Does alcohol affect weight loss results?

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JAT74
JAT74 Posts: 1,078 Member
edited January 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
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.
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Replies

  • dianefisher1947
    dianefisher1947 Posts: 35 Member
    edited January 2015
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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 ;)
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,078 Member
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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.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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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...
  • francisduphrane
    francisduphrane Posts: 1 Member
    edited January 2015
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    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.
  • Codilee87
    Codilee87 Posts: 509 Member
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    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.
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
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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.
  • Canadian_Empire
    Canadian_Empire Posts: 10
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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.

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    If you fit them in your allotment, it won't affect your weight loss.
  • Nekrachael
    Nekrachael Posts: 74 Member
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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.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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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.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    ImmortalTechnique wrote: »
    332319-411011-36.jpg

    So if you half that, you get 110 1/2 donuts a year.

    I like that. Alcohol and donuts!
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited January 2015
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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.

    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.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    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..
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    Options
    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...
  • jpaulie
    jpaulie Posts: 917 Member
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    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?
  • stephxo1
    stephxo1 Posts: 191 Member
    Options
    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
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    Options
    jpaulie wrote: »
    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???
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    Options
    stephxo1 wrote: »
    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.

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