Question about effects of beer on diet
no3lly
Posts: 9
I wonder if anyone can help me on this? I'm looking to understand why I'm not losing weight after drinking beer when my calorie consumption is sufficient for me to lose 2lbs.
If I allow myself to drink (no more than once a week), I go all out and will drink around 4.5 liters (8 pints) worth of premium beer (5% abv), this works out to be around 1600 calories. When I drink, my total daily calorie intake is never above 2500 which is my proven TDEE over the last year having lost 20lbs and tracking every calorie eaten and burnt.
From what I've read, the 'beer gut' is not the result of the drinking, but the result of the food consumed as a side effect, particularly the craving of fatty/carb loaded junk, I'm no exception and will typically eat a further 2500 calories the following day.
Without fail, I am always 2lbs heavier when I weigh myself 2 days after drinking, even though I have not eaten sufficient food to add weight. I can only assume this is due to water retention?
What I don't get is why, if over the course of the rest of the week, I bring my net calorific intake back down to say, 1500 calories per day (which consists of 500 calorie deceit from food and 500 from exercise x5 per week) do I not lose any weight, even though I should lose 2lbs. If I don't drink alcohol, 2lbs falls off.
I track macros at 50(c):30(f):20(p) when I drink and 40(c):30(p):30(f) when I don't.
Over the next four days after I drink am I just burning the extra water off? Either way, I know I don't lose weight for the rest of the week when I drink.
Thanks for reading, hope you can help.
If I allow myself to drink (no more than once a week), I go all out and will drink around 4.5 liters (8 pints) worth of premium beer (5% abv), this works out to be around 1600 calories. When I drink, my total daily calorie intake is never above 2500 which is my proven TDEE over the last year having lost 20lbs and tracking every calorie eaten and burnt.
From what I've read, the 'beer gut' is not the result of the drinking, but the result of the food consumed as a side effect, particularly the craving of fatty/carb loaded junk, I'm no exception and will typically eat a further 2500 calories the following day.
Without fail, I am always 2lbs heavier when I weigh myself 2 days after drinking, even though I have not eaten sufficient food to add weight. I can only assume this is due to water retention?
What I don't get is why, if over the course of the rest of the week, I bring my net calorific intake back down to say, 1500 calories per day (which consists of 500 calorie deceit from food and 500 from exercise x5 per week) do I not lose any weight, even though I should lose 2lbs. If I don't drink alcohol, 2lbs falls off.
I track macros at 50(c):30(f):20(p) when I drink and 40(c):30(p):30(f) when I don't.
Over the next four days after I drink am I just burning the extra water off? Either way, I know I don't lose weight for the rest of the week when I drink.
Thanks for reading, hope you can help.
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Replies
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That happens to me too for a few days after heavy drinking, and i feel bloated too. I don't know why it happens, but i suspect it is from a temporary drop in liver function. Maybe it causes something like mild ascites (fluid retention in the belly). Just a guess.0
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I'm in the same boat. Drank quite a bit this weekend and consumed 2600-3100 calories each day Saturday and Sunday (including the beer/booze). Gained 2-3 pounds. It normally comes off in a couple days and then I just go back to losing at my normal 1-2.5 lbs a week after that. Can't help you out on the why though, but I'm just going to assume water as well.0
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Thanks for taking time to answer.
Cherimoose, I wasn't familiar with ascites, that'll be my research tonight.
Golfbrew_matt, with Christmas coming up, I guess I want to minimize alcohol enforced weight gain. For scientific research (only science, cough), I will swap beer with gin next time.0 -
Beer = weight loss
Once you pass out, you stop eating
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You are looking at things in too much of a vacuum. The math of what you should be losing and what you actually lose never match up. The beer is not causing weight loss stalls in and of itself. Look at your weight as it trends over the course of a month, not the course of a few days. If over the course of a month, there is no downward trend, you are taking in too many calories. How confident are you on your 1500 calorie a day intake? Is that weighing all your food on a scale, no cheat days, no estimation, no forgetting to log, no eating foods you didn't prepare yourself, no restaurants? Also, the 500 calories you burn, how do you come up with that number? Are you using an equation or MFP to give you the calories burned (fairly inaccurate) or using a HRM (somewhat accurate)?I wonder if anyone can help me on this? I'm looking to understand why I'm not losing weight after drinking beer when my calorie consumption is sufficient for me to lose 2lbs.
