Advice Please on Alcohol

caroline_mason42
caroline_mason42 Posts: 83 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi i am back trying to loose weight again.....i am after some advice please.

The big question is are all calories the same, ie if I choose to have a couple of glasses of wine instead of a sandwich, will this still be counted as the same calorie content and will I still loose weight at the same rate, or is there something else I need to be aware of with Alcohol calories.

:drinker:
«134

Replies

  • joolywooly33
    joolywooly33 Posts: 421 Member
    Hate to say it but I don't loose when I drink, even if it is counted in my cals.......
  • arrseegee
    arrseegee Posts: 575 Member
    Calories are equal in terms of energy, however a sandwich gives you fiber and vitamins and minerals and also carbohydrates, so if you are looking for a healthier option that will keep you going longer then a sandwich is the obvious choice. However if you eat a balanced diet, are meeting your macros (carbs, protein, fat) and your vitamin and mineral intakes then the odd glass of wine when you have leftover calories isn't going to hurt. However, if you decided to swap every sandwich for a couple of glasses of wine then you're going to have problems!
  • KinoM
    KinoM Posts: 359 Member
    It's no different from other calories in that sense, but may affect your ability to choose healthy foods afterwards, and may exacerbate cravings for salty and fatty foods. But if that all fits into your calories for the week then go for it.
  • hastingsmassage
    hastingsmassage Posts: 162 Member
    I lose 0 lbs when I have a glass or two of wine in the evening.
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
    The way I understand it is that your body will burn up the alcohol before it will any food calories. Therefore, the calories from food have a tendancy to turn to fat. I hope that someone here can explain this better.
  • lynheff
    lynheff Posts: 393 Member
    From a weight loss perspective, yes the calories are the same. But since alcohol doesn't fill you up or provide any nutrition, most people find that it leads to going over their calorie limit. In addition, if you are drinking with friends, there is usually some kind of high calorie food that goes along with the party. I usually order a club soda and save that 125-150 calories for something more filling. Hope that helps.
  • Rochester_mom
    Rochester_mom Posts: 100 Member
    I am a wine lover, so it's hard for me to admit, but I lose more weight when I am off the booze. I find it hard to stay within my calorie range when I have two glasses of wine. Try it both ways keeping within your macros with and without wine and see what works best for you. Good luck!
  • davemap
    davemap Posts: 71 Member
    I personally cant loose any weight if i drink at all even a couple on saturday seems to kill me, I read somewhere its due to metabolism having to stop processing normal and start clearing out alcohol (could be wrong i read this on the interweb)
  • JazmineYoli
    JazmineYoli Posts: 547 Member
    Hate to say it but I don't loose when I drink, even if it is counted in my cals.......

    I'm with you. If I drink, no matter if it fits into my calories, it seems to work against me. I'm not even a heavy drinker. I think alcohol works differently on some people.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    So long as you accurately measure the quantity (I have a 125ml pub measure glass to make sure), record the calories and remain under your daily calorie allowance you will lose weight. Regular wine consumption certainly hasn't stopped me losing, and a couple of glasses will sometime help me get over a plateau.

    However, I reckon it's a good idea to only drink out of your exercise calories, i.e. get all the nutrition you need from your food first and keep the booze for a treat. The lower your calorie goal, the more this matters.

    Hence my MFP motto: "Will run for wine." :drinker:
  • SLLeask
    SLLeask Posts: 489 Member
    I have lost weight whilst not altering my alcohol consumption. Yes, I would probably have lost more if I cut out alcohol. But since I am in this for the long haul and I enjoy alcohol, I flatly refuse to give it up! My journey to my goal weight may take a little longer but I shall be happy all the way! But that's just me, different strokes for different folks and all that! :flowerforyou:
  • emilyisbonkers
    emilyisbonkers Posts: 373 Member
    alcohol also lowers your inhibitions and you are more likely to eat more calories :(
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    I've lost weight without giving up alcohol, but I do measure it carefully and log it accurately. I've also swapped a pre-dinner beer for a gin and slimline tonic, and really cut down on crisps, cheese and biscuits - the sort of things that "need" wine with them :wink:

    But I've also made sure I do enough exercise so I have calories to spare for alchol without compromising a healthy varied diet with lots of lean meat/fish, fruit, veg, sensible carbs etc.
  • KinoM
    KinoM Posts: 359 Member
    In my own experience I've had regular drinks throughout my loss to date, and it's not caused any problems. Once you log it and fit it into your week, and don't make any food choices that are outside of your weekly targets, it's fine.
  • rachael1805
    rachael1805 Posts: 72 Member
    I'm not speaking from personal experience, but I have heard that the pressure alcohol puts on your liver to cleanse itself from alcohol inhibits the body from effectively shedding fat- no scientific proof, just hear-say...
  • SuperCrsa
    SuperCrsa Posts: 790 Member
    Calories are equal in terms of energy, however a sandwich gives you fiber and vitamins and minerals and also carbohydrates, so if you are looking for a healthier option that will keep you going longer then a sandwich is the obvious choice. However if you eat a balanced diet, are meeting your macros (carbs, protein, fat) and your vitamin and mineral intakes then the odd glass of wine when you have leftover calories isn't going to hurt. However, if you decided to swap every sandwich for a couple of glasses of wine then you're going to have problems!

