Cannot loose weight despite dieting

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Replies

  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    courtneyfabulous wrote: »
    For those who think I'm lying or wrong about alcohol having more negative effects to weight loss than just its calories, please watch this video explaining why it makes you gain more fat and burn less calories:

    https://youtu.be/GbVB0FFEfrs

    Really? This is your source?

    Peer reviewed articles are a source, not a video by a biased trainer on You Tube.

    Unless you have a problem with alcohol, or simply don't like it, there is no reason to eliminate it.


    He just seemed to explain all the reasons it has negative effects on weight loss pretty well but that's the first time I've seen that particular video because I just quickly did a search for something that explains all the reasons- but I've heard all those same things from multiple sources before. I suppose hearing them over and over from professionals in the fitness industry doesn't nescessarily make them true though. I'll have to do more research and get back to you with some scientific backup.

    I can say anecdotally I feel better without drinking so that's part of why I cut it out- I always get an extremely bloated belly when I drink, have disrupted sleep, and even if I only have a small amount to drink and even if I drink a lot of water along with it I still have a slight hangover and lack of motivation and energy the entire next day.

    So even if the supposed reasons mentioned in the video are untrue, my own personal bad reaction to it and the fact that it is high in calories with no real nutritional benefit are reason enough for avoiding it for me.

    I still think the OP could try cutting it out or cutting down and would probably see a benefit. And if she doesn't see a benefit then what is the harm? It's not like she will have eliminated anything necessary or healthy from her diet. At best alcohol is a mild toxin, at worst it may have all the negative effects on weight loss that are claimed in that video and by everything else I have read or heard.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    courtneyfabulous wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    courtneyfabulous wrote: »
    For those who think I'm lying or wrong about alcohol having more negative effects to weight loss than just its calories, please watch this video explaining why it makes you gain more fat and burn less calories:

    https://youtu.be/GbVB0FFEfrs

    Really? This is your source?

    Peer reviewed articles are a source, not a video by a biased trainer on You Tube.

    Unless you have a problem with alcohol, or simply don't like it, there is no reason to eliminate it.


    He just seemed to explain all the reasons it has negative effects on weight loss pretty well but that's the first time I've seen that particular video because I just quickly did a search for something that explains all the reasons- but I've heard all those same things from multiple sources before. I suppose hearing them over and over from professionals in the fitness industry doesn't nescessarily make them true though. I'll have to do more research and get back to you with some scientific backup.

    I can say anecdotally I feel better without drinking so that's part of why I cut it out- I always get an extremely bloated belly when I drink, have disrupted sleep, and even if I only have a small amount to drink and even if I drink a lot of water along with it I still have a slight hangover and lack of motivation and energy the entire next day.

    So even if the supposed reasons mentioned in the video are untrue, my own personal bad reaction to it and the fact that it is high in calories with no real nutritional benefit are reason enough for avoiding it for me.

    I still think the OP could try cutting it out or cutting down and would probably see a benefit. And if she doesn't see a benefit then what is the harm? It's not like she will have eliminated anything necessary or healthy from her diet. At best alcohol is a mild toxin, at worst it may have all the negative effects on weight loss that are claimed in that video and by everything else I have read or heard.

    There's no harm in suggesting reduction of consumption of alcohol. Making spurious claims about the evils of alcohol with no concrete evidence to back it up is not. I rarely drink, I just don't find the calories worth it but there are plenty of others who have a nightly glass of something or a weekend few for whom it has absolutely no impact on their weight loss.

    I'm also one of those annoying people who don't get hangovers. I get tired but that's it.
  • bostonma1776
    bostonma1776 Posts: 10 Member



    I'm also one of those annoying people who don't get hangovers. I get tired but that's it.


    You aren't doing it right then :)
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited November 2016
    courtneyfabulous wrote: »
    For those who think I'm lying or wrong about alcohol having more negative effects to weight loss than just its calories, please watch this video explaining why it makes you gain more fat and burn less calories:

    https://youtu.be/GbVB0FFEfrs

    Youtube...the source of knowledge.

