Would like info about sugar and alcohol

mittencat77

I am 4’11, 112 pounds (would like to be 100 again), on 1200 calories (though sometimes over), quite active and am starting to think it is time to take a serious look at sugar and alcohol. I am thinking both of these could be a re-examined. Wine or beer is usually the culprit when I go over and often my sugar is too high. Would love to hear thoughts about these two things and what their impact might be on my weight loss plateau. Thank you!

earlnabby

What specific questions/concerns do you have? Your OP is kind of vague.

Re: alcohol. It is fine on occasion but when a person has a very low calorie goal it can be hard to get proper nutrition in when 10-20% of the calories are taken up by alcoholic drinks.

sefajane1

I've had a lager, white wine and large vodka tonight - all within my calorie goals. If you want it, just make it fit in. If you'd rather "spend" your calories on other things, do that too.

kimny72

I really have to limit drinking when I'm trying to lose weight, as I just don't get that many calories and need them for food that will fill me up. When I do drink in those situations, I try to stick to straight liquor to limit the calorie hit.

Too much sugar is only a problem if it is making you too hungry to stick to your calorie goal or taking up room you need for other parts of your diet. I find when I build my meals around prioritizing protein and fiber, I rarely go over the MFP sugar goal, although to be honest I don't pay much attention to sugar.

Sugar or alcohol don't keep you from losing fat if you are in a calorie deficit, but they can make it harder to stick to your calorie deficit.

mittencat77

I have heard things about how alcohol messes with the ability to burn fat and how sugar spikes hormones, etc. I guess that is the kind of thing I am trying to gain clarity about.

cmriverside

mittencat77 wrote: »

I have heard things about how alcohol messes with the ability to burn fat and how sugar spikes hormones, etc. I guess that is the kind of thing I am trying to gain clarity about.

If you use them in moderation, there's nothing to worry about. For a woman, one alcoholic drink per day, and about 100 calories in added sugar per day. It's when they are taken in large amounts that they cause problems over time. Not just that one Saturday night every six months where you go out for too many drinks and desserts...not just a scoop of ice cream after dinner.

AnnPT77

mittencat77 wrote: »

I have heard things about how alcohol messes with the ability to burn fat and how sugar spikes hormones, etc. I guess that is the kind of thing I am trying to gain clarity about.

If you drink alcohol, your body prioritizes burning it off first (at the risk of being scary, it's kind of a "get rid of the poison fast" reaction, metaphorically speaking). If you're still in a calorie deficit (including the alcohol calories) your body will balance things out by burning stored fat eventually.

That's how I understand it.

I leave the sugar metabolism question to someone else, but fundamentally sugar isn't special either, if you're in a calorie deficit, when it comes to weight gain/loss.