If I allow myself to drink (no more than once a week), I go all out and will drink around 4.5 liters (8 pints) worth of premium beer (5% abv), this works out to be around 1600 calories. When I drink, my total daily calorie intake is never above 2500 which is my proven TDEE over the last year having lost 20lbs and tracking every calorie eaten and burnt.
From what I've read, the 'beer gut' is not the result of the drinking, but the result of the food consumed as a side effect, particularly the craving of fatty/carb loaded junk, I'm no exception and will typically eat a further 2500 calories the following day.
Without fail, I am always 2lbs heavier when I weigh myself 2 days after drinking, even though I have not eaten sufficient food to add weight. I can only assume this is due to water retention?
What I don't get is why, if over the course of the rest of the week, I bring my net calorific intake back down to say, 1500 calories per day (which consists of 500 calorie deceit from food and 500 from exercise x5 per week) do I not lose any weight, even though I should lose 2lbs. If I don't drink alcohol, 2lbs falls off.
I track macros at 50(c):30(f):20(p) when I drink and 40(c):30(p):30(f) when I don't.
Over the next four days after I drink am I just burning the extra water off? Either way, I know I don't lose weight for the rest of the week when I drink.
Thanks for reading, hope you can help.
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Hi Vismal, thanks for answering.
Yeah, I get what you're saying about intake/output. I think with calories eaten, I'm happy to allow a 10% difference, I understand MFP is not as black and white as it seems in terms of calorie estimates. I do weigh all food and check the diary result against the packaging. I'm good at not cheating and 1500 is the average over the course of the week, so I'm happy going above or below as long as it averages around that figure (usually under).
Calories burnt, yeah HRM is used, the last 4 days I've burnt 600+ on average, so when I say 500, I'm underestimating. I also vary my workouts and do plenty of interval training.
It does come down to the consumption of alcohol if I am going to lose weight or not, I've been at it for a year and when tracking both with and without MFP, constant diet and exercise = weight loss, if I add beer to the mix, no weight loss happens.0 -
2lbs. isn't a whole heck of a lot in terms of water retention so yes, this could be total water retention. It could definitely take a few days to get rid of it. The alcohol, no matter the source, is a poison for your body which it wants to get rid of. While you're drinking it, the water that you have will be used up to eliminate it which dehydrates your body. This will have the effect your seeing because in the next day when you drink normally, your body holds on to as much as it can until it's sure that you aren't going to drink again resulting in holding on to that extra water (and bloating feel).
Our bodies are a funny thing, but efficient as hell!
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1600 calories for 8 pints of beer seemed low to me, so I looked it up -- it varies a lot, depending on the type of beer. Plus, I'm guessing from your "accent" that you're in the UK? Your pints are 20% bigger than U.S. pints. If I'm right, and your pints are bigger and you're not drinking the swill that passes for "light beer" here in the States, you're actually consuming closer to 2400 calories in 8 pints. That plus the extra calories you're eating during and after a night of drinking...I think the answer is simply too many calories.0
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I also find that if I go out and have some beer, I may go up slightly on the scale the next couple of days, even if my total calories were under my goal.
Of course, I never drink 8 pints of beer at once. More like a bottle, a single pint, or, in very rare cases (like a beer festival) maybe an imperial pint (20oz). Any more than that in a day is too much alcohol for me, and also too many calories. But I'm a 5'1" woman so it's different for me. I'd still suggest that 8 pints at once is too much for just about anyone, male or female, of any size... if you're doing that with some regularity, it could be an issue for other reasons.
Also, what kind of beer are you drinking? Are you logging a calorie-dense ale or stout as "beer", which usually refers to the watered-down American lager that tastes like piss? (Sorry, Americans... I know you make good microbrews too. But your commercial stuff is crap.)
