Alcohol

QAPmom

I fit it into my calories/exercising as well, I do have about 2 a day!

2kellymike

I talked with my dietician about alchohol last week. She said that alchohol is considered a fourth food type, the other three being carbs, protein, and fat, of course. Alchohol does not fit into any of those types. The body has no place to store alchohol, so when it is introduced to your system, it has to be processed immediately. That means whatever else you were metabolizing gets stored away so the body can process the alchohol. The alchohol doesn't get stored as fat, but that pizza you just had might. She also said that beacuse alchohol is a completely different food type, you can't really "save up" for it, like you would save up carbs if you knew you were going out for a pasta dinner or going to have birthday cake. There is no substitution for it.

JMHO based on an R.D.'s input. I still have more to learn about it. And I still have a drink every evening, beer, bourbon, or scotch. :drinker:

mymodernbabylon

I drink regularly (at least once or twice a week) and I've been consistently losing my weight...low and slow as I want. I fit it in. I will never give up something unless I'm willing to give it up for life cause this isn't a stop-gap but a lifelong journey.

starsybyll

I have a hard drink just about every night. Beer is all carbs and I hate it but I do miss whiskey. Silver liquors like rum, tequila, gin and vodka usually have 70-100 calories per shot, so I just do shots. I have a hard time sleeping without having a drink so it's helpful for me and it's just about the only joy I have in my life.

sstolii123

Agreee with so many of the reasons listed.
a) When i drink, I drink more than 1 or 2 or 3 drinks
b) When i drink, I make careless food choices
c) When i drink, my night of sleep is horrible

All 3 above result in less progress.
For now, while I'm trying to drop about 10-15 lbs, I am trying to cut out drinking competely.
Maybe when I am trying to maintain, I'll allow a few drinks as long as I budget the calories sufficiently.

Like another post said, I can ruin a whole week with 1 night of fun.... Not worth it!
I stop to think -- what is MORE important to me ?

Agreed! if you want to get serious about losing weight and getting healthy its time to get off the sauce!

False.

Fascinating Reply Randomtai!

aschroeder2749

I talked with my dietician about alchohol last week. She said that alchohol is considered a fourth food type, the other three being carbs, protein, and fat, of course. Alchohol does not fit into any of those types. The body has no place to store alchohol, so when it is introduced to your system, it has to be processed immediately. That means whatever else you were metabolizing gets stored away so the body can process the alchohol. The alchohol doesn't get stored as fat, but that pizza you just had might. She also said that beacuse alchohol is a completely different food type, you can't really "save up" for it, like you would save up carbs if you knew you were going out for a pasta dinner or going to have birthday cake. There is no substitution for it.

JMHO based on an R.D.'s input. I still have more to learn about it. And I still have a drink every evening, beer, bourbon, or scotch. :drinker:

This is what I've always heard. So even if it fits into your calories, it's probably not the greatest idea. I can eat a ton of twinkles and have it "fit into my calories" too, but that doesn't mean my body is going to be in awesome shape.

I may be the type of person that needs to abstain entirely, since my tolerance is so high. One glass of wine does nothing for me. And I admit, I don't drink just for the taste. I drink for the whole experience - the taste, the warm sensation of relaxation, the lighter mood, the laughs, all of it. Someone like me might need to quit entirely, where someone who is fine with only one drink at a time may be able to continue drinking and not have it disrupt their journey.

sstolii123

Have you had to cut back or completely quit drinking before seeing results in your weight loss attempts? I love wine and beer, but I feel like I should completely stop drinking for a while. I'd like to know what you did that helped you cut back or completely quit drinking.

To answer your OP,

Yes I needed to quit drinking in order to see results in weight loss and achieving my running goals. I love red wine, beer and Vodka, as my name suggests. My suggestion is this, if you are asking if you should stop completely, then give it a try. Make it a good try for a decent amount of time (1 month), track your progress and see how it works for you. Then after a month decide if not drinking works for you or not.

Just for fun I looked around for an article or study where drinking alcohol supports weight loss or athletic ability and I could not find one, not one article! I did find article after article, including studies supporting not drinking alcohol supports weight loss, and faster recovery after a workout.. (I copied two of them in an earlier post)

Have a nice day!

randomtai

Agreee with so many of the reasons listed.
a) When i drink, I drink more than 1 or 2 or 3 drinks
b) When i drink, I make careless food choices
c) When i drink, my night of sleep is horrible

All 3 above result in less progress.
For now, while I'm trying to drop about 10-15 lbs, I am trying to cut out drinking competely.
Maybe when I am trying to maintain, I'll allow a few drinks as long as I budget the calories sufficiently.

Like another post said, I can ruin a whole week with 1 night of fun.... Not worth it!
I stop to think -- what is MORE important to me ?

Agreed! if you want to get serious about losing weight and getting healthy its time to get off the sauce!

False.

Fascinating Reply Randomtai!

