Is alcohol really the issue?

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use2becaligirl
use2becaligirl Posts: 37
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been on MFP for 37 days and have only lost 3lbs. I eat a good diet and I work out 3-4 days a week, mostly cardio. I am usually under my calorie goal but I do have a few cocktails on Wednesday night, which is vodka and peach tea, the peach tea has no calories in it and on Saturdays I have a few beers. I am sometimes over on my calories on these days. Could alcohol really be hindering my weight loss?

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  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
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    Are you exercising as well? What you could do is calculate how much above or below you are over a week's time frame, that would tell you more.
  • fuzzymel
    fuzzymel Posts: 400 Member
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    Have you tried looking at the calorie content of the cocktails?

    Alcohol does tend to pack in the calories. I love wine and was saddened to find out that a glass is costing me 200 calories.
  • maxmum
    maxmum Posts: 12
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    Yes it could well be the alcohol, not only is it STUFFED with calories but apparently it has some effect on your bodies ability to burn fat temporarily - I remember reading a thread on here about it the other day.
  • Catzwitch
    Catzwitch Posts: 205 Member
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    I know I always get "alcohol bloat" for a couple of days after I drink. Your body retains water bad. I limit my drinking to just Fri & Sat now (I used to drink every night) and I have much better results.
  • kylakesgal
    kylakesgal Posts: 952 Member
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    Yes most definately! Alcohol can dehydrate you and I checked out your food diary and a lot of the days you were drinking, you did not eat very much at all! Guessing you were saving the calories for drinks but several days it put you way over on calories for the day. Alcohol can mess with your metabolism too! The high calories aren't worth it at all if you are trying to lose weight. Do you drink lots of water? Good luck~
  • kristie874
    kristie874 Posts: 774 Member
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    Alcohol slows the metabolism quite a bit and makes you retain. I try to only drink once a week if I want to unless it's a glass of wine with dinner or something. It's packed with calories that have no nutritional benefit. Try backing off of it for a week or two and eating back some or most of your exercise calories...you'll notice a huge difference!
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
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    I just did my suggestion for you for last week. Over all last week you blew your calorie goal for the week by 2015 calories (.6 lbs. of fat). So just looking at this, yes the alcohol is killing you. You can continue to drink, but if you want to lose weight you need to slow down or find better alternatives.
  • SweetPandora
    SweetPandora Posts: 660 Member
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    I used to have wine with dinner every night.

    I gave it up on January 1, 2011.

    I have to admit that I have not seen any difference or any big loss in weight as a result of not having it.

    I strongly believe that each person's body reacts to things differently. What works for one may not work for another.

    Karen
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Having looked at your food diary it looks like things are a little out of whack. First off, you should track sodium and sugar in addition to carbs, fat and protein. Then, you need to meet your calorie goal every day. It looks like you have lots of days where you're 500 calories or more under your goal and then have one day over. Being under doesn't give your body enough nutrition on which to function properly. Also, you need to eat a balanced diet. Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and low fat dairy plus at least 8 glasses of water per day. And you need to spread your calories evenly throughout the day. Having only coffee for breakfast and yogurt for lunch isn't healthy.

    As far as the alcohol goes, save it for the weekend. It does prevent your body from burning fat and your body sees it as a poison, which gets stored in fat cells. It is bad for your digestive tract, which is where 70% of your immune system is located. So, to keep your body healthy, only have one or two drinks on the weekend if you really have to.
  • debbiequack
    debbiequack Posts: 275 Member
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    In general, alcohol is pretty caloric. I still drink, but I have one light beer per evening or a glass of wine, which isn't too bad. I would definitely cut down my alcohol consumption.
  • use2becaligirl
    use2becaligirl Posts: 37
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    Thanks everyone!!! You really put it into prespective: Bottom line is, if I want to lose the weight I need to cut out the drinking. Thanks again. :happy:
  • merrillfoster
    merrillfoster Posts: 855 Member
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    Alcohol is weird. There are tons of studies that say it hinders metabolism and tons that say it speeds it up (temporarily). I prefer to believe the latter, lol. As long as you account for the calories, I think you're fine, and going over (depending on how much, lol) one or two days a week won't kill your weight loss (unless you're going over by 1000's of cals). Do you eat alot when you drink? That might be the culprit (for example, if you come home and eat an entire pizza, then don't remember it the next morning...lol)
  • Mike523
    Mike523 Posts: 393 Member
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    You need to re-read the most helpful response in this thread, which is two above yours. Your diet is out of whack. You need to make serious adjustments if you want to have a healthy weight loss. Make sure you eat up to your daily calorie goal, or at least close. Eat consistent meals at consistent times, made with nutritious food. And DON'T SKIP meals.

    The alcohol may be a problem, but it's not the only problem.
  • denise980
    denise980 Posts: 296
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    I went through your diary, to see if there was a common thread and I have found two:

    1) You tend to eat very small meals that aren't that filling or skip a meal completely

    and 2) You do drink quite a bit.

    One thing that you will find is beer has a lot of calories in it and on days that you have had a beer, you have quite a bit. I'm not saying to cut it out completely, but maybe you should switch to a light beer? And then on days that you skip a meal, you make up for it at dinner, which is an unhealthy way of getting the nutrition that you need because it will take a long time for your body to digest such a large meal and then it's time for bed.

    Don't think that I'm yelling at you or anything, I just noticed those two comment trends that occur and it may be helpful for you to work on them.


    Another thing that helps with weight loss is if you exercise for 500 calories at the minimum a day (something that I am working on) because at the end of 7 days, you statistically can loose 1 pound.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    Options
    I went through your diary, to see if there was a common thread and I have found two:

    1) You tend to eat very small meals that aren't that filling or skip a meal completely

    and 2) You do drink quite a bit.

    One thing that you will find is beer has a lot of calories in it and on days that you have had a beer, you have quite a bit. I'm not saying to cut it out completely, but maybe you should switch to a light beer? And then on days that you skip a meal, you make up for it at dinner, which is an unhealthy way of getting the nutrition that you need because it will take a long time for your body to digest such a large meal and then it's time for bed.

    Don't think that I'm yelling at you or anything, I just noticed those two comment trends that occur and it may be helpful for you to work on them.


    Another thing that helps with weight loss is if you exercise for 500 calories at the minimum a day (something that I am working on) because at the end of 7 days, you statistically can loose 1 pound.

    You should be eating your exercise calories. MFP already gives you a caloric deficit of 250-1000 calories depending on your desired weekly weight loss. So in theory as long as you're doing everything else right, you should be able to lose weight without exercising.

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