Will Drinking Beer, Wine and Mixed Drinks affect your losing weight?

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pwedge68
pwedge68 Posts: 36 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I would like to know if drinking wine, beer, whisky or mixed drinks slow up losing weight?

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  • Katiebear_81
    Katiebear_81 Posts: 719 Member
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    I don't know if there's any definitive research on it. Personally, I find that I lose less when I drink regularly... but it might be because I'm more apt to snack on things I shouldn't.

    Also: I know that I'm not properly hitting my macro's when I'm using up my calories on alcohol on the regular.
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
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    No, but the calories might. Alcohol has a lot of calories, especially some beers and wine. You need to log it (accurately!) and stay under your calories. It's entirely possible to have alcohol whilst dieting as long as you log it and stay under calories.
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
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    Only if you go over your calories. I have a few drinks every week that fit into my calorie budget and have had no problems losing. A few drinks a night might not leave much room for nutritious meals.
  • TheCupcakeCounter
    TheCupcakeCounter Posts: 606 Member
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    Yes but you need to be careful.
    Each shot of alcohol is around 65-80 calories plus whatever you use as a mixer. Beer is usually a bit more than that if you go with a light beer (microbrews are significantly higher~200-300 cals per bottle) and dry wines are usually 100 calories per 4-5 oz glass. If you reduce your food calories or up the exercise to accommodate the cocktail calories (and log it properly) you will probably be ok.
    I usually have 2-3 a week and either save them for the weekend or have a glass of wine with dinner some night. I usually do this when I have a larger deficit than normal due to exercise or a really light but filling meal. If you want to lose at a steadier pace I would limit I take to one higher calorie cocktail that you really love or 2-3 low cal options spread out over the week.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
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    For people on keto diets it can impact them. For most of us it's only if you drink over calories. I had 2oz of Maker's 46 the other day because it was the most I could fit into my calories.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    pwedge68 wrote: »
    I would like to know if drinking wine, beer, whisky or mixed drinks slow up losing weight?

    1) They will if they make you go over your calories

    2) They will if you get the "drunk munchies" and have trouble with overeating

    Otherwise, alcohol can fit into a weight loss program. Personally, I do think your main goal should be to get the proper nutrition in and use alcohol as a treat for special occasions or if you have extra calories available.
  • bradmlucas12
    bradmlucas12 Posts: 15 Member
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    I eat very light Saturday and Sunday cus I know I'm going to drink a 6 pack of Budweiser watching supercross Saturday night and get the drunk chicken nugget and large french fry craving lol. I don't think I could lose weight drinking more than once a week tho, those drunk munchies put me in damn near binge mode every time!
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
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    Only because it's very hard to do any appreciable level of drinking and maintain a calorie deficit while getting your macros and micros.

    A 10% ABV beer is 400 calories per pint (just under half a liter). Four pints can easily be a day's calorie intake.
  • StarBrightStarBright
    StarBrightStarBright Posts: 97 Member
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    I have always enjoyed wine with my dinner and make sure to fit it into my daily calories - I will say however, it is the one thing that I measure every. single. time. I have an ounce or two of wine most nights and take tiny sips while I eat.

    It hasn't hindered me yet, but I'm fairly early in my weight loss. If I find myself plateauing for an extended period that is probably the first thing I will cut back on.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    Cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens.
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
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    The other thing to watch is after a few drinks, the desire to eat sensibly declines significantly. ;)

    That said, I have a couple of drinks a week and meet my goals.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Alcohol has a significant number of calories, so it can make it harder to get proper nutrition while losing weight. Also, alcohol tends to cause people to let go of their inhibitions, so you may find that you struggle more with willpower if you drink.

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