alcohol

Just be careful going cold turkey if you've been a heavy drinker.

It can kill you.

https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh22-1/61-66.pdf

sizco30 wrote: »

I've tried IF over the months but i really never had any luck because i would drink hard liquor on the weekend.. im reading ur body burns the alcohol before it burns ur fat which could take up to 48 hours depending how much you drink (which i was drinking alot) im going cold turkey and quitting completely. has anyone notice stopped DRINKING if it helped with weight loss? i know you have to watch the calories you consume but even then i was wondering if weight comes off slower if ur consuming alcohol?

I always found that my weight came off slower even if I was including the calories in my daily quota. I think part of that was that I was just not as energetic the following day and moved a lot less over all, which affected the daily burn by a couple hundred calories. I agree with suggestions to get a professional consultation about stopping if you have been drinking heavily on the weekends, not only to ensure you stop drinking safely but also to help you live happily without the weekend drinking. You can decide after the consultation whether some kind of ongoing support will be helpful to you or not. Good luck!

sizco30 wrote: »

I've tried IF over the months but i really never had any luck because i would drink hard liquor on the weekend.. im reading ur body burns the alcohol before it burns ur fat which could take up to 48 hours depending how much you drink (which i was drinking alot) im going cold turkey and quitting completely. has anyone notice stopped DRINKING if it helped with weight loss? i know you have to watch the calories you consume but even then i was wondering if weight comes off slower if ur consuming alcohol?

To me, enough alcohol to fuel your body for 48 hours would be a lot of alcohol. Somewhere over 3000 for most people (and for some people a lot over 3000 cals). That's in the neighborhood of 50 fl. oz. of hard liquor, about a liter and a half, or close to two "fifth" bottles if you're in the U.S.-- the bottles that are about the same size as a standard wine bottle).

I think it has an effect beyond the calories you track from the alcohol for several reasons:

(1) If you're drinking that much, how likely is it that you're accurately remembering and recording how much you're drinking -- maybe if you're drinking alone at home and looking at the empties, but if you go out or drinking with other people, probably not.

(2) If you're drinking that much, how likely is it that you're accurately remembering and recording how much you're eating while you're drinking?

(3) If you're drinking that much, you're probably burning fewer calories that if you were engaged in some more active past-time for the period that you're drinking, for any extra hours you spend sleeping it off, and for the time you may feel hung-over the next day.

(4) Even after you feel like you're roughly back to normal, maybe you're still taking it easier than you normally would.

You say you can drink one weekend and skip the next. What does your physical activity look like on the weekends you skip, and even into the beginning of the following week, compared to the weekend you (as you say) drink "a lot"?

ogtmama wrote: »

Giving up alcohol put my weightloss into hyperdrive. No empty calories from the drinks, no lowered inhibitions causing extra eating, higher energy rate and natural movement the next day❤

In fact the difference was so amazing I gave it up permanently

This. Exactly. Except once in a blue moon. And even then, I almost always stop at one.

Hi Sizco30

As others have said, there are a lot of empty calories in alcohol with very few benefits (other than getting pished ) and these can add up scarily quickly. Then there's the extra calories you consume whilst drinking or the next day, with the potential for less activity etc.

The liver is responsible for the metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbs and alcohol isn't any of them. The liver also breaks down alcohol as a toxin but once this starts it stops metabolising fats, proteins and carbs. Depending what was used to make the alcohol and anything it's mixed with, there's more fats, proteins and carbs to add to the list for when the liver is ready to metabolise again.

I don't drink anymore for medical reasons but I do miss it. And I'm also a bit scared when I remember how much I could drink when I put my mind to it.

Good luck finding your right balance x

ETA to answer your question I also do 5:2 IF and it's easier to lose weight now than when I was drinking and 5:2 IF.

Alcohol is always the first thing to get cut out of my diet when I’m trying to lose, except for occasional special occasions.