    Look. Lets pretend for a second that your body "prioritized" burning alcohol above all other macros and didn't start burning fat until done with the alcohol. Lets assume that is true.

    Lets say you maintain at 2000 calories. You eat 1300 and drink a whopping 400 calories worth of alcohol for a total of 1700 calories. Your body "prioritizes" the alcohol burning that first, then burns what you ate, then still needs 300 more and so at that point it goes into your fat stores. I instead the reverse was true and you burned the 1300 first and then the 400 you would instead need...300 more, at which point it'd come from your fat stores. Huh, thats the same. So, how is the order in which things are burned important exactly? Its the total number of calories, not the "order" in which your body utilizes them that matters.

    If you eat 1500 and drink 700 then you burn the 700 alcohol, burn the remaining 1300 you need from food and then store the remaining 200. In that case you put on some weight but it has nothing to do with the order. If instead of drinking 700 calories of alcohol you ate 700 calories of broccoli guess what, the result would be the same.

    Can you explain to me, exactly, how the order in which macros are burned matters...assuming its even true which I'm pretty sure it isn't.
  • janekana
    janekana Posts: 151 Member
    I feel like if alcohol affected weight that much, all of the skinny girls in my uni who drink heavily every week (sometimes two times a week) would be really, really obese by now.

    I don't drink as much alcohol by far and I'm fatter than them, so yeah.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    I think "don't drink alcohol it will make you fat" is kind of like "don't *kitten* it will make you blind". Its trying to tie some behaviour the person talking doesn't want you to do to something you potentially fear so that you stop doing it.

    Don't get me wrong, alcohol has a lot of calories and within alcoholic beverages are very little or no nutrients that your body needs. Therefore drinking a lot of alcohol will either have you going over your caloric needs or it will have you being malnourished, neither of which is good. There is no need for this added layer of *kitten* about alcohol somehow preventing your body from metabolising fat if you are in a caloric deficit.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited November 2016
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    courtneyfabulous wrote: »
    For those who think I'm lying or wrong about alcohol having more negative effects to weight loss than just its calories, please watch this video explaining why it makes you gain more fat and burn less calories:

    https://youtu.be/GbVB0FFEfrs

    Youtube...the source of knowledge.

    Look. Lets pretend for a second that your body "prioritized" burning alcohol above all other macros and didn't start burning fat until done with the alcohol. Lets assume that is true.

    Lets say you maintain at 2000 calories. You eat 1300 and drink a whopping 400 calories worth of alcohol for a total of 1700 calories. Your body "prioritizes" the alcohol burning that first, then burns what you ate, then still needs 300 more and so at that point it goes into your fat stores. I instead the reverse was true and you burned the 1300 first and then the 400 you would instead need...300 more, at which point it'd come from your fat stores. Huh, thats the same. So, how is the order in which things are burned important exactly? Its the total number of calories, not the "order" in which your body utilizes them that matters.

    If you eat 1500 and drink 700 then you burn the 700 alcohol, burn the remaining 1300 you need from food and then store the remaining 200. In that case you put on some weight but it has nothing to do with the order. If instead of drinking 700 calories of alcohol you ate 700 calories of broccoli guess what, the result would be the same.

    Can you explain to me, exactly, how the order in which macros are burned matters...assuming its even true which I'm pretty sure it isn't.

    It is true that the body prioritizes metabolism of alcohol, because it is recognized as a poison. However, as usual with pseudoscience, they're regarding it as an absolute either/or proposition - an on/off switch, which is rarely the case with the human body.