ETA: +1 to what 0somuchbetter0 said ^^^. She posted as I was typing. But yes, agreed.
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I gain weight/feel bloated if I drink a LOT, or combine eating with it. Although typically, I tend to not eat much when I drink, and have even lost weight due to it. I also don't drink water when I drink (tastes horrible after drinking beer).
But you say the day after drinking, you eat 2500 calories again. It could be due to having two days in a row with higher calorie consumption?0 -
Ah, more people, thanks guys.
wkwebby: That's what I'm thinking, combined with what Cherimoose said earlier about mild ascites. I'm just going to go without until Christmas!
0somuchbetter0: Aye, I'm Welsh and proud! Well, I gave the measurement in liters as I was drinking 440ml cans of the stuff the other night, you're right, 1600 is incorrect, it was 1800. What I described as Premium beer was actually Bud which has recently decreased from 5% to 4.8 (annoyingly - but better in the mornings!) Either way, I'm confident in my calculations about average calories... I'm not so confident as to whether I had some of the whiskey that was going around as well! Cheers0 -
Well if you're drinking 8 pints of Bud, then you have a problem for other reasons. If you're gonna consume that many calories on alcohol, at least go for the good stuff!
Seriously, you are not the first person and you certainly won't be the last to derail a week's worth of disciplined diet and exercise with weekend binge drinking to excess. Sounds like you may need to cut back for a while in order to start seeing the results you want. Try ordering a beer that actually tastes good, and nurse it for the evening instead of downing it like it's going out of style.
The good news: As you lose weight, your tolerance for alcohol goes down too. So you get just as buzzed on less beer. Win for the pocketbook, too!0 -
Heh,
Segacs: The American commercial stuff is far better than our commercial stuff! Either way, it's all pish! It just facilitates a good time with friends... who I'm expected to keep up drinking with!
I think I'll keep things in check until I reach my goal. It is so frustrating to lose an entire week for the sake of a few hours worth of fun.
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I lose water weight when I drink beer. And then gain it all back the following few days.
![:\](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
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On a side note, I've noticed that if I have a couple of mixed drinks at night (hard alcohol with diet pop) I lose 1-2 pounds the next morning weigh in and as long as I don't do that 2 days in a row, the weight stays off (I weigh in daily). I realize it's just water weight again, but it actually doesn't seem to hinder weight loss as long as it's infrequent and the calories are within my daily goals.0
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Fearlessleader1, golfbrew_matt and segacs,
Perhaps moderation is the way forward! It is far nicer to wake up fresh and enjoy the day than to squirm in bed drinking pint after pint of water in the hope of reviving yourself enough to function through the day.0 -
Either way, it's all pish! It just facilitates a good time with friends... who I'm expected to keep up drinking with!
I think I'll keep things in check until I reach my goal. It is so frustrating to lose an entire week for the sake of a few hours worth of fun.
True that.
I understand the social pressure to keep up, believe me. But it sounds like you recognize that it's a choice. You have to decide what you want more: To keep up with your friends drink for drink, or to lose the weight.
Your friends'll take the piss for a bit, but they'll get over it. Especially when they figure out that you'll keep buying when it's your round regardless, and that they have to buy one fewer when it's their go. 0 -
Are you factoring in the dehydration? For me, I gain weight when I drink beer because I get bloated [bubbles make me gassy] I get dehydrated [alcohol dehydrates me] and I get carbs. These 3 things combined make me feel bloated, plus my usual low-carb diet means I hold onto extra water and carbs after a night of a lot of beer.
Don't have an answer, just anecdotes. Have you tried weighing at the same time every day for a week or 2 and seeing if there's a rise/fall trend? I started doing that and it's helped me see the long-term progress much easier.0 -
segacs: I find the idea of lower tolerance as a result of fitness/healthiness pretty aspirational. I'll use it for the next few weeks! It is nice to have one pint and feel tipsy!0
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Heh,
Segacs: The American commercial stuff is far better than our commercial stuff! Either way, it's all pish! It just facilitates a good time with friends... who I'm expected to keep up drinking with!
