rate, I'm in good shape. Bonus goals: In addition to my above fitness goals, I did manage to get to the gym once this past week to explore weight lifting. I saw a personal trainer train some girls and after the session was over, I went over and asked her for the proper technique for dead lifts. She was happy to help and even gave an analogy I can relate to (using yoga!) so I started with some simple reps of 10. (I went again today (week 2) and I am very stoked on the progress already). Anti snooze: I think I snoozed once this week. I've been getting up early to ride and go to the gym with a friend, and that really helps not snooze. I really enjoy the mornings and all the working out has tired me out so I fall asleep better. I haven't taken melatonin once this week! It's amazing. In addition, I tried the step master for the first time last week and I enjoyed it so much that I do a 30 minute warm up before I start weight lifting. Who would have thought. Workout recap: June 3, Monday: None June 4, Tuesday: 10.4 miles cycling, 90 minutes of Ashtanga yoga (beast mode!) June 5, Wednesday: Stairmaster 30 min, weight training (deadlifts, rows, triceps, biceps) June 6, Thursday: None (too sore) June 7, Friday: 14.2 miles cycling June 8, Saturday: hiked 5.5 miles June 9, Sunday: Rest day ________________________________ Week two: Bike riding: Only logged 22 miles this week. Trip to LA kinda ruined riding over the weekend. Yoga: Didn't do an actual practice. I only did some practice at home to stretch out. Although I am getting stronger and more confident in my headstand. I don't hesitate in kicking my legs up and I can balance a little bit longer, which is exciting. Paleo: Hah! I went to a bridal shower and celebrated a belated birthday with my family over the weekend. Needless to say my sugar and alcohol consumption increased significantly. Weirdly enough, I dropped 2 pounds this week. Odd... Reading: I only ready once before bed. Oops. Not the best week for me. Here's to making week three better! Workout recap: June 10, Monday: 6.9 miles cycling (really windy, quit early) June 11, Tuesday: 30 minutes stair master, weight training (squats, deadlifts with 20lb barbell, bi's and tri's with 12 lbs, lunges, 5 pushups) June 12, Wednesday: 15.1 miles. Windy but I did it anyway. New route! June 13, Thursday: 30 minutes stair master, weight training (just arms. legs are sore, 12 lb weights, three sets of 10, 5 solid pushups) June 14, Friday: None (drove to LA) June 15, Saturday: None June 16, Sunday: None ________________________________ Week three: June 17, Monday: Evening hike after work, 4 miles with 1,100 feet of elevation gain. June 18, Tuesday: 90 minute Ashtanga practice. Worked on my headstand and got up to 5 seconds! June 19, Wednesday: 30 minute stairmaster, weight training (deadlifts, lunges, squats, shoulder presses, biceps) June 20, Thursday: Day off (hamstrings hurt too bad) Practiced headstands. Got to 10 seconds. BOOM. June 21, Friday: 30 minutes stairmaster, weight training (deadlifts, squats, shoulder presses, biceps) June 22, Saturday: 45 mile ride June 23, Sunday: 10 mile ride (up hill most of the time with a strong headwind) ________________________________ Week four: Week four was a total bust for me. I had some health issues that prevented me from getting on the bike, and then I went to a Bachelorette party which naturally derailed me from my eating/drinking goals. I also didn't read at all this week. June 24, Monday: Rest day, Juice fasted. June 25, Tuesday: None, Juice fasted June 26, Wednesday: Juice fasted, 30 minute stairmaster, weights June 27, Thursday: None, drove to LA June 28, Friday: None, drove to Moorpark, Solvang June 29, Saturday: Bachelorette Party June 30, Sunday: Bachelorette Party ________________________________ Week five July 1, Monday: July 2, Tuesday: July 3, Wednesday: July 4, Thursday: July 5, Friday: July 6, Saturday: July 7, Sunday: ________________________________ Week six: