Alcohol Calories don't count?

mulderpf

I know that he works out like mad at the gym daily and doesn't drink during the week.

Well that solves that one then.

If alcohol didn't have calories in, I wouldn't be here right now.

ElleBee66

A male friend of mine at work lost about 140 pounds 2 years ago and has successfully kept it off. He does not count calories and has a very specific way of eating (which I'm not going to go into here) but I asked him this the other day:

"How have you managed to not gain back any weight with as much as you drink?" :laugh:

You see my friend (despite being 30) parties on the weekend like a 20 year old frat boy. :drinker: He is the guy that drinks and the next day doesnt remember what happened.

His response what not what I expected. He said that calories from alcohol don't count. He went on to explain that he had researched it (he really is quite smart) and found that it takes our bodies more calories to burn the alcohol that the amount of calories that are in the alcohol. He clarified that this is in just alcohol, not beer or wine which contain sugars/carbs.

I was looking around today and found this: http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html

Has anyone else ever heard of this?

Cheers! :drinker:

I think the line "has a very specific way of eating" might have some bearing on it.

chooriyah

Haha, I wish this was true. I would be at my goal weight already.

tuppence1984

where did you get 200 cals from for a GnT?? I was excited the other day to total up 25ml bombay saphire and diet tonic water was 57cals. Have I gone badly wrong??

martintanz

A couple of things-
1: I work directly with him all day long (we are supervisors together) and does not drink throughout the day at all except for a gallon of Diet Mountain Dew
2: I have never in all my life seen anybody who can eat as much food as he does. He was recently training for an eating contest and he put down in one sitting a large fully loaded pizza, an order of garlic knots, a calzone, and an order of cheesy breadsticks. Normally for lunch he will eat a footlong sub and a large bag of chips or his leftovers from the day before (which looks like a trough to me! - lol)

I know that he works out like mad at the gym daily and doesn't drink during the week. And while he CLEARLY drinks far too much far too often, he doesn't get blackout drunk every weekend. We have worked together (as in desks apart) for the last 5 years and he is one of the smartest people that I know. But even smart people make poor life choices.

Like I said earlier, I am not certain that I believe this is true or not, I just thought it was an interesting theory. One of my MFP friends also brought up the example of Sugar Alcohols. Those are not counted as carbs because the body doesn't process them. Is it possible this is the same type of thing?

I think you have your answer. It isn't some magic alchemy where the alcohol calories disappear into the ether, but rather, your friend works a lot of it off at the gym.

alerica1

You said: "You see my friend (despite being 30) parties on the weekend like a 20 year old frat boy. He is the guy that drinks and the next day doesnt remember what happened."

Then you said: "And while he CLEARLY drinks far too much far too often, he doesn't get blackout drunk every weekend."

Then I say: "Your friend has a problem"....and its much more serious than the calories he's consuming.

Treuthiness

Hard liquor has 65-100 calories per ounce.

But you don't care after 400 calories.

THE most amazing comment. I LITERALLY laughed out loud.

xxcooneyxx

You said: "You see my friend (despite being 30) parties on the weekend like a 20 year old frat boy. He is the guy that drinks and the next day doesnt remember what happened."

Then you said: "And while he CLEARLY drinks far too much far too often, he doesn't get blackout drunk every weekend."

Then I say: "Your friend has a problem"....and its much more serious than the calories he's consuming.

It's not up to you to pass judgement on someone you have never met before. Especially someone who you know all of one paragraph about. Seriously, people on here are judgmental sometimes.

CoderGal

You said: "You see my friend (despite being 30) parties on the weekend like a 20 year old frat boy. He is the guy that drinks and the next day doesnt remember what happened."

Then you said: "And while he CLEARLY drinks far too much far too often, he doesn't get blackout drunk every weekend."

Then I say: "Your friend has a problem"....and its much more serious than the calories he's consuming.

It's not up to you to pass judgement on someone you have never met before. Especially someone who you know all of one paragraph about. Seriously, people on here are judgmental sometimes.

Sometimes? :P

amydee714

This is not about how HE doesnt gain weight from drinking alcohol, it is just what brought up the topic of alcohol calories not being processed the same as food calories.

That is what I found intersting and what led me to the article I originally posted and led me to ask the original question of "has anyone else heard of this?". Notice I didn't ask "do you think thats really how he stays at his goal weight?"

TR0berts

One of my MFP friends also brought up the example of Sugar Alcohols. Those are not counted as carbs because the body doesn't process them.

Oy. That's wrong, too. Sugar alcohols absolutely are processed by the body. They just (typically) have less of an effect on blood sugar levels.

http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/sugar-alcohols.html


And the research listed in the article on leangains states - in a roundabout way - that alcohol calories DO count. It's just that, instead of 7.1 kcal per gram, the body ultimately processes them as if they were 5.3 kcal. So, if you drink a straight liqueur that has (as an example) 140 kcal, your body basically would process it as ~105 kcal.

