Alcohol and weight gain

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suediebee
suediebee Posts: 17 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Anytime I drink any amount of alcohol I weigh more the next day. I have to skip a meal to break even, does this happen to anyone else? I like to drink once in a while but it wipes out all the good work I do.
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Replies

  • desy617
    desy617 Posts: 60 Member
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    It happens to me on the weekends because I used to use a lot of juice mix with my drinks like Orange juice,once I switched to low calorie mixers for my drinks I stop gaining
  • lalepepper
    lalepepper Posts: 447 Member
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    One day showing a difference on the scale doesn't mean that you've gained fat. Some people report weighing less after drinking alcohol (especially if they drink a lot of it!), but I'm like you - if I have a couple drinks, the scale will be a bit higher. The weight is always gone within a day or two. As long as you're maintaining your calorie balance, it shouldn't be influencing your loss. Adjusting your food intake to provide some extra calories for drinking is ok, but if you're adjusting it just to get a lower weight this is going to be really hard for you! It takes an overage of about 3,500 calories OVER your daily needs to gain 1 lb of fat - hopefully that will help put it in perspective.

    I would suggest looking at your weekly weight average, rather than worrying about the scale going down every time you weigh in. I've lost over 100 lbs and the scale has never gone down every single day - it tends to jump around. Fridays are usually my lowest weight, Sundays my highest, and it trickles down over the week as long as I stick to my deficit.
  • Talan79
    Talan79 Posts: 782 Member
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    Even with 2 glasses of wine I feel bloated next day
  • joriha92
    joriha92 Posts: 22 Member
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    You weigh more probably because of your body holding on to a lot of water since alcohol dries you out, but it should go back to normal after a day or two.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    Yes, alcohol shuts down fat burning up to 48 hours afterwards.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
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    Yi5hedr3 wrote: »
    Yes, alcohol shuts down fat burning up to 48 hours afterwards.

    ....source?

    ~Lyssa
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
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    Talan79 wrote: »
    Even with 2 glasses of wine I feel bloated next day

    Me too. It's disheartening.
  • hamlet1222
    hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
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    I have a 330ml beer at least every other day when I get home (had a pint at lunchtime today too). I log the calories and as long as I'm in my deficit I continue to lose weight. So no, I don't have that problem thankfully - and actually the gassy beer fills me up and I don't feel hungry for a while after.
  • saladcrunchy
    saladcrunchy Posts: 899 Member
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    Lucky Hamlet - me very jealous - can't lose weight and drink through the week - boo hoo
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
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    saladcrunchy wrote: »
    Lucky Hamlet - me very jealous - can't lose weight and drink through the week - boo hoo

    You can if you don't exceed your calorie goals!
  • saladcrunchy
    saladcrunchy Posts: 899 Member
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    tincanonastring wrote: »
    saladcrunchy wrote: »
    Lucky Hamlet - me very jealous - can't lose weight and drink through the week - boo hoo

    You can if you don't exceed your calorie goals!

    Well I wish but you know the weirdest thing is that I stuck to my cal count, work out and so on and hit a wall where the weight wouldn't budge or at least, not without great difficulty; I think I would have to drop the cals a heck of a lot more in order to drink a glass of wine with an evening meal every day and that would make a diet so miserable I couldn't sustain it. I think alcohol messes with blood sugar, as well as fat metabolism and inhibits the absorption of nutrients, it is also inflammatory darn it, maybe if I were younger. I shall never the less continue to experiment and as soon as I hit my target weight, I shall resume.

  • Leslierussell4134
    Leslierussell4134 Posts: 376 Member
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    http://www.builtlean.com/2012/11/26/alcohol-weight-loss/

    I found this pretty interesting, and it seems to make sense. I cannot drink at all when I'm trying to lose weight, only while maintaining. Thankfully I don't drink often, but if I did I'd be in trouble.
    This kind of explains my feeling that everything I eat while drinking sticks to me.
  • Leslierussell4134
    Leslierussell4134 Posts: 376 Member
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    macgurlnet wrote: »
    Yi5hedr3 wrote: »
    Yes, alcohol shuts down fat burning up to 48 hours afterwards.

    ....source?

    ~Lyssa

    The article I posted, with references at the bottom touchscreen on this as well. States that while drinking our body wants to use the alcohol for energy, to expend it quickly, and everything else we are eating therefore has a better chance of being stored as fat.
    Which sucks :-(
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
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    Leslierussell4134 wrote: »
    macgurlnet wrote: »
    Yi5hedr3 wrote: »
    Yes, alcohol shuts down fat burning up to 48 hours afterwards.