I think I'll keep things in check until I reach my goal. It is so frustrating to lose an entire week for the sake of a few hours worth of fun.
Wow it really is in the eye of the beholder. I actually prefer Stella Artois (which I know is Belgian), but I worked with a British woman who told me it's considered a very low-class beverage over there, sort of like Budweiser.
Can you slow down drinking? Have 5 instead of 8?
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oddrums: I generally weight myself once a week. I think, when I start up on alcohol after reaching my goal, I will give that a shout. It's more data, I like data!0
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obsuremusicreference: aye, Stella's known as 'wife beater' because of its high alcoholic percentage which allegedly causes men to beat their wives. I'm not a fan, but I do like the smell of it when a bottle is opened, don't touch it otherwise. Prefer Kronenbourg if given the choice for European, prefer Asahi if given any world larger.
Slow down? I could do, I doubt I would out of choice when around mates. I don't drink quickly by myself, if I do drink by myself. If I drink, I understand the repercussions, including inability to lose weight, sadly, that seems to be a given if I agree to go out. At least I'll save some money by abstaining for a while.0 -
Stella Artois...Kronenbourg...bleh... You know why the French are so good at making wine? Because their beer is *kitten*! hehe... (I'm half French so I can say this with confidence.)
How about a nice Bordeaux instead? 0 -
Fearlessleader1, golfbrew_matt and segacs,
Perhaps moderation is the way forward! It is far nicer to wake up fresh and enjoy the day than to squirm in bed drinking pint after pint of water in the hope of reviving yourself enough to function through the day.
I've tried moderation, it didn't work....
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0somuchbetter0 wrote: »Stella Artois...Kronenbourg...bleh... You know why the French are so good at making wine? Because their beer is *kitten*! hehe... (I'm half French so I can say this with confidence.) How about a nice Bordeaux instead?
Stella Artois is Belgian, actually, not French. Though both Stella and Kronenbourg are now owned and produced by Anheuser-Busch and the Carlsberg Group, respectively. So basically they're indistinguishable from most watered-down commercially-produced lagers.
Belgium, FWIW, has *excellent* beer, as long as you stay away from Stella and its ilk.0 -
My weight goes all over the place when I have alcohol, and it can take up to a week for it to settle down.
Side-stepping the US v UK v Europe beer thing.. my tolerance for alcohol has essentially evaporated, which is sad in a way, but it does mean I simply cannot "keep up" with friends/colleagues except if I want a teenager-on-hard-cider style hangover, so I accepted that I'm just not that person any more.
When you're ready to make that choice, you'll wander why you even spent more than 5 seconds thinking about it. When I do have a drink now, I generally order the most expensive thing I can find, because I want to enjoy that drink dammit.
Alcohol does weird stuff to body weight. Nuff said.0 -
0somuchbetter0 wrote: »Stella Artois...Kronenbourg...bleh... You know why the French are so good at making wine? Because their beer is *kitten*! hehe... (I'm half French so I can say this with confidence.) How about a nice Bordeaux instead?
Stella Artois is Belgian, actually, not French. Though both Stella and Kronenbourg are now owned and produced by Anheuser-Busch and the Carlsberg Group, respectively. So basically they're indistinguishable from most watered-down commercially-produced lagers.
Belgium, FWIW, has *excellent* beer, as long as you stay away from Stella and its ilk.
I know, but then my joke wouldn't have been so funny! I could be really annoying and say "La France...la Belgique... c'est la même chose!" Haha... Knowing the love between those two... 0 -
Your body will not burn body fat while processing alcohol in the liver. It can't do 2 things at once.0
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I know this is a super un-fun suggestion, but maybe cut out beer until you've reached your goal weight. This has been a particular struggle for me. I got into the habit of coming home after work and drinking between 3-4 Coors every night and more than that on the weekends. I cut out drinking completely on the weekdays and on the weekends I'll limit myself to 6 maximum. Beer drinking has been my weightloss down fall, but I'm hoping after I hit my goal weight I can at least have 1-2 beers and not gain.0
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