    The body can only metabolize/eliminate so much alcohol within a given time period, regardless of other variables. In terms of BAC (blood alcohol content), the oxidation rate is given as .02% per hour (.02% BAC equaling approximately one drink). So if one drinks 6 drinks in one hour, it's ridiculous to think that the body shuts down all metabolism pathways of other macronutrients and shuttles 100% of them off to fat storage for 6 hours while it chugs away at metabolizing only the alcohol.

    Another thing about alcohol - it's the one macronutrient which has a 100% oxidation ratio. There is no storage whatsoever of alcohol in the body. Of course it's still possible to gain weight from drinking, because the beverages we drink aren't 100% ethyl alcohol - they contain carbohydrates (grains, sugar, etc.) and are often mixed with calorific mixers (soda, juice, simple syrup, tonic, etc.), but CICO still applies.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    bostonma1776 wrote: »



    I'm also one of those annoying people who don't get hangovers. I get tired but that's it.


    You aren't doing it right then :)

    I'm Scottish. I can assure I definitely am doing it right. When I do it.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    I tend to think that if somebody is on a very tight calorie allowance and needs to cut from somewhere, alcohol seems like the most logical target. I know some people don't like the term "empty calories", but most alcohol is "calories without nutritional value" and very easy to pour a too-large glass of.

    But I can say that because I don't particularly like most alcoholic drinks. I have friends who could never ever give up wine, and consider it very much worth the calories. Sort of how I feel about chocolate. :smile:
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    Yeah - caloric beverages are the first thing to cut, IMO. If you drink a lot of them they can be an easy way to easily drop your intake without feeling deprived - especially since evidence suggests that the calories in beverages don't reduce hunger.
  • laurajc1982
    laurajc1982 Posts: 10 Member
    Helloitsdan wrote: »
    kristinaaugust wrote: »
    I learnt that 1 kg of fat is equal to 7000 calories....so think if it like this, if u want to lose 1kg u need to burn 7000 calories plus whatever you consume. So to loose a kg a week thats burning 1000 calories a day. if u are consuming 1000 u need to burn 2000 calories a day. So do u know how many calories u burn over 24 hr period?? maybe wear a calorie counter watch n try to wear it all the time so it measures ur total calorie burn. Ivr tried this method and it worked and would motivate me to train more so i could burn more.

    If you're burning 7000kcal and what you consume, you are net zero.
    Please stop. You don't know what you're talking about.

    OP "I'm 5ft weigh 113lbs"
    This person should be looking at 1/4 to 1/2lb losses per week if anything at all!

    This person states that their TDEE is 1400.
    Let's do some math.

    BMR alone is appx 1300

    Going from OPs statements alone, moderate to very active lifestyle.

    Sedentary calories to maintain 1600
    Moderate calories to maintain 1800
    Active calories to maintain 2000 <--- This is for people working out 3-5x a week.
    So OP wants to lose? 5lbs for this person is easily 6 months if a sensible trainer who cares about who they help were helping her.

    Lift weights 3-4x a week, eat 2k a day, HIIT 2x a week for 10 mins each, go out with friends and enjoy your food.

    I am totally way off then with my calories I've used some calculation and got 1600 with exercise factored in then I thought if I take off 400 that's a reasonable deduction. It boggles my mind to think about consuming 2000. What I'm abit unsure of is should you only be consuming the higher amount on training days and the lowered i.e. Sedetary amount when you don't train 1600?

    Re the alcohol: if I can still consume it then great I'd rather have alcohol on a Saturday than any other treat after a hectic week working and toddler tantrums I very much look forward to a couple of hours free time to relax and have a couple of G&TS I am not a big drinker so I at most have 3 most nearly all occasions i will have 1-2 g&ts so I don't reckon I am having a big amount as it is. However on holiday it was pretty much every day which I reckon has caused the weight gain somewhat.

    I'm gathering that I am probably over estimating the calorie burn from the gym so I am going to half that amount. I've also tried today just to push that little extra when at the gym and lifted a little heavier.

    Thanks again for all of the replies and advice about what I could do or should consider.

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