Alcohol consumption affecting weight loss

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justinpfs
justinpfs Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Any ideas on how much alcohol consumption during the week you can have and not affect your weight loss program or diet? I tend to consume alcohol one to two days a week. but work out regularly 4-5 times a week? Does it really affect the weight loss as advertised? Anyone have same experience or insight? Thanks

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  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited December 2015
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    It all depends on how you work it in with your calories. I have one glass of wine per night and I pre log it (and I have lost 127 lb so far).

    Just make sure you are getting your nutrition in first. Alcohol should be a treat after your macros are met.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,775 Member
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    It's all about total calories consumed. How much alcohol do you consume on that "one to two days a week"? Until you know how much alcohol calories you consume and how much that contributes to your overall caloric consumption, you won't have an accurate picture of how it affects your overall weight loss.
  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
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    It's just a matter of fitting it into your calorie goal. A couple of drinks a week isn't going to do you any harm - it's not like you're trying to fit 6 pints a night into your calorie intake and neglecting food to do so.
    The trouble I have with drinking is not the calories itself, but the fact I tend to get very hungry the next day.
  • dhimaan
    dhimaan Posts: 774 Member
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    Simplest way to put it: if it puts you over your maintenance you will gain weight other wise you will lose.
  • entwife
    entwife Posts: 134 Member
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    It depends on how much you drink and what you eat in the surrounding hours. Alcohol is a toxin so your body prioritizes and digests it first, to get rid of it from your system, so other foods are put on the back burner i.e. stored as fat. Plus it can lead to overeating because of " blood sugar rush then crash" or lack of inhibition when you've had a few too many. Plus i have read that it can slow your metabolism the following day

    One serve isn't going to hurt much as long as it fits within your calorie limit and you are careful to eat sensibly around it. I think it's better to choose simpler old fashioned drinks too, stay away from sugar filled mixers etc, mix with plain soda water or have a glass of wine.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    That's easy! NONE! :)
  • NotGnarly
    NotGnarly Posts: 137 Member
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    It affected my weight loss because drinking alcohol makes me binge eat. I'm also a binge drinker. So loads of cals and weight gain no matter if I only drank twice a week. I quit drinking two weeks ago and my weight loss has started up again. I don't binge when I don't drink, so quitting alcohol is also good for my health.

    If you are one of those rare people who can control yourself and only have one or two drinks then I'm sure you won't have a problem BUT if you are like most and it makes you super hungry and you lose all control, then try to limit yourself to drinking once a month.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    It's all about calories. However I find it much harder to stay under goal when I drink, so I have decided to limit booze to weekends.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,673 Member
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    entwife wrote: »
    It depends on how much you drink and what you eat in the surrounding hours. Alcohol is a toxin so your body prioritizes and digests it first, to get rid of it from your system, so other foods are put on the back burner i.e. stored as fat. Plus it can lead to overeating because of " blood sugar rush then crash" or lack of inhibition when you've had a few too many. Plus i have read that it can slow your metabolism the following day

    One serve isn't going to hurt much as long as it fits within your calorie limit and you are careful to eat sensibly around it. I think it's better to choose simpler old fashioned drinks too, stay away from sugar filled mixers etc, mix with plain soda water or have a glass of wine.
    I'll agree with this. Alcohol cannot be stored in the body, so it HAS to be metabolized. During the process, it's the only source of energy being burned off, so no carbs, fats or proteins are being utilized for energy. Worse time to ingest alcohol if fat loss is your goal, is before you go to bed. Fat is the PRIMARY fuel at rest and you burn the most when you sleep, however having alcohol in your system at the time would trump it.

