alcohol

inmyownskin

Will 1-2 drinks a day really hinder my fat loss? Or is that more for when people binge drink?

MikeSEA

Alcohol is its own source of energy (providing 7cal/g instead of the 4cal/g that carbs provide). So it will hinder fat loss if you drink too much of it to the extent that you're not in a deficit.

Not related to fat loss, alcohol is also likely to prompt your body to hold onto water weight for a bit.

EDIT: whether or not 1-2 drinks/day is healthy overall is another matter entirely, and probably varies by individual pretty significantly.

alexiaschulz

I drink 1 or 2 a night, but try to make sure that it doens't push me over my calorie limit. That said, this is probably not the best idea.

The problem is that on a limited calorie diet, if you're using up a bunch of calories on alcohol, then you don't get to eat as many healthy foods, and you may come up short on essential vitamins and minerals. If your body doesn't get enough of what it needs in terms of nutrients (esp dark green veggies), it'll keep giving you hunger cues, even past whatever calorie requirements it has, so it'll be harder to control the impulse to eat things. If you give in (and eat well) you probably improve your nutrient situation, but might go over your cal goal. If you don't give in, then you're still burning more cals than you eat, so you'll still lose weight, but you're probably robbing your body of stuff it needs to be healthy, so that isn't optimal. See if you can compromise, and limit it to just one, or alternatively only drink on certain nights.