Can you get drunk and still lose weight?

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emz_1993
emz_1993 Posts: 96 Member
edited May 2016 in Food and Nutrition
Ever since I started drinking again about 6 months ago my fitness efforts have stalled a lot.. I was losing consistently until then and have been again for a few weeks now being sober.. My friend wants to go out tomorrow night and I am tempted to drink.. Have any of you kept drinking and still managed to lose weight? This friend of mine is obese and drinks every weekend and eats a lot of fast food... I might have a sober night but wanna see if it's doable...
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Replies

  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    If you stay under your calorie goal. Realize that the body burns the alcohol macros first before anything else.
  • williammuney
    williammuney Posts: 2,895 Member
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    Um yes :)

    Just don't eat during the day and figure the drinks into your calorie count

    Or do what I do and get tipsy and then run 10 miles the next day
  • rugratz2015
    rugratz2015 Posts: 593 Member
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    Drink lower calorie drinks, (shorts with diet mixers) and drink plain water in-between. If I can, I drink alco free Koppaberg - 136 cals per bottle of 500 ml, I'm a lightweight when I come to drinking so this suits as I feel I'm drinking. Eat properly before you go out so you will be well enough to exercise the next day. (mash potatoes and rice are good stomach liners for drinking). The more you drink the more likely you'll end up eating fast food after, which can ruin a weeks work ...
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    Do you always drink to excess when you go out? Can you limit it to 1-2 drinks?
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited May 2016
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    Started drinking again? Is this every night, because it sounds like you are planning a one time night tomorrow night and you could have a sober night or not? This sounds conflicting to me..

    But if you are drinking again (and what ever this means) alcohol can be included in your daily calorie allotment, but since you have stalled I would say it is preventing you from progressing therefore there are issues with calories that out of balance due to the alcohol.

    One night of drinking is not biggy.. many nights and going over your daily calories, this is a biggy! Be smart about how you drink and what it does and can do to your waistline. And not eating in order to drink as some else posted, not a good idea.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,388 Member
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    I can usually fit in one or two (if I forgo dessert) with dinner on normal nights. But as far as going out and drinking, if I want to stay in my goal that takes all day planning, or even maintenance cals for just that day. Or just saying *kitten* it for one night and not logging. To answer your question, yes, technically you can still lose weight and drink but if you utilize your calories for alcohol over necessary macros fairly often, you will have a pretty hard time. But one night out every few weeks shouldn't derail you if you're on point the rest of the time.
  • williammuney
    williammuney Posts: 2,895 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Do you always drink to excess when you go out? Can you limit it to 1-2 drinks?

    Yes
    No
  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,114 Member
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    A few drinks typically leads to more drinks and more food and then you're not really sure how much you drank or ate - and then there's the water retention the next day.

    Can you get drunk and lose weight? Yes. Does it make things much more difficult? Yes. Are you more likely to go overboard on calories? Yes.

    I typically refrain or limit myself to a drink or two so that I don't slide off the deep end.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
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    Getting drunk is fun once in a while, but if you're doing it enough that it's stalling your weight loss, that's probably too much. Like, lots too much.
  • CindyFooWho
    CindyFooWho Posts: 179 Member
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    Sure you can. Just like I can eat a big hunk of birthday cake and still lose weight. I just don't do it regularly. You shouldn't be "getting drunk" on a regular basis anyway. Not being a prude, because I LOOOOOVE to tie one on now and then. But if I were doing it regularly enough that it was hijacking my weight loss goals, I'd re-evaluate my drinking habits.

    Now, that said..... here's a thought: If you know you want to get a little shitfaced tonight, just don't eat so much during the day. This will (1)-help your calorie count and (2)-help you get drunker, faster, on less booze.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
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    Drink. That's fine.

    Stop getting drunk. That's not good.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    As long as you stay within calorie goals. For many people, drinking and getting drunk a lot lead to excess calories and not working out a lot, so that's always a factor.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,535 Member
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    Alcohol deters the fat burning process while it's in the body. Especially when you're asleep.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    Alcohol is super fattening. Try keeping that down to once or twice a month if yr serious about weight loss; otherwise it will go super slow or stall out.
  • kaylajane11
    kaylajane11 Posts: 313 Member
    edited May 2016
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    I love beer. And I love catching a good buzz every couple of weeks.

    Typically I try to have a couple hundred calories leftover at the end of each day during the week to offset the weekend drinking calories a little bit.

    If I haven't done that and still get my drink on, I know that I probably won't lose any weight that week, and I'm fine with that. But I'm close enough to maintenance that I'm in no rush to lose the last little bit.

    As others have mentioned, it's often not the drinks themselves that can make you go over your deficit, it's the eating everything in sight when you're drunk. So be sure to be mindful of that.
  • MrOtto2016
    MrOtto2016 Posts: 40 Member
    edited May 2016
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    My Friday ritual consist of getting together with the gang and having a couple of pints. I normally drink Richards red which is about 221 cals per pint. I leave myself a 500 cal buffer because of this. Lately, I've switched to Bud light which has less cals, and I still only have two.. Just budget yourself and u will be good.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    Alcohol is very calorie dense just like a Big Mac so it only makes sense that weight loss is reduced or reversed. I drink daily, probably more than I should but can still lose weight if I do two things. 1) make good food choices. 2) Keep my exercise at a high level. By high level I mean stay active and run 25 miles a week. Now getting "drunk" I am not so sure about.
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    edited May 2016
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    I have consumed alcohol to the point of drunkenness and still lost weight. I just had to make sure my calories balanced out for the week and I was fine. Word of warning though the alcohol hits you a little quicker and harder in a calorie deficit especially if you are trying to curtail your intake before going out.

    Be careful and don't drink and drive.
  • clonesjer
    clonesjer Posts: 13 Member
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    just personal experience, but if I have more than a single drink I stall on weight loss. Sometimes that's okay I guess if you're in maintenance mode, but it seems to me that a drunken night turns into like a wasted (no pun intended) week to get things moving again on losing.

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