Alcohol Calories don't count?

DrMAvDPhD

Whether there is any truth to that, I know I personally make poor food choices when I have a lot of alcohol, both the night of and day after drinking.

MaraDiaz

Of course alcohol calories don't count. Neither does anything labeled fun size, anything eaten while standing up, anything eaten so fast you barely tasted it, or anything labeled a kids meal. Food eaten off other peoples' plates or while in the process of cooking doesn't count, either.

20tulipgirl20

Bottoms Up!!!!! More Smirnoff fo meeeeee.

kimosabe1

GOSH-I haven't drank in 2 months because of the calories.... You are the BOMB!!!!!!!

amydee714

He drank just as much when he was obese so I don't think its that he's not eating the next day or is subbing alcohol calories for food calories.

I also do not condone for one minute someone who drinks as often or as much as he does, and he knows it.

And I did google alcohol and weight loss and found a few different things. Some saying that straight alcohol will not hinder weight loss. Another thing I read was that while you cannot gain weight from alcohol, while it is being 'digested', anything fatty that you may have eaten can not be broken down and you could gain weight from that.

Made me go hmmmmm, so I thought I would ask the class. :happy:

Llorraine11

oh yes they do count..

PHXBlondie

When I was in bartending school they explained to us that your body processes beer and wine the same as food - while you process alcohol differently. Your stomach will digest beer and wine the same as food, however, your stomach will dump alcohol into your intestines straight away - as it doesn't recognize it as food to be digested. We learned this to understand blood alcohol levels. If you drink alcohol without food, you get drunk MUCH faster than if you eat when drinking (as your stomach digests the food and sends the mixture to your intestines incrementally - as opposed to just dumping it there right away). Perhaps that's the reason your friend doesn't gain weight drinking alcohol, while would when drinking beer/wine.

drmerc

When I was in bartending school they explained to us that your body processes beer and wine the same as food - while you process alcohol differently. Your stomach will digest beer and wine the same as food, however, your stomach will dump alcohol into your intestines straight away - as it doesn't recognize it as food to be digested. We learned this to understand blood alcohol levels. If you drink alcohol without food, you get drunk MUCH faster than if you eat when drinking (as your stomach digests the food and sends the mixture to your intestines incrementally - as opposed to just dumping it there right away). Perhaps that's the reason your friend doesn't gain weight drinking alcohol, while would when drinking beer/wine.

I get all my dietary advice from bartending school too

leejayem

When I used to drink alot I didn't necessarily put on weight from it but I suspect it was more to do with the fact that I would spend hours shaking my groove thing on the dance floor (which I never did sober!!!!) & chasing guys around!! I would hazard a guess that your friend just burns those calories & doesn't even remember how!! :drinker:

My1985Freckles

Whether there is any truth to that, I know I personally make poor food choices when I have a lot of alcohol, both the night of and day after drinking.

LOL! THIS!!!!!

And the 400cal thing. ;-) LOL

Interesting article though. I'm not going to be overly concerned about my alcohol calories (which are maybe once a month). And going to couple that with Chicken Bites (Baked, not fried with no skin). But my wine calories... Yeah, going to be watching those LOL

My1985Freckles

I would hazard a guess that your friend just burns those calories & doesn't even remember how!! :drinker:

Or who he burns them with LOL

amydee714

When I was in bartending school they explained to us that your body processes beer and wine the same as food - while you process alcohol differently. Your stomach will digest beer and wine the same as food, however, your stomach will dump alcohol into your intestines straight away - as it doesn't recognize it as food to be digested. We learned this to understand blood alcohol levels. If you drink alcohol without food, you get drunk MUCH faster than if you eat when drinking (as your stomach digests the food and sends the mixture to your intestines incrementally - as opposed to just dumping it there right away). Perhaps that's the reason your friend doesn't gain weight drinking alcohol, while would when drinking beer/wine.

This is what he was saying. That your body digests alcohol calories differently than food calories. He actually said that you burn more calories digesting alcohol that you consume drinking it. I personally will always track it, but I found it interesting and plausible on a scientific level.

laylaness

New Rules of Lifting for Women says (and I don't have it in front of me, but I just read this last night, so unless I was drunk, this is the gist) that digesting food uses calories also, and, in fact, digesting liquor like vodka can make the net effect zero, depending on how fast your metabolism is. HOWEVER, it also goes on to say that this is completely dependent on how efficient your body is at processing calories.

