Alcohol and Weight Loss

bscmcse

I've been here long enough to know that the prevailing belief is calories in vs calories out. I've read many a thread stating that as long as factor alcohol into your calories in and they are less than your calories out, you will still be in a deficit and will still lose weight. My question is, since alcohol is processed by your liver and can effect your liver function, does that have an effect on how your body metabolizes food that may skew CiCo more than just the calories in the alcohol?

tcunbeliever

I think the biggest issue with alcohol is poor decision making and poor impulse control regarding food choices while drinking. If you are having a few drinks with friends and get hungry, how many bars have anything reasonably healthy to eat? And how many people are really good about logging every handful of nuts or chips or whatever they are munching on while drinking?

I usually have a glass or two of wine several times a week. If I'm going to a bar I plan what to eat before I go and log it before I go and stick to what I know I have already logged. I haven't noticed any difference in weight loss between the weeks I do or don't consume alcohol.

KiyaK

I'm no doctor, so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like if you're drinking enough alcohol that it's affecting your liver to the point that your liver is struggling to process food correctly, you are going to have much larger health problems than cico.

RosieRose7673

I've read that your body stops metabolizing everything to focus on alcohol in your system.

However, if you are in a calorie deficit, I don't see how that would make a difference. For example,
If you are at a 500 calorie deficit and eat ~1700 calories a day, if 200 come from alcohol, your body would metabolize those first but still need that 2200 calories to sustain its weight. It would just move on to the food calories after it gets rid of the alcohol. Therefore, you'd still be at a 500 calorie deficit.

I hope that makes sense. I think I explained it poorly.

FWIW, I've lost weight at the same rate with or without alcohol!

MelaniaTrump

For me, I feel like carp all day the next day. No exercise.
For others, drinking does not affect them at all the next day.

srecupid

Not really i mean i wouldn't weigh myself the next day but, it will work itself out.

cecsav1

srecupid wrote: »

Not really i mean i wouldn't weigh myself the next day but, it will work itself out.

You're actually more likely to see apparent weight loss after a night of drinking, as alcohol can dehydrate you. It won't be actual fat loss though, the weight will come back as soon as you're rehydrated.

srecupid

cecsav1 wrote: »

srecupid wrote: »

Not really i mean i wouldn't weigh myself the next day but, it will work itself out.

You're actually more likely to see apparent weight loss after a night of drinking, as alcohol can dehydrate you. It won't be actual fat loss though, the weight will come back as soon as you're rehydrated.

Oh I have my big naglene bottle I make sure I finish before I go to bed. I like drinking but, not enough to *kitten* myself over for an entire day

kermax39

I can honestly say that every time iv lost a significant amount of weight....including this time (30lbs), iv never counted alcohol....alcohol is empty calories - as in zero fat or any other nutritional value....its the choices u make after the alcohol and the day after that determine wether those empty calories count. As long as your strict with the post alcohol cravings I think youll b fine. I quite often even lose more after a day on the booze lol......which isnt often btw x.

Flybeetle

I read that once you've had any amount of alcohol your body stops metabolising fat until the alcohol is out of your system.
It's the only reason I try to wait with having my one drink a night until an hour or two after dinner, in the hope that by then the fats from dinner have partly been processed so not all get stored until after the alcohol has left my system.

I've only been trying this a few days

Wynterbourne

kermax39 wrote: »

I can honestly say that every time iv lost a significant amount of weight....including this time (30lbs), iv never counted alcohol....alcohol is empty calories - as in zero fat or any other nutritional value....its the choices u make after the alcohol and the day after that determine wether those empty calories count. As long as your strict with the post alcohol cravings I think youll b fine. I quite often even lose more after a day on the booze lol......which isnt often btw x.

Alcohol may be empty calories, but they are still calories and can add up quickly. I've lost over 90lbs and I still drink alcohol, but I've never ignored the calories. The average single alcohol/mixer drink contains 1.5 oz of hard liquor which is 96 calories. Again, that can add up quickly if you don't plan for it.

LokiGrrl

My alcohol tolerance is so low since I've been on keto, I really have to watch it or I will lose all judgment and drink way more than I intended. Then there's likely to be a 4 a.m. breakfast with all of the calories and I sleep all day the next day and get nothing done. So yeah, cutting way back over here pretty much out of necessity!

Niki_Fitz

bscmcse wrote: »

I've been here long enough to know that the prevailing belief is calories in vs calories out. I've read many a thread stating that as long as factor alcohol into your calories in and they are less than your calories out, you will still be in a deficit and will still lose weight. My question is, since alcohol is processed by your liver and can effect your liver function, does that have an effect on how your body metabolizes food that may skew CiCo more than just the calories in the alcohol?

This is a great question. I believe it does. I wish I could explain it well.

I have lost weight while drinking in the past but I was in a very high deficit. Consuming alcohol within a small deficit seems to coincide with my weight loss plateaus. These days I seem to lose weight very easily when I've cut booze.

Niki_Fitz

.

rjqq1234

bscmcse wrote: »

I've been here long enough to know that the prevailing belief is calories in vs calories out. I've read many a thread stating that as long as factor alcohol into your calories in and they are less than your calories out, you will still be in a deficit and will still lose weight. My question is, since alcohol is processed by your liver and can effect your liver function, does that have an effect on how your body metabolizes food that may skew CiCo more than just the calories in the alcohol?

I'm a newbie here but I read an article about this on bodybuilding.com that might be helpful to you. https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/5-ways-alcohol-hinders-fat-loss.html?searchTerm=What does alcohol