Does alcohol affect weight loss results?
JAT74
Posts: 1,081 Member
I have been eating 1100-1400 calories per day since 5th Jan and have lost 5.5lbs. I don't drink very often, normally only a glass or 2 of wine once every week or fortnight, but this week I had 2 glasses with dinner mid-week and another glass yesterday lunchtime.
I weighed myself this morning and I've lost no weight for a few days and my body fat reading is a little all over the place. The calories I drank as wine still fit my macros, my question is does the body treat alcohol differently and will it affect my weight loss?
I've heard similar things about artificial sweeteners and I normally have 1 or 2 per day in tea or coffee and occasionally drink Coke zero, is it a myth that it could affect weight loss or does it have other negative effects on the scale such as water retention? The answers to these questions are not clear to me but if the answer is no then maybe something else is stopping me losing this week.
I weighed myself this morning and I've lost no weight for a few days and my body fat reading is a little all over the place. The calories I drank as wine still fit my macros, my question is does the body treat alcohol differently and will it affect my weight loss?
I've heard similar things about artificial sweeteners and I normally have 1 or 2 per day in tea or coffee and occasionally drink Coke zero, is it a myth that it could affect weight loss or does it have other negative effects on the scale such as water retention? The answers to these questions are not clear to me but if the answer is no then maybe something else is stopping me losing this week.
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Replies
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if your wine is over and above your daily intake that MFP has provided for you and if you go over that amount everyday..well yes you will gain or not lose. Drinking wine is ok as long as you log it. logging everything is the key to success and doing exercise and drink your water...good luck
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As I've said i rarely drink and when I do, once a week or 2 weeks I log it and it's within my macros and calories but some believe it has a negative effect on weight loss so my question was about that, from those who may know if it's true and if so why.0
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weight loss is not linear…you may stall for a day or two weeks, but if you keep eating in a deficit then it will start coming off again …
a few glasses of wine should not sabotage your loss...0 -
I can tell you that alcohol is easily metabolized and will be used for energy first by the body. I had taken to drinking a "100" calorie beer (once per day ) with my dinner meals and I actually stopped losing and actually gained weight even though I was at a deficit of 500 calories as recommended. This is on run/walks three hours per week, and lifting weights for two hours/four times a week. Some people are affected more than others. I have removed all alcohol, diet drinks and artificial sweetners save for STEVIA and honey which I use sparingly.
Don't drink alcohol until you reach your goal. Once you are there break open a wine bottle and reward yourself.-2 -
I rarely drink (once or twice a year tops) but before I had kids I used to go out with my friends for drinks and dancing on weekends and I actually lost quite a lot of weight over a fairly short period of time. Approximately 15lbs in 2 months, and I was not actively trying to lose weight.0
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You will not see weight loss every time you get on the scales - as such my suggestion is not to weigh yourself every couple of days (once a week should be sufficient). Alcohol contains calories and therefore should be counted in your diary. If you are still recording a deficit there is no reason why you would not still lose weight, even with alcohol.0
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TL;DR:
You've plateaued. Break it by further restricting calories no lower than 1100, adding more cardio or begin to bulk. Don't use a scale to measure progress.
So one thing no one mentioned was that as you lose weight, your TDEE will lower. Odds are you are stalling because you are at your new maintenance level. You have a few options:
1. Find out your maintenance level. A quick internet search will give you many formulas to do this. Or the way I prefer, go to iifym.com and use the calculator there.
If you use the iffym calculator it will also determine how many calories and macros to lose weight. Stick to those numbers, and readjust when you begin to stall.
If you don't use the iffym calculator, eat 10-15% lower than maintenance, and do another search to find the formula for figuring macros.
2. You shouldn't eat lower than 1,100 calories per day. So if a deficit has you eating that many calories or few, I would eat at maintenance and add more cardio to your routine.
3. If you don't want to/can't add more cardio and you don't mind adding muscle mass, you could always try bulking. You would eat at a surplus for a length of time (~3 months) and, if your macros are on point (mainly protein and fat), and you're eating whole "clean" foods, most of your weight gain will be in the form of muscle assuming you're following a progressive weight lifting program.
