Not losing because of alcohol?

ChrissME
ChrissME Posts: 33 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I enjoy a couple of scotch and waters every evening. I count them as part of my calories for the day. I'm 230 pounds and consume between 1200 and 1400 calories a day. I don't exercise much, but I have been trying to move more. I need a lot of calories to maintain 230 pounds and I've cut at least 1000 calories a day for the last two weeks. Why is the scale not moving?

I just read that having too much alcohol slows the fat burning process by 73%. Thoughts please?
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Replies

  • samanthasimps0n
    samanthasimps0n Posts: 88 Member
    Hi Chris. Wow! Cutting 1000 calories a day seems like a ton! I've read that if you cut 500 calories each day you should lose 1 pound per week. So if you are cutting 1000 calories a day, you should be losing about 2 pounds a week. I do know that alcohol is not good for trying to lose weight but I didn't know that it slowed the fat burning process by 73%! That is quite an eye opener.

    Perhaps you need to really focus on the calories that you are counting. Make sure that you actually are reducing your intake by 1000 or if you are skipping some calories like cream in your coffee or butter on your toast or a bigger serving of pasta than you recorded. Definitely try to move more :) It's funny but the more you move the more energy you will gain! Good luck with your goals :)
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
    73% is very specific

    Your diary is closed, are you counting your alcohol calories?
  • HotCuppaJo
    HotCuppaJo Posts: 476 Member
    73% is very specific

    Your diary is closed, are you counting your alcohol calories?

    He said in his post that he IS counting the alcohol calories....
  • ChrissME
    ChrissME Posts: 33 Member
    73% is very specific

    Your diary is closed, are you counting your alcohol calories?

    Yes! Every last one of them!
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
    73% is very specific

    Your diary is closed, are you counting your alcohol calories?

    He said in his post that he IS counting the alcohol calories....

    I'd assume something is not being logged correctly, first instinct is to look at the alcohol
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I just read that having too much alcohol slows the fat burning process by 73%. Thoughts please?

    Utter nonsense. Get some exercise.
  • kelseyhere
    kelseyhere Posts: 1,123 Member
    If 1/2 of your daily calories are coming from alcohol you're going to have a very hard time losing because you're not getting any nutrients. You are stressing your body because basically all you are feeding it is gasoline. It's the equivalent of putting water in your gas tank, you won't get very far. Food is your body's fuel, and if the only fuel you give it is alcohol, it's going to hold on desperately to any fat you do have. You can drink and lose weight, but not everyday.

    Next week try to drink only 3 drinks a night, then the week after go down to 2, then 1, then scale back to every other day. Also it's only been 2 weeks, so have some patience.
  • ChrissME
    ChrissME Posts: 33 Member
    If 1/2 of your daily calories are coming from alcohol you're going to have a very hard time losing because you're not getting any nutrients. You are stressing your body because basically all you are feeding it is gasoline. It's the equivalent of putting water in your gas tank, you won't get very far. Food is your body's fuel, and if the only fuel you give it is alcohol, it's going to hold on desperately to any fat you do have. You can drink and lose weight, but not everyday.

    Next week try to drink only 3 drinks a night, then the week after go down to 2, then 1, then scale back to every other day. Also it's only been 2 weeks, so have some patience.

    It's NOT HALF of my daily calories. I'd be sloshed! :drinker: I have maybe 200 calories in alcohol.
  • LittleMissDover
    LittleMissDover Posts: 820 Member
    You joined in October, so a max of 4 weeks ago and you've lost 4lb so the scale IS moving....
  • carriann2012
    carriann2012 Posts: 180 Member
    I have a glass of wine almost every night and sometimes a little more on the weekends and it has not prevented me from loosing weight so not sure if alcohol has anything to do with your weight loss. I have managed to loose over 30 pounds while I had my wine :smile: One thing I could not give up, but I do eat pretty healthy and gave up on all fried foods and fast food and low carb. I can't see your diary so I am not sure what you are eating.....Try to add some walks in just like 20 minutes every other day start off slow, or talk to your doctor.
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    Easy way to find out. Stop drinking for a few weeks and keep an eye on the scales. That should sort it out...
  • kaytonp
    kaytonp Posts: 15 Member
    From what I have read and what My dietitian has told me. Alcohol is metabolized through the same pathways of the liver as fat is. So even if you are at a calorie deficit, if you drink alcohol it will take precedence over your fat because it is a toxin. My dietitian told me that even one drink per week can reduce weight loss to 10% of what it should be.

    I have noticed this in my own weight loss, when I abstain from alcohol completely I lost steadily, if I have even one drink I don't loose anything that week.

    I would suggest you try cutting out alcohol all together for a couple weeks and see what the results are.

    Good luck.
  • ffffaaatttt
    ffffaaatttt Posts: 37 Member
    Exercise.
  • ChrissME
    ChrissME Posts: 33 Member
    From what I have read and what My dietitian has told me. Alcohol is metabolized through the same pathways of the liver as fat is. So even if you are at a calorie deficit, if you drink alcohol it will take precedence over your fat because it is a toxin. My dietitian told me that even one drink per week can reduce weight loss to 10% of what it should be.

    I have noticed this in my own weight loss, when I abstain from alcohol completely I lost steadily, if I have even one drink I don't loose anything that week.

    I would suggest you try cutting out alcohol all together for a couple weeks and see what the results are.

    Good luck.

    Thank you. I think this is the best advice. Bye, bye scotch :sad:
    I was successful doing South Beach years ago. I thought it was because it was so low carb, but maybe abstaining from alcohol was a big factor as well.
  • corneredbycorn
    corneredbycorn Posts: 267 Member
    I can't lose weight and drink alcohol. However, when I cut the alcohol, the weight comes off with no extra effort. I know, anecdotal evidence and all, but that's what happens to me so I don't drink. I would suggest cutting it out for a few weeks and see what happens.
  • krickeyuu
    krickeyuu Posts: 344 Member
    I drink wine every day and I have lost 21 lbs, so you can drink alcohol and lose weight. My general rule of thumb is to log my food calories and work to meet my macros but at least 90%. Then I exercise and I use my exercise calories for alcohol or treats.
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    I drink wine every day and I have lost 21 lbs, so you can drink alcohol and lose weight. My general rule of thumb is to log my food calories and work to meet my macros but at least 90%. Then I exercise and I use my exercise calories for alcohol or treats.

    No. YOU can drink alcohol and lose weight. We are not all alike and what works for you might not for the OP. Besides that drinking wine every night isn't beneficial to you whilst dieting. You'd be better off using the cals on food and saving the wine for once or twice a week in my opinion. Your weight loss methods are not compatable with everyone else's.
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    Easy way to find out. Stop drinking for a few weeks and keep an eye on the scales. That should sort it out...

    Hey hey, let's not do anything drastic here.

    If you are having a "couple of Scotch and waters" it's probably more than 200 calories. Try actually seeing how much Scotch you're putting in that water and calculate it from there. For that matter make sure you're accurately logging the amount of everything you're consuming. It can be very eye opening if you aren't measuring and weighing everything.

    Also, get better Scotch so you don't have to add water.
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    I drink wine every day and I have lost 21 lbs, so you can drink alcohol and lose weight. My general rule of thumb is to log my food calories and work to meet my macros but at least 90%. Then I exercise and I use my exercise calories for alcohol or treats.

    No. YOU can drink alcohol and lose weight. We are not all alike and what works for you might not for the OP. Besides that drinking wine every night isn't beneficial to you whilst dieting. You'd be better off using the cals on food and saving the wine for once or twice a week in my opinion. Your weight loss methods are not compatable with everyone else's.

    Not really. Most everyone is pretty much the same. Unless you have some kind of illness or disorder consuming less calories than you use will result in weight loss.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,272 Member
    From what I have read and what My dietitian has told me. Alcohol is metabolized through the same pathways of the liver as fat is. So even if you are at a calorie deficit, if you drink alcohol it will take precedence over your fat because it is a toxin. My dietitian told me that even one drink per week can reduce weight loss to 10% of what it should be.
    Odd, since alcohol, even large amounts are usually processed within 24 hours. I can see it taking precedence while it is being metabolized, but ruin your whole week? Highly skeptical.
    I drink every weekend. Have lost over 30 pounds in less than 3 months.
  • joepat21
    joepat21 Posts: 13
    A couple of Scotch and Waters shouldn't make that much of a difference unless you're getting $#!Tfaced every night. It certainly wouldn't hurt to cut that back anyways, but you need to exercise to lose weight along with a diet. And if you are 230lbs you need more than 1400 cal/day. Not sure about your age or height, but if you did at least 20 minutes of exercise 3x/week you could easily eat between 1800-2000 cal/day and still lose weight.
  • Gramps251
    Gramps251 Posts: 738 Member
    Easy way to find out. Stop drinking for a few weeks and keep an eye on the scales. That should sort it out...

    ^^This is the best answer to almost all questions on the forum.
  • Gramps251
    Gramps251 Posts: 738 Member
    Easy way to find out. Stop drinking for a few weeks and keep an eye on the scales. That should sort it out...

    ^^This is the best answer to almost all questions on the forum. (not the "stop drinking...." part, the change one thing and give it a couple of weeks part.)

    Sorry for the double post.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    How much exercise are you doing? You say you're not doing much but if you're doing strength training it's possible that you not losing scale weight because muscle weighs more than fat.

    Also, have you considered drinking less? Just sayin
  • RyanJK85
    RyanJK85 Posts: 580 Member
    My self I have cut it down to only Saturdays where I consume many Coors Lights, sometimes up around 20 beers...its something I love, and dont care if anyone judges me about it. I have lost a total of 85 lbs now, 13 since joining here. I exercise and eat what I want, just calorie count. So it is possible, im sure it dont help, but it can be done. good luck!
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    I drink wine every day and I have lost 21 lbs, so you can drink alcohol and lose weight. My general rule of thumb is to log my food calories and work to meet my macros but at least 90%. Then I exercise and I use my exercise calories for alcohol or treats.

    No. YOU can drink alcohol and lose weight. We are not all alike and what works for you might not for the OP. Besides that drinking wine every night isn't beneficial to you whilst dieting. You'd be better off using the cals on food and saving the wine for once or twice a week in my opinion. Your weight loss methods are not compatable with everyone else's.

    Not really. Most everyone is pretty much the same. Unless you have some kind of illness or disorder consuming less calories than you use will result in weight loss.

    Speak for yourself I'm a special snowflake. :bigsmile: You cannot deny though that drinking every night is the best nutritional addition to your diet? I personally think drinking too much slows down other bodily functions (eg losing fat) granted this is my personal opinion, but I don't think suggesting you can drink every night and lose is the best advice for someone who's stalling or unhappy with their progress.
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    How much exercise are you doing? You say you're not doing much but if you're doing strength training it's possible that you not losing scale weight because muscle weighs more than fat.

    Also, have you considered drinking less? Just sayin

    Exactly. Also, there's nothing wrong with drinking every night IIFYM.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    I've read that in a couple of places about the 73%, and also *GASP* from Jillian Michaels on her podcast. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/70/5/928.full I've been dying to try this, though. Martin explains how you can drink and lose weight every week if you're on point the rest of the week. http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    How much exercise are you doing? You say you're not doing much but if you're doing strength training it's possible that you not losing scale weight because muscle weighs more than fat.

    Also, have you considered drinking less? Just sayin

    I nearly responded to that post in a less than polite way until I realised who the poster was. Lol. Even when trolling you still get people backing you up. Priceless lol.
  • Gramps251
    Gramps251 Posts: 738 Member
    How much exercise are you doing? You say you're not doing much but if you're doing strength training it's possible that you not losing scale weight because muscle weighs more than fat.

    Also, have you considered drinking less? Just sayin

    Davpul,

    Great profile pic! I like your workout partner.

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