CoderGal

One of my MFP friends also brought up the example of Sugar Alcohols. Those are not counted as carbs because the body doesn't process them.

Oy. That's wrong, too. Sugar alcohols absolutely are processed by the body. They just (typically) have less of an effect on blood sugar levels.

http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/sugar-alcohols.html


And the research listed in the article on leangains states - in a roundabout way - that alcohol calories DO count. It's just that, instead of 7.1 kcal per gram, the body ultimately processes them as if they were 5.3 kcal. So, if you drink a straight liqueur that has (as an example) 140 kcal, your body basically would process it as ~105 kcal.

^Keep in mind alcohol isn't the only thing in alcohol we buy in liquor stores.

So if you buy something that's 40% alcohol I suppose that alcohol will be processed as approximately 5.3, and 60% other stuff will be processed as per normal? So if you have a 1.5 oz shot in a 8 oz glass of coke well, you're getting approximately all the calories from the 6.5 oz of coke, all 60% of the calories in the 1.5oz shot processed normally, and 40% you'll get the majority of the calories but may not process them all. If that's the case, all in all, it's negligible. Especially taking into account human error.

bcf7683

Good enough for me! Let's go to the bar!

^^And it sounds like that by plopping our as$es on a bar stool for 4 hours doing shots burns more calories than not doing the like. Drink up yinz b!tches! :drinker:

yourstylistami

Alcohol calories can not be stored as fat. Therefore alcohol itself will not actually cause weight gain. All calories in a given drink from carbs, fats, or protein obviously can be stored as fat. Alcohol however can interfere with fat loss because you will burn the alcohol calories first and any leftover carb, fat, or protein calories will then be stored as fat. What is the real problem is the foods people eat while drinking. Most people will eat foods they would otherwise resist when drinking alcohol. If one was to drink pure alcohol and eat nothing the alcohol calories would "not count" because your body will immediately burn alcohol calories.

lifeskittles

I go through phases of heavy drinking (like 500-1500 cals worth of bud light) and I actually weigh less after a night of drinking...And don't gain it back. But I do dance a lot usually too

ecw3780

they count. They also keep you from burning fat.

ndj1979

wait to the alcohol in beer counts but the alcohol in liquor does not?? Explain that one again....

ndj1979

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.

beer and wine are not alcohol?

Bobbiezilla

Hard liquor has 65-100 calories per ounce.

But you don't care after 400 calories.

Hilarious!.....and true!

ezznthos

no , but sounds like it could make sense .........

ezznthos

cause your body works so hard to burn them , it burns more than whats in the drink, huh???
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.

beer and wine are not alcohol?

jimshine

I used to drink. A lot. An average night was 18-24 beers, 3-4 times a week! I put on a ton of weight. Over the past 2 months I stepped off the wagon. I drank 8-12 beers these nights, had moonshine one night. I counted the calories of the beer. It totally slowed down my progress. I wont touch it now because of that.

MrGonzo05

One beer is 150 calories. Twelve beers is 0 calories.

elisa123gal

Everyone's body processes things differently. I think the key is to figure out how your own body works and eat in a way that supports your weight loss. I lost 60 lbs in 2010 and was able to maintain the loss quite well eating whatever I wanted - as long as it didn't include wheat. I could eat butter, cream, cheese, corn, rice, etc. in whatever portions I felt like eating without gaining. But, as soon as I started eating wheat again on a regular basis, my weight just skyrocketed. I've gained almost 20 lbs in the last 2 months (4 weeks of which I was traveling) and the culprit for me is the wheat. I know it and I don't know what I was thinking ... like the results would be different for me this time. lol So, I'm back to the low fat and wheat-free diet until the weight comes off again - when I can add more fats back into my diet.

If your friend can maintain his weight loss drinking alcohol freely (without all the high calorie mixers, I'm sure), then more power to him. The proof is in the ... well, the proof. He's maintained the loss doing what works for him. Here's to hoping we can all figure out what our kryptonite is and stear clear of it. :-)

Nice to see and non judgmental approach to the op.

Shesaid_destroy

It may even out because he quite likely gets wasted then feels like crap the next day and doesn't eat much.

Or throws it all back up!

Seriously, alcohol is loaded with calories. It makes you lower your guard in terms of healthy choices when consumed with food, it has no health benefits whatsover, despite what the wine industry would like us to think.
I read somewhere that nuts should be treated like a condiment. Alcohol should be the condiment of your condiments.
That said, cheers!

Fozzi43

Nope.

Not true.

Edit for spelling.