    ....source?

    ~Lyssa

    The article I posted, with references at the bottom touchscreen on this as well. States that while drinking our body wants to use the alcohol for energy, to expend it quickly, and everything else we are eating therefore has a better chance of being stored as fat.
    Which sucks :-(

    Your body won't store energy as fat if you're in a calorie deficit.
  • saladcrunchy
    saladcrunchy Posts: 899 Member
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    Leslierussell4134 wrote: »
    http://www.builtlean.com/2012/11/26/alcohol-weight-loss/

    I found this pretty interesting, and it seems to make sense. I cannot drink at all when I'm trying to lose weight, only while maintaining. Thankfully I don't drink often, but if I did I'd be in trouble.
    This kind of explains my feeling that everything I eat while drinking sticks to me.

    That's an excellent article Lesley and I've read similar. It doesn't seem to affect everyone in the same way; some can carry on drinking and losing but not all and not me.

    When I decided to seriously go for fitness and weight loss, I knew it would have to be something that wasn't too unpleasant and thought that calorie counting was the best way, and it was a surprise to find that alcohol complicated the whole regime. In the end, I cut back a bit at a time until the weight started shifting again and that meant no alcohol at all through the week and a maximum of 2 bottles of wine over a week end. Thankfully I didn't have to cut it out all together.
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
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    saladcrunchy wrote: »
    tincanonastring wrote: »
    saladcrunchy wrote: »
    Lucky Hamlet - me very jealous - can't lose weight and drink through the week - boo hoo

    You can if you don't exceed your calorie goals!

    Well I wish but you know the weirdest thing is that I stuck to my cal count, work out and so on and hit a wall where the weight wouldn't budge or at least, not without great difficulty; I think I would have to drop the cals a heck of a lot more in order to drink a glass of wine with an evening meal every day and that would make a diet so miserable I couldn't sustain it. I think alcohol messes with blood sugar, as well as fat metabolism and inhibits the absorption of nutrients, it is also inflammatory darn it, maybe if I were younger. I shall never the less continue to experiment and as soon as I hit my target weight, I shall resume.

    Ugh, that stinks about the wall. How tight is your logging? Are you using verified database entries (that you've checked - I don't mean MFP "verified."), weighing your food, etc.? If you've lost a bunch of weight without adjusting your calorie goal to reflect the lower TDEE, it might be time to do that. Bottom line, though, if you're in a consistent calorie deficit, there's no way you won't lose weight, whether or not you're drinking every night. Good luck!
  • heychelsea88
    heychelsea88 Posts: 5 Member
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    I am so so glad someone brought this topic up. I love my wine and feel like being 26, wine and craft beer is so much a part of socializing. Sometimes I love my wine too much though and am working on learning moderation. I did read yesterday that half a bottle of red can help with weight loss, lol. Not sure about that though
  • saladcrunchy
    saladcrunchy Posts: 899 Member
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    [/quote] Ugh, that stinks about the wall. How tight is your logging? Are you using verified database entries (that you've checked - I don't mean MFP "verified."), weighing your food, etc.? If you've lost a bunch of weight without adjusting your calorie goal to reflect the lower TDEE, it might be time to do that. Bottom line, though, if you're in a consistent calorie deficit, there's no way you won't lose weight, whether or not you're drinking every night. Good luck![/quote]

    OOO, something I never heard of: TDEE?
    yep I think my cal counting was pretty tight and alcohol definitely messed with the weight loss. You are probably right and that in the long term, the weight would keep shifting given that I was OCD about including the alcohol calories but it dramatically slowed things down. I don't mind too much because I'm not dependent upon it but really enjoy it so it was an extra feeling of depravity that threatened to derail my diet. I'm OK with W/E treats but it is an issue for some folk and I suspect moreso, the older you are.

    thanks for the encouragement tho you magnificent bearded person you :smile:

  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
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    Yep, as you age, your energy needs decrease, so your calorie limit would have to adjust.

    TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure. TDEE is the total number of calories your body burns in a given day. It includes your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate - how much your body would burn if you just laid in bed), your NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis - any activities not related to purposeful exercise and eating), and the thermic effect of the food you eat (I think there's a fancy acronym for that, too, but I can't remember off the top of my head right now).

    I'm probably missing some minor factors that go into calculating TDEE. It's nearly impossible to precisely calculate for any given day, but as long as you get a general sense of your average TDEE and eat below that amount consistenly, you will lose weight, regardless of what you're eating or drinking.

    Anyway, I asked about the logging because that's the first thing I would consider if someone says they hit a wall. Inaccurate logging used to cause me so much strife.

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