Alcohol & Weight Loss

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freckledrats
freckledrats Posts: 251 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Every time I have a beer or a mixed drink--especially if I get drunk--even within calorie range, the scale shifts up. This is my least favorite part of dieting! Alcohol and sodium can really deflate you when you're having a good run. (Or, rather, INflate you, eh? Eh??)

*sad*

Gimme dat beer...

Wait, no! Gimme sweet, sweet success!
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Replies

  • bradphil87
    bradphil87 Posts: 617 Member
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    Yeah, it's hard. Drinking REALLY hurts weight loss in so many ways. 1 or 2 occasionally (like once a week) is not that bad, however a night of partying can kill a whole week of good decisions. I gave it up completely (not for weight loss, just for overall health in general) and it really helps. The best advice I could give is to limit yourself to one or two once a week and you should be fine :)
  • Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim
    Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim Posts: 267 Member
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    bump
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    My husband says he might as well take the beer bottles and just glue them to his belly. Liquid carbs. And it's true.

    It does screw up your water balance as well as add to fat. There's a reason they call it a beer belly.

    We're homebrewers. But it really isn't good for your waist.
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
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    Alcohol doesn't make you gain fat, it makes you retain water which will go away after your diet normalizes. In moderation alcohol is actually quite good for you.

    http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html

    Summary:
    * Moderate alcohol consumption is assocoiated with an abundance of health benefits. The long-term effect on insulin sensitivity and body weight (via insulin or decreased appetite) may be of particular interest to us.

    * The thermic effect of alcohol is high and the real caloric value is not 7.1 kcal: it's ~5.6 kcal. However, it's still easy to overconsume calories by drinking. Calorie for calorie, the short-term effect of alcohol on satiety is low. Adding to this, intoxication may also encourage overeating by disinhibition of dietary restraint.

    * The negative effects of alcohol on testosterone and recovery has been grossly exaggerated by the fitness mainstream. Excluding very high acute alcohol consumption, or prolonged and daily consumption, the effect is non-significant and unlikely to affect muscle gains or training adaptations negatively.

    * The effect of alcohol on muscle protein synthesis is unknown in normal human subjects. It is not unlikely to assume that a negative effect exists, but it is very unlikely that it is of such a profound magnitude that some people would have you believe.

    * Alcohol is converted to acetate by the liver. The oxidation of acetate takes precedence over other nutrients and is oxidized to carbon dioxide and water. However, despite being a potent inhibitor of lipolysis, alcohol/acetate alone cannot cause fat gain by itself. It's all the junk people eat in conjunction with alcohol intake that causes fat gain.
  • miamacreynold
    miamacreynold Posts: 17
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    This is exactly how I feel...I actually feel so much better when I don't drink but I really enjoy hanging out with friends & having a good time, it's so hard to find a happy medium! :grumble:
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    Low calorie drinks are advised: Soda water + flavored vodka for example. Blueberry Press is just awesome.

    That said, you must track your calories and account for them. A beer has roughly 120 calories while a blueberry press has about 70.

    Remember, water weight does fluctuate quite a bit with alcohol and sodium intake, so, keep your weigh ins several days after a night out.
  • bpotts44
    bpotts44 Posts: 1,066 Member
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    I don't think drunk fits into a weight loss plan. I enjoy a cold beer especially after a particularly hard workout. It actually is a very nutritious post workout beverage and the carbonation makes you feel full
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    Just to add.

    Whenever I'm trying to count an alcoholic beverage, it is by far the type of food with the most spurious entries.
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
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    higher proof stuff like vodka doesn't have any carbs. mixed with diet soda, its perf.
    or rum and diet coke. yum.
  • gaerielsky
    gaerielsky Posts: 20
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    I am abstaining for the time being (on Medifast)... but I've read that ONE GLASS (3-4 oz) of RED wine can actually speed up the metabolism slightly. Not beer. Not spirits. RED WINE.
  • GeorgiaTina
    GeorgiaTina Posts: 32
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    Oh how I wish I could drink wine and still lose....but no! I usually only have a glass of wine maybe once a week. I have seen a friend gain ALL her weight back by boozing it up every night..
  • kgprice11
    kgprice11 Posts: 750 Member
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    Oh any alcoholic beverage will do that to anyone no matter what the calorie intake is!
  • Divagettinfitin2011
    Divagettinfitin2011 Posts: 500 Member
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    :drinker:
  • smellyrichelley
    smellyrichelley Posts: 28 Member
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    I don't think drunk fits into a weight loss plan. I enjoy a cold beer especially after a particularly hard workout. It actually is a very nutritious post workout beverage and the carbonation makes you feel full

    I've never heard this before, but now I want to try it.

    I have the same problem with alcohol, but I've never noticed much weight fluctuation from 1 drink, but there's a huge fluctuation when I get drunk. Maybe cutting back to just a drink or two when you go out with buds will help. I'm thinking about switching from so much beer to diet soda/soda water + liquor myself. I googled the blueberry press thing, and it sounds delicious.
  • kokaneesailor
    kokaneesailor Posts: 337 Member
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    I quit and feel great. Looking back I wonder what took me so long to figure out why I didn't need alcohol in the first place. :smile:
  • bradphil87
    bradphil87 Posts: 617 Member
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    I don't think drunk fits into a weight loss plan. I enjoy a cold beer especially after a particularly hard workout. It actually is a very nutritious post workout beverage and the carbonation makes you feel full

    I've never heard this before, but now I want to try it.

    I have the same problem with alcohol, but I've never noticed much weight fluctuation from 1 drink, but there's a huge fluctuation when I get drunk. Maybe cutting back to just a drink or two when you go out with buds will help. I'm thinking about switching from so much beer to diet soda/soda water + liquor myself. I googled the blueberry press thing, and it sounds delicious.
    Good idea, it is also way easier to say no to jack in the box at 4am when your not hammered haha
  • gendoll
    gendoll Posts: 89 Member
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    For me beer isn't the problem. I used to go out drinking at least 3 nights a week and where I gained the weight was the bad food choices I made after I left the bar. I still drink now as long as it fits in my day.

    Edited to say: Now I only go out 1 or 2 times a week and don't drink more then 3 beers.
  • 2hmom
    2hmom Posts: 241 Member
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    After a few weekends of Select 55,I'm getting used to it. I just decided I wanted to lose weight more. A lot of our bike friends don't drink either,just nice to have a place to cool off and still socialize.
  • ErinBeth7
    ErinBeth7 Posts: 1,625 Member
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    This is exactly how I feel...I actually feel so much better when I don't drink but I really enjoy hanging out with friends & having a good time, it's so hard to find a happy medium! :grumble:

    You said it.
  • samnco
    samnco Posts: 16 Member
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    Alcohol is the reason I am a chub scout. And oh how I wish I craved celery when I get the drunk munchies.

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