After you bulk and get your weight back up, your TDEE will be higher and you can safely eat at a deficit again. Any fat accumulated during the bulk will be burned off, and if you keep proteins high enough little muscle loss will occur and you'll look really cut and defined.
Also, use measuring tape to gauge progress, not the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat so as you gain muscle the scale will stall or even go up.
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If you fit them in your allotment, it won't affect your weight loss.0
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I carefully monitor the calories that are included in alcohol. We have hard cider or wine about twice a month. I weigh daily. I always see a gain and then a very slow dip back down after we have alcohol- and I am not talking about much. I just assumed the alcohol triggered a little more water retention.0
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Canadian_Empire wrote: »TL;DR:
You've plateaued. Break it by further restricting calories no lower than 1100, adding more cardio or begin to bulk. Don't use a scale to measure progress.
No.0 -
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ImmortalTechnique wrote: »
So if you half that, you get 110 1/2 donuts a year.
I like that. Alcohol and donuts!0 -
Canadian_Empire wrote: »TL;DR:
You've plateaued. Break it by further restricting calories no lower than 1100, adding more cardio or begin to bulk. Don't use a scale to measure progress.
what? she said she hasn't lost weight in a few days. that is not a plateau. can go weeks without losing weight and then suddenly a bunch comes off.0 -
francisduphrane wrote: »I can tell you that alcohol is easily metabolized and will be used for energy first by the body. I had taken to drinking a "100" calorie beer (once per day ) with my dinner meals and I actually stopped losing and actually gained weight even though I was at a deficit of 500 calories as recommended. This is on run/walks three hours per week, and lifting weights for two hours/four times a week. Some people are affected more than others. I have removed all alcohol, diet drinks and artificial sweetners save for STEVIA and honey which I use sparingly.
Don't drink alcohol until you reach your goal. Once you are there break open a wine bottle and reward yourself.
no, that did not happen.
you did not gain weight on a deficit…
unless you somehow defy math and physics..0 -
Canadian_Empire wrote: »TL;DR:
You've plateaued. Break it by further restricting calories no lower than 1100, adding more cardio or begin to bulk. Don't use a scale to measure progress.
So one thing no one mentioned was that as you lose weight, your TDEE will lower. Odds are you are stalling because you are at your new maintenance level. You have a few options:
1. Find out your maintenance level. A quick internet search will give you many formulas to do this. Or the way I prefer, go to iifym.com and use the calculator there.
If you use the iffym calculator it will also determine how many calories and macros to lose weight. Stick to those numbers, and readjust when you begin to stall.
If you don't use the iffym calculator, eat 10-15% lower than maintenance, and do another search to find the formula for figuring macros.
2. You shouldn't eat lower than 1,100 calories per day. So if a deficit has you eating that many calories or few, I would eat at maintenance and add more cardio to your routine.
3. If you don't want to/can't add more cardio and you don't mind adding muscle mass, you could always try bulking. You would eat at a surplus for a length of time (~3 months) and, if your macros are on point (mainly protein and fat), and you're eating whole "clean" foods, most of your weight gain will be in the form of muscle assuming you're following a progressive weight lifting program.
After you bulk and get your weight back up, your TDEE will be higher and you can safely eat at a deficit again. Any fat accumulated during the bulk will be burned off, and if you keep proteins high enough little muscle loss will occur and you'll look really cut and defined.
Also, use measuring tape to gauge progress, not the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat so as you gain muscle the scale will stall or even go up.
this may be the dumbest thing I have read in a long time...0 -
francisduphrane wrote: »I can tell you that alcohol is easily metabolized and will be used for energy first by the body. I had taken to drinking a "100" calorie beer (once per day ) with my dinner meals and I actually stopped losing and actually gained weight even though I was at a deficit of 500 calories as recommended. This is on run/walks three hours per week, and lifting weights for two hours/four times a week. Some people are affected more than others. I have removed all alcohol, diet drinks and artificial sweetners save for STEVIA and honey which I use sparingly.
