I think I have to stop drinking alcohol :(

Gionni

Let explain ... Over the last week and a half I have consumed close to 4000 calories in booze! I went to the gym 6 times during the same period and burned 3700. I have been weighting myself everyday (since I started binging about 2 weeks ago) and my weight has increased 7 pounds?!

While I have been over my calorie allowance a lot over the last 2 weeks... BUT no where near enough to gain 7 pounds. I even added an additional category in my calorie diary so I can track it easier. I guess the questions that I have are

1. Am I an alcoholic?

2. Any idea why I gained 7 pounds in 8 days ?

shoegal517

Yeah not sure if you're an alcoholic...but I drink my share too and it's easy to forget about the calories...ugh....

maybe switch to vodka sodas and ease up a little? No idea... I just know it makes it THAT much harder to lose weight....

ajelove

Could be water weight. Eat healthy with no alcohol for 2 days and you may see it gone. If you are questioning if you are an alcoholic...maybe you should cut back a bit. I felt the same way when I was drinking heavy 5-6 days of the week.

meerkat70

I felt that alcohol was holding me back and quit entirely about 3 months ago. I definitely feel better without it. I run better, I feel fitter, and I look better. I have no intention to start drinking again any time soon.

AndiPandi687

It's probably from drinking too much. Not even the calories. Booze makes you bloat which causes extra weight. I can't say you are an alcoholic but when I drink I drink a lot! I drink a whole bottle of wine if I'm gonna drink!

aippolito1

Alcohol dehydrates you and stops your nervous system. Your body cannot burn fat (or anything) until the alcohol is out of your system. If you're drinking, and your nervous system stops, that includes your liver which filters out poison (aka alcohol). Once you stop drinking, your liver starts back up again and it gets to work on that alcohol. Your body can't really do anything else until it knows the poison is gone. This is why you're up 7 lbs. Your metabolism slows down 75% apparently! So, yeah. Don't drink too much or drink less calories or something with a lower alcohol volume. Or one glass of a higher volume, like wine. It's high in alcohol, but one drink and you're already buzzed and ready to have a good time.

engineman312

Alcohol dehydrates you and stops your nervous system. Your body cannot burn fat (or anything) until the alcohol is out of your system. If you're drinking, and your nervous system stops, that includes your liver which filters out poison (aka alcohol). Once you stop drinking, your liver starts back up again and it gets to work on that alcohol. Your body can't really do anything else until it knows the poison is gone. This is why you're up 7 lbs. Your metabolism slows down 75% apparently! So, yeah. Don't drink too much or drink less calories or something with a lower alcohol volume. Or one glass of a higher volume, like wine. It's high in alcohol, but one drink and you're already buzzed and ready to have a good time.

Can you verify this please?

SuffolkSally

I don't really know either, but I've found that if I'm drinking I don't lose weight, even if the calories are within my target. I think it must mess up your metabolism somehow. Probably a few drinks are OK but I'm not very able to do that at the moment - I'm good at starting but no good at stopping! I'm off it again now. I don't know if there's an MFP support group for heavy drinkers? If not perhaps we should start one! Anybody feel free to add me.

cantjustcant

getdrunknotfat.com

DFWTT

I notice a difference even within caloric goals. Personally, I used to drink Jack, and a lot of it, then started becoming a wine snob. These days, I will rarely finish more than a half to full bottle in a week. I'm to the point that I won't even open it unless I'm sharing. My level of fitness and motivation has improved drastically as a result. Improved definition in the last month has been enough to tell myself I don't need it. I do enjoy moderation but that's a personal preference..

prism6

I know I am repeating myself here but, I was a very heavy drinker and Jan 3rd of this year I decided to change my life. I quit drinking,so far so good, quit fast food and now exercise. I have lost weight, inches and my bloodpressure pills, I have regained my health and partialy, my sanity. If you question your drinking, it is time to see if you can cut back,then judge how that goes. trying to lose weight drinking alot is counter productive. you want to get healthy right? Best wishes to you, nobody can tell you what you should do,only you can....

Generalle

It probably is the alcohol. I lost all my weight when I stopped completely. It was really really hard the first couple of weekends to go without it, think it was more habit than anything and it doesn't help that everyone I know drinks, but I did it more 3 months. The last couple of months I've introduced it back, just a glass here & there, and haven't seen any shift in weight or measurements, so I'm back on the wagon so to speak. It makes me feel so much better, skin is better, I sleep better and have more patience. It's kind of nice to say I'm a non-drinker too.

