Alcohol - The Age Old Question

I have no experience with this, since I don't drink, but I can see a number of reasons why removal of alcohol from the diet could aid weight loss. But it won't help if you replace it with something else that is high in calories.

You will lose through caloric deficit. If you were drinking say 2- 5 oz. glasses of wine a day, that's 240 calories. If you did NOT replace them with other food, that would be almost a half pound a week.

for me i drink alcohol often but it's not a hinderince to my weight loss .. i dont go on about eating and eating after having a few drinks ,ill usual have a little snack 150 cal or less > and i dont go over my calorie intake for any of the days just i fit it in my cals for the day still lose weight same rate per week as a non drinking week ( always at a deficit) i only drink wine as well , also i eat alot of junk and still losing its about staying at a deficit for me to lose weight . not what I eat or drink... i drink 4 days per week > my weekly intake on wine is >35 oz or lower most thee time

I have a couple of glasses of wine every night... and have done so for 18 months... managed to lose considerable amount of weight by doing so. BUT, I account for each glass plus I mix my wine with diet Sierra Mist .... 4 oz of wine to about 20 oz of diet Sierra Mist times two is very filling, right around 200 calories and leaves me satisfied. It's all about moderation and make sure to account for the calories. VERY IMPORTANT: do not substitute alcohol calories for nutritional calories.

I know a beer can be less calories than a mtn dew. But its all math.

Interesting how different people's habits are. We almost never drink with a meal unless it's a special occasion. Sometimes my husband will have a beer with dinner but usually we just drink water and our kids (12 and 14) have a small glass of juice or milk. You definitely will benefit calorie wise if you replace liquor/wine/beer with water.

It all come down to consuming less than you burn. So if alcohol is causing you to go over your calories than cutting it out will help make weight loss easier. However, you need to not eat or drink calories elsewhere. Log your calories.

Personally I find alcohol too calorie consuming. Plus once tipsy it's easier to just eat everything in sight and go over my calories. I drink water and almond milk. Here and there I'll have a glass or two of wine or a mixed drink out with friends. I have to plan for it and exercise that day and eat lighter though. Can be a pain.

I do drink. But since I have to fit it in with my calories, it's self-limiting enough I don't sweat it. (I have these two ounce cocktail glasses I adore. Keeps me honest in terms of consumption)

Though I did discover a very interesting thing once when I saved a lot of calories to be able to have a bit more than usual.

I got a mild hangover. I don't usually get them at all (Sorry, OhGod of Hangovers), but it seems that there is a ratio of food to alcohol I cannot upset. I can eat big and drink big and feel fine, or I can eat light and drink light and feel fine.

Eat light and drink big? Nope.

dezz651 wrote: »

Yeah I'm wondering about this as well. In my case I try to limit myself to a pint of liquor when I drink (I drink 7 nights a week). I do log it into myfitnesspal. I am only alloted 1200 cals a day and 1 pint of liqour is 1000. So I work out to burned at least 600-1000 calories a day on the treadmill. Fitness pal displays this as an increase in calories I can have for the day. I only eat about 700 calories a day and and burn about 600-1000 then I drink 1000 in liqour. I've been losing weight but wondering if I'd be losing the same if I cut down or removed alcohol . I know I certainly won't have to work out 7 days a week anymore. Idk

A lot of this post is incorrect.

1. A pint of liquor. You're drinking a pint of liquor or a pint of beer? A pint of liquor (like vodka or whiskey) would be about 7 shots and that would be about 1000 calories...is that really what you're drinking 7 nights a week??? A pint of beer varies a lot, but you could estimate about 250 calories. If you're really drinking 1000 calories worth of alcohol every night, you have more serious health concerns than weight loss.

2. Why are you only allotted 1200 calories a day? If you're using MFP to calculate it and you told it that you want to lose 2 lbs a week, it's going to tell you 1200 pretty much no matter what. This is not a good or accurate estimate. Look at this instead: scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

3. I'm guessing you don't burn 600-1000 calories a day on the treadmill, unless you're either very tall and large and/or spending multiple hours a day on the treadmill. If MFP gave you 1200 calories a day, I'm guessing you're a smallish female and working out hard you're probably burning about 400-500 calories per hour.

4. You need to eat a lot more than 700 calories per day no matter what your size or how much weight you're trying to lose. You can't get the nutrients on 700 calories that your body needs to function, not to mention your long, hard workouts, plus poisoning your liver every night.

If all of this is true (and I don't think it is), you're definitely headed for an early grave.

Is anyone else concerned about @dezz651's weight loss plan?

0somuchbetter0 wrote: »

Is anyone else concerned about @dezz651's weight loss plan?

Nope. We're all big kids here. Other peoples diet plans (even those of trolls) are none of my concern. Take everyone's "advice" with a grain of salt.

Having said that, back to the original question: I also used to drink just about every evening. Since it does account for A LOT of calories, I cut it out. I'll drink on Friday or Saturday and limit myself. The only reason I noticed a "rapid weight loss" is because I just started a month ago and usually everyone experiences a pretty big drop in weight at the beginning. Not necessarily because I quit drinking. What I have found though, to replace the beer, is sparkling mineral water. It's still got that fizz that I love, it's water so it doesn't have any calories, and I get a lemon flavor that is not sweet, so it tastes like a fresh squeezed lemon in my water. LOVE IT!

Drinking in the evening was more of a habit for me, so once I replaced the beer with something else, it was easy peasy to give up.

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I think one of the kickers is what someone mentioned above...alcohol is metabolized first and then your body starts on the other food you've eaten. I too love my drinks. But this week, I plan on eating clean and drinking clean for the entire week. No alcohol until my free day. Good luck!

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