Don't drink alcohol until you reach your goal. Once you are there break open a wine bottle and reward yourself.
waaaaat?0 -
Canadian_Empire wrote: »TL;DR:
You've plateaued. Break it by further restricting calories no lower than 1100, adding more cardio or begin to bulk. Don't use a scale to measure progress.
So one thing no one mentioned was that as you lose weight, your TDEE will lower. Odds are you are stalling because you are at your new maintenance level. You have a few options:
1. Find out your maintenance level. A quick internet search will give you many formulas to do this. Or the way I prefer, go to iifym.com and use the calculator there.
If you use the iffym calculator it will also determine how many calories and macros to lose weight. Stick to those numbers, and readjust when you begin to stall.
If you don't use the iffym calculator, eat 10-15% lower than maintenance, and do another search to find the formula for figuring macros.
2. You shouldn't eat lower than 1,100 calories per day. So if a deficit has you eating that many calories or few, I would eat at maintenance and add more cardio to your routine.
3. If you don't want to/can't add more cardio and you don't mind adding muscle mass, you could always try bulking. You would eat at a surplus for a length of time (~3 months) and, if your macros are on point (mainly protein and fat), and you're eating whole "clean" foods, most of your weight gain will be in the form of muscle assuming you're following a progressive weight lifting program.
After you bulk and get your weight back up, your TDEE will be higher and you can safely eat at a deficit again. Any fat accumulated during the bulk will be burned off, and if you keep proteins high enough little muscle loss will occur and you'll look really cut and defined.
Also, use measuring tape to gauge progress, not the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat so as you gain muscle the scale will stall or even go up.
Ah the old muscle weighs more than fat myth again!!! So I suppose you think lead weighs more than feathers too?!?! Hmmmmmm0 -
francisduphrane wrote: »I can tell you that alcohol is easily metabolized and will be used for energy first by the body. I had taken to drinking a "100" calorie beer (once per day ) with my dinner meals and I actually stopped losing and actually gained weight even though I was at a deficit of 500 calories as recommended. This is on run/walks three hours per week, and lifting weights for two hours/four times a week. Some people are affected more than others. I have removed all alcohol, diet drinks and artificial sweetners save for STEVIA and honey which I use sparingly.
Don't drink alcohol until you reach your goal. Once you are there break open a wine bottle and reward yourself.
waaaaat?
apparently alcohol suspends physics….who knew???0 -
Canadian_Empire wrote: »TL;DR:
You've plateaued. Break it by further restricting calories no lower than 1100, adding more cardio or begin to bulk. Don't use a scale to measure progress.
So one thing no one mentioned was that as you lose weight, your TDEE will lower. Odds are you are stalling because you are at your new maintenance level. You have a few options:
1. Find out your maintenance level. A quick internet search will give you many formulas to do this. Or the way I prefer, go to iifym.com and use the calculator there.
If you use the iffym calculator it will also determine how many calories and macros to lose weight. Stick to those numbers, and readjust when you begin to stall.
If you don't use the iffym calculator, eat 10-15% lower than maintenance, and do another search to find the formula for figuring macros.
2. You shouldn't eat lower than 1,100 calories per day. So if a deficit has you eating that many calories or few, I would eat at maintenance and add more cardio to your routine.
3. If you don't want to/can't add more cardio and you don't mind adding muscle mass, you could always try bulking. You would eat at a surplus for a length of time (~3 months) and, if your macros are on point (mainly protein and fat), and you're eating whole "clean" foods, most of your weight gain will be in the form of muscle assuming you're following a progressive weight lifting program.
After you bulk and get your weight back up, your TDEE will be higher and you can safely eat at a deficit again. Any fat accumulated during the bulk will be burned off, and if you keep proteins high enough little muscle loss will occur and you'll look really cut and defined.
Also, use measuring tape to gauge progress, not the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat so as you gain muscle the scale will stall or even go up.