BigDaddyBRC

Your issue isnt the alcohol...I drink almost every day. It's the crap food you are eating and the continued rolling of your up and down diet. Some days youre on, some days youre not in calories...and lord knows your water intake versus the sodium in all the fast food you ate.

Here's some information on alcohol -

More on the health benefits of alcohol in moderation: Alcohol is a double-edged sword to be sure. For those who abuse the risks far outweigh any benefits, and we’re all familiar with the negatives. But for those of us who care about our health and can drink in moderation, the heart-disease protection associated with a glass a day is just about equal to what the latest generation of cholesterol-lowering drugs offers, lowering risk of heart disease by about 32% when compared to those who abstain. Specifically, alcohol does this by boosting levels of HDL, (good), cholesterol, which keeps the bad LDL cholesterol in check. Several studies suggest that alcoholic beverages may even protect against certain forms of cancer. All these benefits are associated with any type of alcoholic beverage, but the grapes used to make red wine contain even more anti-oxidant benefits in the form of phyto-chemicals called Polyphenols and Flavonoids, which are believed to protect the lining of arteries from damage. Incidentally, wine drinkers are less likely to be alcoholics than beer or liquor drinkers, and are less likely to be overweight. This is mostly because wine is typically consumed with meals and it’s usually sipped slowly. Alcohol also contains a micronutrient called Resveratrol that helps prevent blood clots that might otherwise block blood supply to cardiac muscles, the cause of most heart attacks, and keep blood vessels healthier by combating hardening plaque. Lastly, several small clinical trials have shown that moderate alcohol consumption improves insulin sensitivity, meaning your cells uptake glucose for energy more efficiently and require less insulin. This by definition lowers risk of type-II diabetes. Exercise has this same effect, to a much larger degree. Again, always keep in mind that all of these health benefits are completely negated as soon as you drink more than one drink a day for a woman and two drinks a day for a man.

Alcohol metabolism, (oxidation): Once we drink alcohol it is absorbed easily through the stomach lining and the small intestine. Alcohol then enters the blood stream where it cannot be stored in our bodies and eventually makes its way to the liver where the oxidation process starts, to get rid of it and convert into an energy source. In general after the consumption of one standard drink, a person’s blood alcohol concentration, (BAC), will peak within 30 to 45 minutes. Consuming food, especially fat, along with alcohol will slow absorption rate. Alcohol is metabolized more slowly than it is absorbed. Approximately 90% of the alcohol we drink is oxidized by the liver while the other 10% is excreted through our lungs and in our urine unaltered, (which is why BAC can be measured through breath.) Only the liver possesses the enzyme required to metabolize alcohol, known as dehydrogenase, (ADH), enzyme. How much of this ADH enzyme we make in our liver is primarily genetically determined, but an average healthy liver will completely metabolize 1 standard drink in 2 hours, (BAC equal to zero). Gender, age, lean-body mass, and health all affect BAC levels, but not so much oxidation rate. Also if one is taking other drugs, this will place an additional load on the liver. The liver first converts alcohol, (by ADH enzyme), to acetaldehyde, which plays the central role in toxicity once the liver reaches its saturation point and some of the acetaldehyde escapes into the blood stream before oxidation is complete. Acetaldehyde exerts its toxic effects by inhibiting the mitochondria reactions and functions in cells, (and along with dehydration is the main cause of hangover). However as long as alcohol is consumed at a moderate pace and quantity, a normal, healthy liver easily keeps up and further oxidizes the acetaldehyde into acetic acid a common energy source for cells. CO2 and water is the final byproduct when oxidation is complete. Over time a moderate drinker will produce more ADH enzyme in their liver, causing them to oxidize alcohol more efficiently and build up an increase in tolerance.

I robbed this from http://www.maxwettstein.com/Library/Alcohol.htm

987Runner

I felt that alcohol was holding me back and quit entirely about 3 months ago. I definitely feel better without it. I run better, I feel fitter, and I look better. I have no intention to start drinking again any time soon.

^^THIS^^ I have never felt better in my life. Went from a glass of wine or two a night to nothing. The weight came off, I slept better and my fitness level has really increased.