    Definitely this!
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    The water I mix with my scotch has 0 calories. Now then is the glass half full or empty?
  • tessiebear40
    tessiebear40 Posts: 39 Member
    I joined My Fitness Pal last June. My tracker is incorrect by the way, I am at goal since December after losing 21lbs. I wanted to lose weight but not drastically change my lifestyle as I needed to find a way to eat, drink and exercise in a way that I can sustain this for life. I lost weight while still drinking wine, etc. I exercised more if I wanted to have a drink while my 1200 cals a day were used on good, non processed food. I also do not eat more when I drink. I hope this helps but everyone is different
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • shell13b
    shell13b Posts: 55 Member
    I wondered the same thing when I started dieting again...found this helpful

    http://www.disabled-world.com/fitness/diets/alcohol-diet.php
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    Hi i am back trying to loose weight again.....i am after some advice please.

    The big question is are all calories the same, ie if I choose to have a couple of glasses of wine instead of a sandwich, will this still be counted as the same calorie content and will I still loose weight at the same rate, or is there something else I need to be aware of with Alcohol calories.

    :drinker:

    Make sure you measure.

    But your body does treat calories from alcohol differently.
    There is no store in your body for alcohol....
    So the body will oxidize it to get it out as quickly as possible....it pretty much treats it as a poison.

    So while you are drinking, any other food you are consuming will be put on the back burner for being used as energy (being oxidized) until the body is able to get rid of the alcohol....

    So that is why people who drink beer a lot have the "spare tire" cause they consuming other foods (nuts, high in fat)...that will be stored in the fat cells, while the body works to get rid of the alcohol.
  • caroline_mason42
    caroline_mason42 Posts: 83 Member
    Thank you all for your valuable advice, I will try to abstain but from what i am hearing as long as i stick to just the wine and do not have it in conjunction with non-counted and unhealthy foods (which as you say can be the effect of having a cheeky glass of wine :happy: _ then I should be ok but the weight loss may be slower, something definitely to think about as I really want to get as near to goal as possible in 29 weeks and counting.......
  • caroline_mason42
    caroline_mason42 Posts: 83 Member
    would it help if I excersise after i have drunk wine to get the body burning fat.....I run 5K+ every morning (well excluding sundays) and walk the dog for at least 30 minutes every evening - would that help get my body burning fat not procesing alcohol?
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    Read this by Lyle McDonald if you get a chance.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/nutrient-intake-nutrient-storage-and-nutrient-oxidation.html
    Alcohol
    And, finally, as noted above, there is absolutely no store of alcohol in the body. None whatsoever. Effectively, alcohol is seen as a sort of metabolic ‘toxin’ or ‘poison’ to the body. And this means that alcohol oxidation is 100% perfect, that is, the body will effectively do everything in its power to get rid of the alcohol increasing alcohol oxidation to maximum (which means decreasing the oxidation of other nutrients consumed with that alcohol) so that the alcohol can be gotten rid of.

    I’m going to ask readers not to read anything into the above paragraph, don’t infer or try to draw conclusions about how alcohol might or mightn’t fit into the diet in terms of anything. As it turns out, alcohol is an oddity among nutrients with seemingly contradictory effects on things. I’m going to address that in detail in a forthcoming article and, for now, just take the above as some much needed background information.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    This is the most depression Debbie downer filled thread about alcohol I've seen in a while.

    Calories are calories. If you measure your wine accurately and track your other stuff accurately you'll lose weight. If you don't lose weight over time (im not talking you had wine Saturday and don't lose on Sunday because that's way to small a window to get an actual sample from, but you are stalled out for a few weeks) then you've fudged up the math somewhere.


    Simple.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
    I drink all the things.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • TLwineguzzler
    TLwineguzzler Posts: 289 Member
    I'm staying dry for January and I'm definitely finding the weight is coming off easier. Before I'd always be 1 or 2 lbs heavier on a Monday morning than I was on the previous Friday if I drank a two or three bottles of wine over the weekend. I've not had any gains at all this month, might just carry on through February!
  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
    This is a great article:

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

Categories