How to Drink (alcohol) Without Gaining Weight

SabrinaLily
SabrinaLily Posts: 121
in Food and Nutrition
Fox News article called "How to Drink Without Gaining Weight". No need to post comments about how we shouldn't drink- this article is to help those of us that still want to drink sensibly while dieting. Sorry, but my nightly drink is about all that's keeping me sane right now. For those who are curious, I am drinking Crispin's "The Saint" hard cider. It's 6.9% alcohol and only 257 calories for all 22 ounces and tastes yummy! It's my daily "snack" and I'm still losing weight incorporating one a day into my diet. Be forwarned though- it's expensive at $7 a bottle.

Anywho, hope this helps someone. Enjoy.

http://magazine.foxnews.com/food-wellness/how-drink-without-gaining-weight?intcmp=HPBucket

Replies

  • Voxen
    Voxen Posts: 33
    Mark Berkham did a fantastic article on it. go to leangains.com

    i will post a link later. its just a little tough on a phone haha.
  • SabrinaLily
    SabrinaLily Posts: 121

    i will post a link later. its just a little tough on a phone haha.

    How are you getting access to the community on your phone? I have the app on my iPhone but don't have access.... Thanks :) Jenn
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    Just drink till you puke. Then the calories don't count.
  • Voxen
    Voxen Posts: 33

    i will post a link later. its just a little tough on a phone haha.

    How are you getting access to the community on your phone? I have the app on my iPhone but don't have access.... Thanks :) Jenn

    I use Android, but you could probably gain access through using safari on the iphone. Just go to the main website.
  • dukes418
    dukes418 Posts: 207 Member
    short answer: Dont Drink

    If you insist: Vodka and club soda (not tonic) lime or lemon slice. There you go.
  • Voxen
    Voxen Posts: 33
    http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html

    It's a good article. Read the last part. I will copy it into this post starting now:

    How to lose fat or prevent fat gain when drinking

    Now that you understand the effect of alcohol on substrate metabolism, it's time for me to reveal how you can make alcohol work for fat loss. Alternatively, how you can drink on a regular basis without any fat gain. Without having to count calories and while drinking as much as you want.

    Apply this method exactly as I have laid it out. If you've paid attention, you'll understand the rationale behind it. I've tested this on myself and on numerous clients. Rest assured that I'm not testing out some large-scale bizarre experiment here.

    The rules are as follows:

    * For this day, restrict your intake of dietary fat to 0.3 g/kg body weight (or as close to this figure as possible).

    * Limit carbs to 1.5 g/kg body weight. Get all carbs from veggies and the tag-along carbs in some protein sources. You'll also want to limit carbohydrate-rich alcohol sources such as drinks made with fruit juices and beer. A 33 cl/12 fl oz of beer contains about 12 g carbs, while a regular Cosmopolitan is about 13 g.

    * Good choices of alcohol include dry wines which are very low carb, clocking in at about 0.5-1 g per glass (4 fl oz/115ml). Sweet wines are much higher at 4-6 g per glass. Cognac, gin, rum, scotch, tequila, vodka and whiskey are all basically zero carbs. Dry wines and spirits is what you should be drinking, ideally. Take them straight or mixed with diet soda. (No need to be super-neurotic about this stuff. Drinks should be enjoyed after all. Just be aware that there are better and worse choices out there).

    * Eat as much protein as you want. Yes, that's right. Ad libitum. Due to the limit on dietary fat, you need to get your protein from lean sources. Protein sources such as low fat cottage cheese, protein powder, chicken, turkey, tuna, pork and egg whites are good sources of protein this day.

    * For effective fat loss, this should be limited to one evening per week. Apply the protocol and you will lose fat on a weekly basis as long as your diet is on point for the rest of the week.

    Basically, the nutritional strategy I have outlined here is all about focusing on substrates that are least likely to cause net synthesis of fat during hypercaloric conditions. Alcohol and protein, your main macronutrients this day, are extremely poor precursors for de novo lipogenesis. Alcohol suppresses fat oxidation, but by depriving yourself of dietary fat during alcohol consumption, you won't be storing anything. Nor will protein cause any measurable de novo lipogenesis. High protein intake will also compensate for the weak effect of alcohol on satiety and make you less likely to blow your diet when you're drinking.