I think if you can quite drinking then no, you're not an alcoholic. If you find that you can't stop, then seek some help. There are great resources of course.

SteveHunt113

First, 8 pounds in 7 days means nothing. My weight fluctuates a good 5 or 6 pounds thru the week.

As for being an alcoholic: test yourself. Quit for 1 week and see how that goes. If you start to suffer physically, or you cant stand life sober, you may want to seek professional guidance. I'm saying this as someone who lost his mother to alcoholism.

busterskins

4000 calories is LOT of alcohol to drink if you're trying to lose weight....equates to 20 pints of beer ( UK measures ). While I don't have any science to back up any theories etc, ultimately if you're serious about it then y:noway: ou need to cut back the booze otherwise you're going to risk substituting it for food! Why bust your *kitten* at the gym only to undo all that hard work?

treetop57

The CAGE Test

One of the oldest and most popular screening tools for alcohol abuse is the CAGE test, which is a short, four-question test that diagnoses alcohol problems over a lifetime.

C - Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?

A- Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?

G - Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?

E - Eye opener: Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?

More info here: http://alcoholism.about.com/od/tests/a/tests.htm

oharabears

Alcohol dehydrates you and stops your nervous system. Your body cannot burn fat (or anything) until the alcohol is out of your system. If you're drinking, and your nervous system stops, that includes your liver which filters out poison (aka alcohol). Once you stop drinking, your liver starts back up again and it gets to work on that alcohol. Your body can't really do anything else until it knows the poison is gone. This is why you're up 7 lbs. Your metabolism slows down 75% apparently! So, yeah. Don't drink too much or drink less calories or something with a lower alcohol volume. Or one glass of a higher volume, like wine. It's high in alcohol, but one drink and you're already buzzed and ready to have a good time.

If your nervous system "stops", that means you are dead. And the liver never takes a vacation. None of this is verifiable medical fact.

athensguy

Alcohol has a pretty high thermic effect, so you burn more calories digesting that part than if you were digesting sugar or most fat.
Alcohol has been shown to have beneficial cardiac effects.

You could be gaining weight for a variety of reasons.

Water retention would be a likely cause of much of it, especially if you're introducing new workouts.
Your TDEE could be miscalculated. Your actual BMR+DIT+NEAT could be lower than your calculated maintenance level. You could be burning fewer calories during workouts than you expect. You could be eating more calories than you expect.

Casi23

Disclaimer: I'm a huge fan of booze. : P I love me a great local beer or a glass (or bottle) of wine.

However - what it does to your metabolism (and I'm over-simplifying here) - is pretty hard on your fat loss and muscle recovery goals. Ultimately, your body "stops" burning fat and just throws all its energy into processing the toxins (alcohol) out of your body. It also inhibits your muscles from healing themselves properly (not that that fact has stopped me at the post-10K beer garden). Lastly - it effs up your sleep patterns. You never really slip into REM sleep when you drink - so you "pass out" for hours, but wake up feeling exhausted - hence the day-after 3 pm hangover nap time. : )

I read in some health magazine somewhere that there are NO health benefits to drinking wine : (. You could get the exact same bennies drinking a glass of red grape juice every night...so we can't even use that excuse anymore...

kdiamond

First off - drink vodka not beer or other high calorie spirits. I like grey goose and club soda with a lime. Clean and clear and no sugars.

I drink wine in moderation (here and there) but the main alcohol I drink is vodka. And I haven't seen any weight gain from it. If anything I was skinny when I drank a lot. Now I probably only drink 5-6 a week on the weekends. I'm getting old. :laugh:

Calories are calories. Yeah I do believe alcohol causes bloat, but that's not fat. As long as your other calories are in check you won't gain weight from drinking...its the other stuff that causes that (the bad eating after the alcohol consumption) I make sure I follow a night out with a great workout session and not fall trap to the bad eating pattern...it sweats out the alcohol. Gosh, I sure sound like an alcoholic don't I? :laugh:

Gionni

UPDATE.. I dropped 6 of the 7 pounds I gained. I am back to work (aka not home for half the week) so I can't really drink . I am soooo grumpy and I realized that my fun/exciting personality is not real .. But a side effect of my abuse of alcohol... (That a good TOPIC) Anyway, I have a feeling that my scale will be favorable on Friday when I check in.... Until then I'm grumpy