I know right?

mccallp319

I had to cut it completely out. Not because of the calories from the alcohol, but because when I'm drunk, taco bell and McDonalds are my best friends and I don't just stop at one burger or burrito.

randomtai

If you want to lose more weight quicker - stop drinking!

This is a lifestyle change I am good without it being a race.

tremroy1

I agree that giving it up while dieting makes it easier to lose weight. I would rather use my calories on food. I find I generally feel and sleep better without booze. I am almost at my goal weight and at this point am not sure if I will drink again. I dont need it.

SanteMulberry

I believe that the advice on MFP is "Don't drink your calories".

Alcoholics often get a majority of their calories from alcohol and it has devastating effects on their health. There is no nutritional value in alcohol (other than carbohydrate calories) and frankly, most people cannot afford the empty calories while on a calorie deficit (especially women who already have reduced calorie limits over men). There are a few nutrients in beer and wine but distilled spirits are basically just a "pure poison" that the liver must process.

In addition, the liver is impaired in fat burning for up to 24 hours by the processing of alcohol. One of my MFP pals drinks every day (it looks like mostly vodka) and in analyzing the rest of her food diary, I see a LOT of nutritional deficits. I hope she retains her health but I fear she will not.

Mischievous_Rascal

I cut it completely while I was trying to lose weight (6 months). I now drink maybe once every two months. If that. The body doesn't metabolize the alcohol like it does other food. It converts it almost directly to fat, and since I'm trying to lower my bf I try to avoid it.

The body converts it to fat? Do you have a link I could read?

http://www.medicinenet.com/alcohol_and_nutrition/page2.htm

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson194.htm

here are a couple interesting articles I looked up. I quit drinking alcohol while I was trying to lose weight.
Training for a half marathon, drinking and running did not work out for me at all.
The first week was the toughest for me once I got passed that I was good to go.

Neither article states that alcohol can be converted to fat.

Exactly.

From article one:

"Alcohol can lead to weight gain from the calories it provides and by causing you to eat more calories after consuming the alcohol."

Article two:

"Here's the problem with all alcoholic beverages, and the reason I recommend refraining from alcohol consumption on the diet. Alcohol, whenever taken in, is the first fuel to burn. While that's going on, your body will not burn fat. This does not stop the weight loss, it simply postpones it, since the alcohol does not store as glycogen, and you immediately go back into ketosis/lipolysis after the alcohol is used up."

OP: Calories in vs out for weight gain. If it fits in your calorie goal, enjoy a beer, a glass of wine or whatever.

randomtai

I believe that the advice on MFP is "Don't drink your calories".

Alcoholics often get a majority of their calories from alcohol and it has devastating effects on their health. There is no nutritional value in alcohol (other than carbohydrate calories) and frankly, most people cannot afford the empty calories while on a calorie deficit (especially women who already have reduced calorie limits over men). There are a few nutrients in beer and wine but distilled spirits are basically just a "pure poison" that the liver must process.

In addition, the liver is impaired in fat burning for up to 24 hours by the processing of alcohol. One of my MFP pals drinks every day (it looks like mostly vodka) and in analyzing the rest of her food diary, I see a LOT of nutritional deficits. I hope she retains her health but I fear she will not.

I don't believe that is the advice...
Drinking alcohol and being an alcoholic are 2 TOTALLY separate things. Like everything else, there is MODERATION.

brower47

I believe that the advice on MFP is "Don't drink your calories".

Alcoholics often get a majority of their calories from alcohol and it has devastating effects on their health. There is no nutritional value in alcohol (other than carbohydrate calories) and frankly, most people cannot afford the empty calories while on a calorie deficit (especially women who already have reduced calorie limits over men). There are a few nutrients in beer and wine but distilled spirits are basically just a "pure poison" that the liver must process.

In addition, the liver is impaired in fat burning for up to 24 hours by the processing of alcohol. One of my MFP pals drinks every day (it looks like mostly vodka) and in analyzing the rest of her food diary, I see a LOT of nutritional deficits. I hope she retains her health but I fear she will not.

Alcohol isn't a carbohydrate. It's its own macro nutrient. If a person gets all of their daily micro nutrient needs met through the foods they eat, and have some additional exercise calories left at the end of the day, there is not problem with having a drink or two.

Up to 24 hours? I can't imagine this would apply to anyone other than alcoholics that consume the majority of their calories through alcohol. One or two drinks (150-300 alcohol calories) will be metabolized within hours, however long it takes for the body to use 150-300 calories and will not have a significant impact on weight loss.

earthboundmisfit

Alcohol makes me gain weight like crazy. It makes my face look puffy. But I can never stop at one drink. If you have just a little and work it into your calorie count maybe it won't do too much damage. But alcohol really is empty calories.

krawhitham

No, I LOVE alcohol and fit it in daily and I'm still losing weight.

If you think you have a problem with alcohol, like you drink more than ~2 drinks a day, then you should most definitely cut back for your health.

