Alcohol Calories don't count?

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  • My1985Freckles
    My1985Freckles Posts: 1,039 Member
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    I would hazard a guess that your friend just burns those calories & doesn't even remember how!! :drinker:

    Or who he burns them with :wink: :wink: :wink: LOL
  • amydee714
    amydee714 Posts: 232 Member
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    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
    laylaness Posts: 262 Member
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    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
    amydee714 Posts: 232 Member
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    I would hazard a guess that your friend just burns those calories & doesn't even remember how!! :drinker:

    Or who he burns them with :wink: :wink: :wink: LOL

    HaHa! Especially now that he has all that confidence with the weight loss!
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    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
    PHXBlondie Posts: 26 Member
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    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
    MsKeelah919 Posts: 332 Member
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    I can only speak for me. When I ingest alcohol, my weight loss slows dramatically!
  • BeSophisticate
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    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
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    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
    sarahisme18 Posts: 574 Member
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    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
    SmartWhatever Posts: 718 Member
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    Awesome, the Alcoholic Diet! Sounds incredibly healthy! Someone should write a book!
  • amydee714
    amydee714 Posts: 232 Member
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    I didn't say I agreed with it, just that I found it an interesing topic of conversation.
  • like_milk
    like_milk Posts: 79 Member
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    This is called the William the Conqueror diet, it's legit and has been around since the 11th century, look it up!
  • MichaelFunaro
    MichaelFunaro Posts: 66 Member
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    So where did the name "Beer Belly" come from then? Hmmmmm
  • dena789
    dena789 Posts: 164 Member
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    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
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    I know how he's doing it: vodka and celery.
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    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
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
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    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
    AdventureVia Posts: 84 Member
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    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
    raystark Posts: 403 Member
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    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.