Advice Please on Alcohol

caroline_mason42

Hi i am back trying to loose weight again.....i am after some advice please.

The big question is are all calories the same, ie if I choose to have a couple of glasses of wine instead of a sandwich, will this still be counted as the same calorie content and will I still loose weight at the same rate, or is there something else I need to be aware of with Alcohol calories.

:drinker:

joolywooly33

Hate to say it but I don't loose when I drink, even if it is counted in my cals.......

arrseegee

Calories are equal in terms of energy, however a sandwich gives you fiber and vitamins and minerals and also carbohydrates, so if you are looking for a healthier option that will keep you going longer then a sandwich is the obvious choice. However if you eat a balanced diet, are meeting your macros (carbs, protein, fat) and your vitamin and mineral intakes then the odd glass of wine when you have leftover calories isn't going to hurt. However, if you decided to swap every sandwich for a couple of glasses of wine then you're going to have problems!

KinoM

It's no different from other calories in that sense, but may affect your ability to choose healthy foods afterwards, and may exacerbate cravings for salty and fatty foods. But if that all fits into your calories for the week then go for it.

hastingsmassage

I lose 0 lbs when I have a glass or two of wine in the evening.

Swissmiss

The way I understand it is that your body will burn up the alcohol before it will any food calories. Therefore, the calories from food have a tendancy to turn to fat. I hope that someone here can explain this better.

lynheff

From a weight loss perspective, yes the calories are the same. But since alcohol doesn't fill you up or provide any nutrition, most people find that it leads to going over their calorie limit. In addition, if you are drinking with friends, there is usually some kind of high calorie food that goes along with the party. I usually order a club soda and save that 125-150 calories for something more filling. Hope that helps.

Rochester_mom

I am a wine lover, so it's hard for me to admit, but I lose more weight when I am off the booze. I find it hard to stay within my calorie range when I have two glasses of wine. Try it both ways keeping within your macros with and without wine and see what works best for you. Good luck!

davemap

I personally cant loose any weight if i drink at all even a couple on saturday seems to kill me, I read somewhere its due to metabolism having to stop processing normal and start clearing out alcohol (could be wrong i read this on the interweb)

JazmineYoli

Hate to say it but I don't loose when I drink, even if it is counted in my cals.......

I'm with you. If I drink, no matter if it fits into my calories, it seems to work against me. I'm not even a heavy drinker. I think alcohol works differently on some people.

BerryH

So long as you accurately measure the quantity (I have a 125ml pub measure glass to make sure), record the calories and remain under your daily calorie allowance you will lose weight. Regular wine consumption certainly hasn't stopped me losing, and a couple of glasses will sometime help me get over a plateau.

However, I reckon it's a good idea to only drink out of your exercise calories, i.e. get all the nutrition you need from your food first and keep the booze for a treat. The lower your calorie goal, the more this matters.

Hence my MFP motto: "Will run for wine." :drinker:

SLLeask

I have lost weight whilst not altering my alcohol consumption. Yes, I would probably have lost more if I cut out alcohol. But since I am in this for the long haul and I enjoy alcohol, I flatly refuse to give it up! My journey to my goal weight may take a little longer but I shall be happy all the way! But that's just me, different strokes for different folks and all that! :flowerforyou:

emilyisbonkers

alcohol also lowers your inhibitions and you are more likely to eat more calories

mazdauk

I've lost weight without giving up alcohol, but I do measure it carefully and log it accurately. I've also swapped a pre-dinner beer for a gin and slimline tonic, and really cut down on crisps, cheese and biscuits - the sort of things that "need" wine with them

But I've also made sure I do enough exercise so I have calories to spare for alchol without compromising a healthy varied diet with lots of lean meat/fish, fruit, veg, sensible carbs etc.

KinoM

In my own experience I've had regular drinks throughout my loss to date, and it's not caused any problems. Once you log it and fit it into your week, and don't make any food choices that are outside of your weekly targets, it's fine.

rachael1805

I'm not speaking from personal experience, but I have heard that the pressure alcohol puts on your liver to cleanse itself from alcohol inhibits the body from effectively shedding fat- no scientific proof, just hear-say...

SuperCrsa

Calories are equal in terms of energy, however a sandwich gives you fiber and vitamins and minerals and also carbohydrates, so if you are looking for a healthier option that will keep you going longer then a sandwich is the obvious choice. However if you eat a balanced diet, are meeting your macros (carbs, protein, fat) and your vitamin and mineral intakes then the odd glass of wine when you have leftover calories isn't going to hurt. However, if you decided to swap every sandwich for a couple of glasses of wine then you're going to have problems!

Definitely this!

rsclause

The water I mix with my scotch has 0 calories. Now then is the glass half full or empty?

tessiebear40

I joined My Fitness Pal last June. My tracker is incorrect by the way, I am at goal since December after losing 21lbs. I wanted to lose weight but not drastically change my lifestyle as I needed to find a way to eat, drink and exercise in a way that I can sustain this for life. I lost weight while still drinking wine, etc. I exercised more if I wanted to have a drink while my 1200 cals a day were used on good, non processed food. I also do not eat more when I drink. I hope this helps but everyone is different

Unknown

This content has been removed.

shell13b

I wondered the same thing when I started dieting again...found this helpful

http://www.disabled-world.com/fitness/diets/alcohol-diet.php

MityMax96

Hi i am back trying to loose weight again.....i am after some advice please.

The big question is are all calories the same, ie if I choose to have a couple of glasses of wine instead of a sandwich, will this still be counted as the same calorie content and will I still loose weight at the same rate, or is there something else I need to be aware of with Alcohol calories.

:drinker:

Make sure you measure.

But your body does treat calories from alcohol differently.
There is no store in your body for alcohol....
So the body will oxidize it to get it out as quickly as possible....it pretty much treats it as a poison.

So while you are drinking, any other food you are consuming will be put on the back burner for being used as energy (being oxidized) until the body is able to get rid of the alcohol....

So that is why people who drink beer a lot have the "spare tire" cause they consuming other foods (nuts, high in fat)...that will be stored in the fat cells, while the body works to get rid of the alcohol.

caroline_mason42

Thank you all for your valuable advice, I will try to abstain but from what i am hearing as long as i stick to just the wine and do not have it in conjunction with non-counted and unhealthy foods (which as you say can be the effect of having a cheeky glass of wine :happy: _ then I should be ok but the weight loss may be slower, something definitely to think about as I really want to get as near to goal as possible in 29 weeks and counting.......

caroline_mason42

would it help if I excersise after i have drunk wine to get the body burning fat.....I run 5K+ every morning (well excluding sundays) and walk the dog for at least 30 minutes every evening - would that help get my body burning fat not procesing alcohol?

MityMax96

Read this by Lyle McDonald if you get a chance.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/nutrient-intake-nutrient-storage-and-nutrient-oxidation.html

Alcohol
And, finally, as noted above, there is absolutely no store of alcohol in the body. None whatsoever. Effectively, alcohol is seen as a sort of metabolic ‘toxin’ or ‘poison’ to the body. And this means that alcohol oxidation is 100% perfect, that is, the body will effectively do everything in its power to get rid of the alcohol increasing alcohol oxidation to maximum (which means decreasing the oxidation of other nutrients consumed with that alcohol) so that the alcohol can be gotten rid of.

I’m going to ask readers not to read anything into the above paragraph, don’t infer or try to draw conclusions about how alcohol might or mightn’t fit into the diet in terms of anything. As it turns out, alcohol is an oddity among nutrients with seemingly contradictory effects on things. I’m going to address that in detail in a forthcoming article and, for now, just take the above as some much needed background information.

Achrya

This is the most depression Debbie downer filled thread about alcohol I've seen in a while.

Calories are calories. If you measure your wine accurately and track your other stuff accurately you'll lose weight. If you don't lose weight over time (im not talking you had wine Saturday and don't lose on Sunday because that's way to small a window to get an actual sample from, but you are stalled out for a few weeks) then you've fudged up the math somewhere.


Simple.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

tedrickp

I drink all the things.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

TLwineguzzler

I'm staying dry for January and I'm definitely finding the weight is coming off easier. Before I'd always be 1 or 2 lbs heavier on a Monday morning than I was on the previous Friday if I drank a two or three bottles of wine over the weekend. I've not had any gains at all this month, might just carry on through February!

tedrickp

This is a great article:

http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html