There have been times where I stopped drinking completely. Once was for 6 months, another time was for 2 months, and most recently was for Lent for 40 days. I did not lose an ounce of weight from it. Alcohol doesn't effect me in terms of weight, overall calorie consumption does.

I log every calorie I intake and make sure it fits into my daily calories. If I go out with friends on a Sat night and have 4-5 drinks, sometimes I'll spread them out thru the week so to lower my daily calorie intake for the rest of the week to make up for drinking a lot in one night. It works!

krawhitham

Training for a half marathon, drinking and running did not work out for me at all.

Sorry for double posting, but this really made me laugh thinking about my own experiences. Alcohol doesn't effect me negatively. Everybody is different, truly! I have gone out for happy hour margaritas and had 3 of them (absolutely tipsy!) and then gone for a 5K run right after! While I barely ever do it, I really enjoy going on a nice long run while a little tipsy. Again, we're all very different & it's up to you to read your own body

SanteMulberry

I believe that the advice on MFP is "Don't drink your calories".

Alcoholics often get a majority of their calories from alcohol and it has devastating effects on their health. There is no nutritional value in alcohol (other than carbohydrate calories) and frankly, most people cannot afford the empty calories while on a calorie deficit (especially women who already have reduced calorie limits over men). There are a few nutrients in beer and wine but distilled spirits are basically just a "pure poison" that the liver must process.

In addition, the liver is impaired in fat burning for up to 24 hours by the processing of alcohol. One of my MFP pals drinks every day (it looks like mostly vodka) and in analyzing the rest of her food diary, I see a LOT of nutritional deficits. I hope she retains her health but I fear she will not.

Alcohol isn't a carbohydrate. It's its own macro nutrient. If a person gets all of their daily micro nutrient needs met through the foods they eat, and have some additional exercise calories left at the end of the day, there is not problem with having a drink or two.

Up to 24 hours? I can't imagine this would apply to anyone other than alcoholics that consume the majority of their calories through alcohol. One or two drinks (150-300 alcohol calories) will be metabolized within hours, however long it takes for the body to use 150-300 calories and will not have a significant impact on weight loss.

It is generally counted as a carbohydrate because it has calories and it is not a fat or a protein. I recognize that it is in a category all by itself but is is handled in a way that is similar to the handling of fructose in the body.

from Fitday.com "...[alcohol impairs fat burning.] Alcohol can affect the amount that your body can burn. A study found that consuming 24 g of alcohol [the amount represented by a glass and a half of wine] could decrease your body's whole body lipid oxidation [i.e. the] ability to burn fat, by a staggering 73 percent. When alcohol passes [through] the liver, it produces a by-product called acetate, which inhibits the fat burning capabilities of the body. This means that if you drink alcohol constantly, the fat burning processes in your body take a back seat. This results in more fat stored in your body, which can significantly increase your weight.

Increases Appetite

Another study has proved that alcohol consumption results in increase of appetite more than any other type of drink. Not only do meals appear tastier and more appetizing when there is a bottle of beer to pair with it, people also get hungry more after drinking alcohol. People who are seriously trying to lose those extra pounds should try their best to avoid beer and other alcoholic drinks so as not to perk up their appetites.

Decreases Testosterone

Drinking alcohol can decrease the production of testosterone and increase that of cortisone, a muscle-destroying hormone. Aside from the fact that decrease in testosterone can affect a male's sexual drive, it can also have an effect on his weight, especially if he is trying to build and tone his muscles. To successfully build muscles and burn fat, it is imperative to up one's testosterone levels and get rid of cortisol. More on that, drinking alcohol also affects muscle distribution. In simpler terms, more fat goes around the waist and there is less overall muscle mass in the body.
Reduces Vitamin and Mineral Absorption

Another harmful effect of alcohol that has something to do with weight is the decrease in vitamin and mineral absorption. This happens because, when you consume too much alcohol, the liver becomes preoccupied in turning alcohol into acetate. Therefore, any vitamins and minerals that you take in just goes straight to the detoxification process. In other words, alcohol interferes with the absorption of most nutrients. Even if you eat a healthy meal right after drinking alcohol, it won't be as [beneficial].

Causes Dehydration

Since alcohol is a diuretic, which can elevate rate of urination, it can cause dehydration. Water is very important not only to muscle building, but also to general health. It can impair the progress of your muscle building program and at the same time, affect your overall well-being.

Next time you grab a bottle of beer or a glass of wine, think about its repercussions to your health and your weight loss regimen."

itodd4019

for me if I have more than 2-3 drinks I get the F-its and end up with a pulled pork bar food sandwich in my gob!

seems for me 2 beers is my sweet spot after softball, or some event, or whatever. Anything beyond that, and I'm headed for shots, then drunk and end up eating who knows what

Then the good side is, I can weigh myself at wake up, and voila I've lost pounds!!!! hahaha until I drink a 1/2 gallon (4lbs) of water.

find you sweet spot and be happy
:drinker: