To drink alcohol, or not to drink alcohol...

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ljmiller11
ljmiller11 Posts: 67 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All,

Just wondered what your opinions are on whether drinking alcohol (if it fits within your macros) can harm weightloss?

I don't usually drink at all, maybe one or two glasses of wine since Christmas. However, I am going to a works party and a 30th party within the next week and I just know I will get the 'why are you not drinking???' questions. I am thinking about having just one or two vodka and sodas (around 60cals each i believe) at each event and drinking them slowly so I can avoid the awkward questions.

My only concern is, I have set myself a challenge to not weigh myself in March which so far I have done and am now really looking forward to the 31st as I am hoping to see a good couple of pounds loss. The problem I have is that these parties are on the 23rd and 28th of March, right near weigh in day! Is there any research to say that drinking alcohol is detrimental to weight loss or water retention? If so, should I just avoid it altogether and get ready for someone to ask me if I am pregnant or something??

Thoughts anyone? x

Replies

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I drink every weekend and some week nights. I have lost 5kg in 5 weeks this time around, and have previously lost 30kg drinking regularly. It's the hangover food you have to watch out for ;)
  • Fatbirdtalking
    Fatbirdtalking Posts: 44
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    I find that if I drink alcohol and even if I have enough cals to account for it, I don't seem to lose as much that particular week AND defo have to agree with Alatariel75, its the 'hangover' food you have to be careful of, or in my case the chocolate or cheese on toast munchies I get at 1am in the morning when I roll in !!
  • Zoemarie89
    Zoemarie89 Posts: 59
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    I drink every weekend and some week nights. I have lost 5kg in 5 weeks this time around, and have previously lost 30kg drinking regularly. It's the hangover food you have to watch out for ;)

    ^^^ This.

    Alcohol is a diuretic (it causes you to lose water more quickly - hence why you pee so much!), so putting aside the calories you 'eat' from drinking it, it's the recovery phase that does the damage. The 'hangover' feeling is just dehydration kicking in. This dehydration will then in turn cause you to crave 'bad' food, like greasy fry-ups, burgers, etc. Most people eat this 'bad' food and feel better, without realising how bad it really is lol.
    I'm not a doctor, but my understanding is that, due to the dehydration, any food you eat while hungover is nearly impossible to burn. It makes sense - if your body is lacking and you give it food, your body is going to clutch at it for dear life and make it extremely hard to burn... eventually it'll turn to fat :/
    (Like I said, I have no way of knowing if this is true, but it makes sense, and even if it is total bull, it puts me off eating badly the next day so it still works! Ha!)

    My advice - go ahead and enjoy a couple of drinks (low calories if possible), but avoid getting really drunk and avoid eating crap the next day. If you want to drink a lot, have one large glass of water after every glass of alcohol (it will prevent dehydration).
    If possible, make a meal plan/prepare any food for the next day and try to eat clean!

    Enjoy! :)
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,014 Member
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    If you only drink moderately you shouldnt get a hangover - especially if you drink water in between your alcoholic drinks.

    Drinking too much could also lead to bad food choices when not sober, I guess.

    Ive been drinking half strength Southern comfort with coke zero, 70 calories per drink,once or twice per week, 2 or 3 per time fit in my calorie limit fine and dont have any other effects
  • Django1977
    Django1977 Posts: 73
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    Hey there,

    good question.

    I think the alcohol just slow your diet down until it gets out of your body.

    But the side effects of alcohol is that what I am scared of...

    cheers
  • Katrinadionne1808
    Katrinadionne1808 Posts: 95
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    I am on this journey trying to live as normal as possible whilst making healthier choices so that once I meet my GW it is easier to maintain. I have the odd glass of wine during the week (I had 2 last night) and the other week we went to a concert and I drunk plenty of Vodka lime lemonade's and I am still meeting my goals.

    You know you are going out so it is up to you to decide what to do - maybe just have a couple or drink water in between each drink. Look at what you would drink to see how many calories they contain e.g. if you drink stuff like WKD of prepackaged drinks then you will be packing away a ton of calories. I worked out my Vodka lime lemonade's have about 80ish calories in per drink. Always get them in a taller glass - they last longer and never double up! AND never do rounds, it means you drink more!

    And if you can, fit in a workout before you go out!
  • fattyfoodie
    fattyfoodie Posts: 232 Member
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    I am not much of a drinker at all- in fact my last drink was New Year's Eve! It's not that I don't like to take a drink because I do, it's just not part of my lifestyle right now.

    To answer your question, though, in the summer I typically have a glass of wine every other evening or so and as long as I have the calories to account for it I don't notice any difference in my weight loss.
  • marciabwls
    marciabwls Posts: 80 Member
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    I have a glass of wine everynight or a Gin&Tonic...was doing the diet tonic,but the aspartame I don't like it.. Gave up diet soda for that reason...I had lost weight drinking the reg.tonic so I'll just stick to the calories.. My snack usually consists of some kind of nuts (1/4 cup)..if I didn't measure it out I wouldn't stop eating them..
  • RowenaBernice
    RowenaBernice Posts: 17
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    Most alcohols, per one shot (1.5 oz) is at least 100 cals. If you're going to drink, just make sure you know correct numbers because that's what will get you in the most trouble. I personally drink as a 'cheat' day, and so does my boyfriend who lost 30 lbs.
  • efirkey
    efirkey Posts: 298 Member
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    I think the general consensus here is to only drink one or two drinks and you should be OK in the long run.
  • nvpixie
    nvpixie Posts: 483 Member
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    A couple drinks probably won't affect your weight loss. I have wine sometimes and it doesn't cause me to go off track, gain weight, or have a hangover. Drink a couple waters during the evening too...and have fun :)
  • sid809
    sid809 Posts: 5
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    To avoid hangover you must take excess amount of water, because alcohol release extra fluid from the body and body is dehydrated so to re-hydrate body you should take excess amount of water..

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