Ah the old muscle weighs more than fat myth again!!! So I suppose you think lead weighs more than feathers too?!?! Hmmmmmm
it's not a "myth". muscle is more dense than fat. it's just another way to say it. everyone knows what it actually means. arguing semantics gets really old.-1 -
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to the OP: I think you're perfectly fine. Keep doing what you're doing, make sure your wine fits in with your calorie budget, and if you go over a 100 calories on some days, seriously, it's still on a deficit.
You have not plateaud, you just didn't lose for a few days. Weight loss is not always steady, some weeks you might not lose at all.
I didn't lose anything for 3 weeks and started freaking out, yet, inches kept coming off, everything started to fit me again. Since then I lost 3 more lbs, but now I can fit into pants I haven't worn for 3 years. Your body will do interesting things, just stick to your plan and relax
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For me personally, alcohol always seems to get in the way of weight loss. I count the calories and all that, but somehow.... I would say try to limit it to one or two days a week that you have that glass of wine, and see if your results improve.0
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The body is not a calculator, it is more like a chemistry lab. Saying "calories in/calories out" is overly simplistic and is not realistic for everyone. Certain foods - such as alcohol - may cause an adverse reaction in some people. Different things work for different people.
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While it's still about calories in/out, alcohol impedes use of any other energy source until it's metabolized out of the body since it can't be stored.
One thing I would mention is that if you're going to drink alcohol, don't do it before bed if you're wanting to burn fat efficiently. Fat is the main source of energy at rest (100%), UNLESS there is alcohol in the system that's not metabolized.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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the biggest issue for " point" measurement regarding alcohol is hydration. Unless you're using DEXA or immersion, my guess is that you own a scale that estimates your body fat % based on impedance (resistance to electricity).
That is massively sensitive to hydration and electrolyte levels, which are affected by alcohol. And not only by how much you consume, but by how much you consumed lately compared to the "normal" intake.
Other than that, normally not terribly impactful on mass loss beyond the math (if you are not actually munching on a bunch of stuff when you drink, like many of us do). More than a drink or two does have an effect on athletic performance and recovery, if you're also trying to get "fit".0 -
Well just a quick update since my post a couple of days ago, bearing in mind I said I hadn't lost any weight for a few days and I only had a total of 3 glasses of wine since my last recorded weight loss.
I got on the scales this morning and I have in fact GAINED 2.5lbs since my loss, according to the scales.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing, I have still retained the same deficit I had all along ie. around 750 calories per day which should lead to a 1.5lb loss per week. However over the past few days my carbohydrate level has been a little higher than previously at around the 100-130 level rather than 80-100 I was having before.
Obviously I'm not happy about a gain in weight on the scales, which I know could be down to water retention but it's hard not to think that could be a gain in the fat I thought I lost before.
I generally try to leave 100-150 calories remaining of my allowance each day to allow for overestimation of exercise or underestimation of calorie intake but it seems strange that the scales say I'm heavier. I have taken measurements and I haven't lost any inches so far but would like to know what's going on! Weigh in day is tomorrow (that's when I recorded a 1.5lb loss last week) but this week I feel like I've gone backwards not forwards.
I have been eating as much as 1450 some days in the last week but that was due to calorie burns for around 600. Maybe that much food is more than my body can process?0 -
By the way Tycho_mx I only had 3 classes of wine in a week, 2 on one day and 1 for lunch on a different day. Normally that's around the amount I have, or some weeks it can be nothing at all.0
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When I use to drink I always had a hard time finding the gym and the kitchen afterwords and for some reason I couldn't figure out why I wasnt progressing.0
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That's not my problem, I rarely drink and I did it both times last week after I'd been in the gym that day. I also made sure not to eat more than planned, in fact both times I ate less than planned as I'd left extra calories for the wine I wanted to drink.
It just seems that since then the scales have been doing funny things. The day after I'd had wine the first time my weight had increased by 1lb and since then it's showing I've gone up another 1.5 on top of that, yet I'm accurately logging and have stuck within the right amounts to create a deficit of 750 calories per day. Even if I was wrong and I my calories were a bit over (though doubtful as I weigh and measure everything) and the calorie burns in the gym were slightly under I should still be losing something surely, not gaining?0 -
Just kidding! You just might be overthing this.0
This discussion has been closed.
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