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  • 13bbird13
    13bbird13 Posts: 425 Member
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    BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »
    It's all about calories. However I find it much harder to stay under goal when I drink, so I have decided to limit booze to weekends.
    This. And I still screw up... yesterday I had three sake's (planned) and then a bunch of chocolate chips (unplanned), so the drinking tends to lead to eating stuff I shouldn't eat. Usually I don't have chocolate chips in the house but it's Christmas baking season and all... whoops. I didn't come in all that far over my limit for the day since I also exercised, but I'm regretting it now. Booze leads to bad decisions all around, and I have to limit it for that reason even over and above the calories it adds itself.
  • ModernRock
    ModernRock Posts: 372 Member
    edited December 2015
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    NotGnarly wrote: »
    If you are one of those rare people who can control yourself and only have one or two drinks then I'm sure you won't have a problem BUT if you are like most and it makes you super hungry and you lose all control, then try to limit yourself to drinking once a month.

    Millions of people will have a drink containing alcohol today with their lunch or dinner with no intention of, or worry about, binging on more food and drinks. It might help someone with a binge drinking problem to think that this is next to impossible and that people who can do so are rare. Indeed, I've known people with alcoholism that have said the same thing--they have no concept of how or even why somebody could have only one drink.
  • SpcZil
    SpcZil Posts: 1 Member
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    If you're like me, you tend to eat unplanned calories (like BusyRaeNOTBusty said) when you drink because it lowers your inhibitions. Also, alcohol is a depressant. Moderate alcohol intake won't harm you as long as you track it in your caloric intake, but too much might keep you from feeling motivated enough to work out the next day.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    justinpfs wrote: »
    Any ideas on how much alcohol consumption during the week you can have and not affect your weight loss program or diet? I tend to consume alcohol one to two days a week. but work out regularly 4-5 times a week? Does it really affect the weight loss as advertised? Anyone have same experience or insight? Thanks

    Somehow I don't think you are talking about one or two drinks once or twice a week, or you wouldn't be asking. I know back when I asked if my drinking would affect my health, I was drinking too much, and knew it.
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
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    Don't forget about the bloat if you've drank too much too. Your body tries to excrete all that alcohol with the water that you normally ingest, but that is more than you would have eliminated if you didn't drink. So you get all dehydrated and your body will want to make up for it by bloating and holding on to all the excess water.
  • Cortneyrenee04
    Cortneyrenee04 Posts: 1,117 Member
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    Same here... the less I drink, the more consistent my weight loss will be. I can't/don't just have one drink, so this is my issue. I've tried eating 1000 calories and using my 400ish for wine... doesn't work long term! When I still had a lot of weight to lose, I limited drinking to once a month.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I drank just about every night while I was losing weight and I had steady progress. Could it have been faster if I didn't drink? Maybe, but I was satisfied with the progress that I had. Still drink regularly and I have been maintaining since July.

    I think a lot of it depends on whether or not you will consistently log your drinks and stay within your calorie goals. If you are the type of person who has trouble sticking to a drink limit or who eats more when drinking, it can be really difficult to manage.
  • lulalacroix
    lulalacroix Posts: 1,082 Member
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    For me it's really just losing my willpower to not overeat after a couple of drinks. So yesterday I had some drinks while watching the game. I saved my calories and ate a large meal after drinking so then I didn't mindlessly eat. It worked well and I learned something about myself.
  • 13bbird13
    13bbird13 Posts: 425 Member
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    One of my biggest goals about this weight-loss process is that I want to come to accept not drinking through the week as normal, and be fine with just having a few on Friday or Saturday night. That should help a ton with maintenance.
  • summerkissed
    summerkissed Posts: 730 Member
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    entwife wrote: »
    It depends on how much you drink and what you eat in the surrounding hours. Alcohol is a toxin so your body prioritizes and digests it first, to get rid of it from your system, so other foods are put on the back burner i.e. stored as fat. Plus it can lead to overeating because of " blood sugar rush then crash" or lack of inhibition when you've had a few too many. Plus i have read that it can slow your metabolism the following day

    One serve isn't going to hurt much as long as it fits within your calorie limit and you are careful to eat sensibly around it. I think it's better to choose simpler old fashioned drinks too, stay away from sugar filled mixers etc, mix with plain soda water or have a glass of wine.

    This!!! I enjoy a beer on Wednesday nights and weekends but I'm aware of the food that I'm consuming at the same time! I also try to wait an hour after my meal before I sit and enjoy my cold beverage lol

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