    By the way, a nice bonus after a night of drinking is that it effectively rids you of water retention. You may experience the "whoosh"-effect, which I've talked about in my two-part series about water retention. That in itself can be motivating for folks who've been experiencing a plateau in their weight loss.

    Apply this with good judgement and don't go out and do something stupid now. Remember, this a short-term strategy for those that want to be able to drink freely* without significantly impacting fat loss progress or causing unwanted fat gain. It's not something I encourage people to do on a daily basis, but it's one of the strategies that I apply for maintaining low body fat for myself and my clients.

    * Now of course...you can always drink in moderation and make sure to not go over your calorie budget for the day. But what fun is there in that? I'd rather cheat the system with the kind metabolic mischief I've layed out above.
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
    Just keep it within your calories and macros. Pretty easy.
  • corn63
    corn63 Posts: 1,580 Member
    <---- homebrewer

    I'd rather drink and be a little bit happier because it's what I do and love to do and be rounder while doing so... than be sober miserable and not able to drink what I'm brewing.
  • capnrus789
    capnrus789 Posts: 2,736 Member
    Just drink till you puke. Then the calories don't count.

    QFT
    FTW
  • Getyourshineon
    Getyourshineon Posts: 114
    I don't drink much but I do know Hungry Girl has lots of "skinny girl" recipes for adult beverages! Yum!
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    I drink Angry Orchard hard cider pretty regularly (210 calories). I have not noticed it causing any issues with my weight loss as long as I keep the calorie average in check.
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
    Bump. I usually drink what I want on Saturdays (beer, ale, wine) as long as I've burned 1,500 calories during the day - usually with a big hike. But this sounds interesting.
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
    Stay under your calorie limit and don't eat while intoxicated.
  • nomorewinencheese
    nomorewinencheese Posts: 3
    My favorite cocktail is soda water and a flavored vodka. Any flavored vodka has no sugar and only about 80 to 90 calories for 1.5 oz. Plus you are drinking your water.... Some of the flavored Vodka's are good over ice for sipping...
  • quixoticmantis
    quixoticmantis Posts: 297 Member
    Bump :drinker:
  • LongMom
    LongMom Posts: 408 Member
    Brilliant!!!!! I think I've been doing this to some extent...I've been losing weight and I haven't given up the drinking - that's for sure! :D
  • carapline
    carapline Posts: 9 Member
    <---- homebrewer

    I'd rather drink and be a little bit happier because it's what I do and love to do and be rounder while doing so... than be sober miserable and not able to drink what I'm brewing.

    Same here. I'll give up pretty much everything else, before I'll give up my tasty, calorie-ladden beer! If I have the choice between a lower calorie beer and no beer, I choose no beer. I've decided that I'm ok with not being as thin as perhaps I could be, if I gave up the beer, as it is something I truly enjoy. Fortunately, as long as I am active (which a desk job gets in the way of!), I am still able to enjoy beer and lose weight.
  • SabrinaLily
    SabrinaLily Posts: 121
    My favorite cocktail is soda water and a flavored vodka. Any flavored vodka has no sugar and only about 80 to 90 calories for 1.5 oz. Plus you are drinking your water.... Some of the flavored Vodka's are good over ice for sipping...

    Agreed- and I KNOW this is going to sound strange and a lot of bartenders have looked at me funny...till they tried it! Most all of those flavored vodkas mix well with (drum roll) Diet Mt. Dew. Yup. You heard me! The bubblegum, whipped cream, cotten candy, etc all mix great with it! It gives you a sweet bubbly drink and you can hardly taste the Mt. Dew if at all. Diet orange soda pop is great too for creamsicles and just to switch it up. For the chocolate chip cookie dough vodka (not a big fan), mix with Diet Vanilla Coke.

    Hope this gives you a few ideas on how to keep it lively and healthy! :)
  • MG_Fit
    MG_Fit Posts: 1,143 Member
    Stay under your calorie limit and don't eat while intoxicated.
    ^ This for sure!

    It's probably the down fall for most. I have probably put down 2 Chipotle burritos or a whole pizza while a drunk. It's like the switch that tells your body you had enough broke!
  • jonesie32
    jonesie32 Posts: 7 Member
    I'm new and hoping to keep my 65 calorie Mojito going. Please tell me I can keep it if I log it.

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