Also, I don't know about you, but a Bombay Sapphire Martini too many can send me straight to the Jack in the Box drive-thru after closing time.

amydee714

I would hazard a guess that your friend just burns those calories & doesn't even remember how!! :drinker:

Or who he burns them with LOL

HaHa! Especially now that he has all that confidence with the weight loss!

DebbieLyn63

That is an extremely dangerous article, full of a lot of misinformation, written by a self professed alcoholic trying to justify his drinking habits.
Can you drink alcohol without gaining weight? Of course you can, if you substitute alcohol for real food. Of course there is also the puking afterwards that helps with weight loss. And the stomach cancer.

Oh, and especially the section about diabetes and drinking is extremely dangerous!

Alcohol puts a great strain on not only your liver, but your pancreas as well. If you damage your pancreas, you will become diabetic and be at a very high risk for pancreatic cancer. A cancer that has a very high morbidity rate.

Alcohol consumption has also been proven to be even more harmful on the female body than the male. We simply cannot metabolize the alcohol like men can.

The one statement he wrote that holds the most truth is- "acetate- the byproduct of alcohol, is a toxin". Think about drinking nail polish remover and imagine what it would do to your insides.

An occasional beer or glass of wine is one thing, but this guy is not promoting 'moderate' drinking. He is talking about regular partying and binging. His life expectancy will probably be cut very short.

PHXBlondie

I get all my dietary advice from bartending school too

I was just sharing what I learned ... you know, in the spirit of contributing. Whatever. They say sarcasm is the lowest form of communication. I tend to agree.

MsKeelah919

I can only speak for me. When I ingest alcohol, my weight loss slows dramatically!

BeSophisticate

Pfft. Not only do they count, there are as many calories in a gram of alcohol as in a gram of fat. In addition to which, the alcohol in anything you drink actually BYPASSES most of the digestion process entirely, entering your bloodstream directly through the stomach.

Oh yes, they count.

skopp18

Ever heard of a beer gut? Too many brewskies, and you'll get one too.

The OP specifically said only alcohol, not beer and wine.

I have heard before that it's not the alcohol that's the problem, it's the mixers.

sarahisme18

Basically... 1) he's not telling you something, and 2) he has a problem that will eventually hurt his health, whether it's weight gain or not.

SmartWhatever

Awesome, the Alcoholic Diet! Sounds incredibly healthy! Someone should write a book!

amydee714

I didn't say I agreed with it, just that I found it an interesing topic of conversation.

like_milk

This is called the William the Conqueror diet, it's legit and has been around since the 11th century, look it up!

MichaelFunaro

So where did the name "Beer Belly" come from then? Hmmmmm

dena789

The article sited is quite interesting. It does give certain guidelines though, like it is not recommended to do more than once per week and to be very strict keeping on point the remainder of the week. It also recommends eating fat of no more than 0.3g/kg of body weight (break out your converters and calculators) on the day of the planned outing, 1.5g/kg of body weight of carbs and unlimited amounts of LEAN protein on that day. LEAN protein being that from low fat cottage cheese, protein powder, chicken, turkey, pork and egg whites. It also says that you should ONLY drink DRY wines OR spirits mixed only with diet soda or water. Beer is not included in this as it is very high in carbs. :drinker:

Edit to add - I do not condone nor am I a binge drinker. I was looking at this as information for a very occasional situation (ie: a wedding).

zyxst

I know how he's doing it: vodka and celery.

iplayoutside19

This is called the William the Conqueror diet, it's legit and has been around since the 11th century, look it up!

How'd that end for ole Billy the Conqueror?

magj0y

Hard liquor has 65-100 calories per ounce.

But you don't care after 400 calories.

And that's just the alcohol! If you don't drink diet sodas with it, it can add an extra 100+!

AdventureVia

I approve this message!

Seriously though, the article is super interesting and from a nutritional standpoint, it makes total sense. Though on this round of getting back into the gym, I was super frustrated with not having seen any weight loss in a week, then I remembered I hadn't been tracking beer calories (I bartend at a micro-brewery).

So now I am definitely tracking beer calories but I'm still not tracking Rum calories, I can't be bothered with that nonsense when the Crusoe Organic Spiced Rum is flowing! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

raystark

This is called the William the Conqueror diet, it's legit and has been around since the 11th century, look it up!

How'd that end for ole Billy the Conqueror?

I think he eventually died.