Alcohol- weight gain?

NuttyforHealth
NuttyforHealth Posts: 40
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there,
I feel like this gets posted a lot, but how does your body treat alcohol calories? What are the results from having alcohol one day a week? When I have alcohol I stay within my calorie limit, but the next day I seem to drop .5 to 1lb and then it returns (I am not worried about the weight "loss" or "gain" as I know it is not REAL, but can I still lose weight if I stay within my calorie goal but drink alcohol.
How does the body process it? Does alcohol cause the weight gain, or the calories from the alcohol?

Thanks

Replies

  • samammay
    samammay Posts: 468
    Those losses are water. Calories are calories.
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
    Biggest reason is likely that alcohol messes with urine production (you produce much more urine per unit of alcohol imbibed than you would for an equivalent volume of water).

    So you wind up dehydrated, and when you rehydrate the next day, your body hangs on tighter to the incoming water.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    Are you logging your booze calories? Liquids tend not to produce the same sense of satiety as solid food. That's one way that alcoholic beverages, and sugary drinks, are insidious. As long as you log the calories in alcohol (and do so accurately: a lot of mixed drinks are the equivalent of 2 or 3 shots of spirits, and have sugary juices or other ingredients too), you can lose weight while drinking. I often have a drink or two and have lost over 40 lbs. since January.

    If I understand your question correctly, though, you are logging booze, you lose weight after drinking, and then you gain it back. That's fairly common, because alcohol is a diuretic. It encourages you to eliminate water (partly because water is needed in alcohol metabolism), so you weigh less; as your body rehydrates, you weigh more. It's the opposite of eating lots of salty foods, which encourage water retention.

    Some research suggests that beer doesn't have a net dehydrating effect because it's mostly water, but wine and spirits are definitely diuretics.
  • NuttyforHealth
    NuttyforHealth Posts: 40
    So does my body digest the alcohol calories differently, as in, will alcohol make me gain fat? Or is it ONLY calories that matter?
  • KateK8LoseW8
    KateK8LoseW8 Posts: 824 Member
    You will not gain fat from alcohol as long as you are at or under your maintenance calorie intake.
  • jaycbrf4
    jaycbrf4 Posts: 36
    Your body will burn the alcohol first instead of the calories. So it will take longer to burn the calories.
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    simply, it's all about calories. your body treats alcohol calories like any other calorie.
  • SupermanRitz
    SupermanRitz Posts: 59
    In this case a calorie is not a calorie. If you've done any research you'll find alcohol is said to possess 7cal/g, BUT given its thermic affect induced during digestion the number is actually closer to 5cal/g. Clearly everything is not as it seems. I invite you to read this:

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson194.htm

    It's a bit of a read, but I think it'll help
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    In this case a calorie is not a calorie. If you've done any research you'll find alcohol is said to possess 7cal/g, BUT given its thermic affect induced during digestion the number is actually closer to 5cal/g. Clearly everything is not as it seems. I invite you to read this:

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson194.htm

    It's a bit of a read, but I think it'll help

    I've read the article before.

    No. A calorie is a calorie in this case.

    She asked if alcohol will make her fat. The answer is NO, alcohol will not make you fat. Too many calories over your maintenance will make you gain fat regardless of source.

    The #1 guideline in the article (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson194.htm) is:

    Some more general guidelines follow:

    1.) Drink alcohol with a lower caloric value, and a higher alcohol percentage (like wine for example). Less will be consumed, meaning lower overall calorie consumption.
  • NuttyforHealth
    NuttyforHealth Posts: 40
    In this case a calorie is not a calorie. If you've done any research you'll find alcohol is said to possess 7cal/g, BUT given its thermic affect induced during digestion the number is actually closer to 5cal/g. Clearly everything is not as it seems. I invite you to read this:

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson194.htm

    It's a bit of a read, but I think it'll help

    Thank you, not only is what I wanted to hear ;) But it answered my question! Thank you :)

    I've read the article before.

    No. A calorie is a calorie in this case.

    She asked if alcohol will make her fat. The answer is NO, alcohol will not make you fat. Too many calories over your maintenance will make you gain fat regardless of source.

    The #1 guideline in the article (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson194.htm) is:

    Some more general guidelines follow:

    1.) Drink alcohol with a lower caloric value, and a higher alcohol percentage (like wine for example). Less will be consumed, meaning lower overall calorie consumption.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    That's broscience.
  • fruttibiscotti
    fruttibiscotti Posts: 986 Member
    I have a glass of red wine with my supper often and don't seem to see a difference if I happen to skip the wine or not. Perhaps quantity or type of drink makes a difference?
  • dmeyerman
    dmeyerman Posts: 27
    I have heard that if you drink hard alcohol, it makes your liver work overtime. So any food consumed from about an hour before your first cocktail, to when your liver stops filtering out the alcohol of these "cocktail(s)" is not being converted into the correct type of energy. The calories are converted directly to fat as your liver cannot do its job properly.

    This could all be complete crap for all I know, it is just something I was told by a friend that is a health freak.

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