Alcohol & it's effects?

I am curious what all of you may know more than I do about the effects in which alcohol/Liquor has on you during your time of weight loss.

I know I have read more than enough articles telling me how once you've changed the way you eat and calories etc. you will come to a plateau and you won't lose anymore.. well thats about where I am.  Of course i'm not burning any more calories then I was when I lost my first 12 or so. 

The reason I am asking is because I've read that it terribly decreases your metabolism and of course I have a boyfriend in which loves to go to a bar and drink not to mention I love the effects of JUST ENOUGH liquor to keep me wired and feeling worry free for a few hours and since it's like this i'm wondering if that may just be a big part of why i'm at the plateau????

I stick to vodka and maybe a little crown or goldschlauger here and there..

Does anyone also know a website in which I can find any information on calories in the alcohol.

(i'm not into beer at the least)   THANKs:)

1) Alcohol contains emtpy calories - 0 nutrition. 

2) Your body has to burn up its own resources in order to metabolize the alcohol.

3) Alcohol actually causes your body to flush some nutrients out.

A 1.5-ounce shot of any 80-proof liquor - vodka, rum, tequila, gin, etc. - has 100 calories; if your straight shot is 100 proof, it's 124 calories.  Goldschlager is 124 calories a shot.  If you're having mixed drinks, add the calories for the mix in. 

Crown and coke - 50 cal. for coke and 200 calories for the crown.  That's 250 calories per drink. 

Cosmo - 103 for the triple sec, 100 for the vodka, 40 calories for the cranberry and lime juice.  That's 243 calories per drink. 

Your best bet is to stick to wine or light beer.  Or just stay sober so you can make fun of all the drunks. 

You can find calories for all sorts of liquor here http://www.drinksmixer.com/desc71.html

 

Your awesome thank you so much... i have yet to be drunk off wine i hear its pretty good.. lol

I am not sure that I can give anymore advice than you have already recieved, but I do share the concern.  Admittedly, I am bad about drinking 3-4 glasses of wine 3 days a week or so.  I know its empty calories, but ... alas, something of an addiction. 

I am on day 1 (literally) in my weight loss journey.  I am wondering if losing weight will increase or decrease my desire for alchohol?

well it has increased mine knowing that it isn't the best for me but since i don't get the satisfaction of the tasty foods i used to eat, i turn to the great feeling that alcohol gives me.. but when i work a lot and don't have much money to blow i'm okay.. i'd rather buy healthy food and make money than toss it to the bartender... lol.. it's all in how much self control your blessed with..

I'm working out the kinks..

I've actually had to quit drinking since I've been losing weight, not only because of the empty calories, but because of its effect on my metabolism.  Even 1 beer on a Friday night and I wake up 3 or 4 pounds heavier...and that weight hangs around for the better part of a week.  I've decided its just not worth blowing a whole week of hard work for a little buzz.  On the upside, I no longer have hangovers on Saturday morning, no longer order late night pizzas, and no longer feel like Friday night is wasted if I'm not ;-)

I agree with go lucky.  I got to the point that the alcohol wasn't worth the effects on my body or the metabolism.  I am maintaining my weight to manage my health.  Take care!

Great posts here. Let's not forget that a little "buzz" can also loosen our resolve. Don't ask me how I know.

Everything that has been said about drinking in my opinion is true...I ended up stopping because as I dropped weight I noticed one of my liver panel tests was off a tad...in the end it was always off and alcohal wasnt the culprit but to rule it out I had to give up drinking...personally I am fine with or with out it...I would say there are benefits to drinking wines...(grape family) however, like anything else it has to be assumed that that drink will carry calories and they need to be accounted for at one point or another.  Rule of thumb if you consume it - you count it.

hi everyone, i am just curious to find out if you are on holidays and say for three nights in a row consum alcohol such as vodka, but you already have a fast metabolism and do exercise the morning after will you put on much weight ?

thanks x x x

SK- like I said earlier..."like anything else it has to be assumed that that drink will carry calories and they need to be accounted for at one point or another.  Rule of thumb if you consume it - you count it." I would say you will see something and it could well be an increase or even a decrease in weight...it depends...

I am an avid Happy hour go-er, I started my weight loss journey about 2 months ago i went to happy hour about 3 times a week and would have 2-3 drinks, I'm a vodka and soda water girl so the drinks were pretty "low" cal for the most part. I was losing about .5-1lb a week, since I've stopped going to happy hour and just have a few drinks on the weekend i've been losing about 1-2lbs a week, so it definitely makes a difference. Also since I've been eating healthier and exercising  my desire for going to the bar has greatly decreased!

personally, i treat alcohol like i treat french fries and cheesecake: everything in moderation.  i don't want to give up the things i like just because i want to be a size-whatever.  i drink at least once a week (not a lot, maybe 3 at the most), and have lost weight.  i guess it depends on what you're drinking and (ahem) what you EAT after you drink (who is guilty of 4 am chicken fingers and fries? - ME ME ME!!)

Delurking here to weigh in on this one. :-)

One of the main motivations for my joining this site and logging calories, etc., to try to take better care of myself: eat better, exercise, and drink less. I felt I drank too much before--nothing crazy, I only drank in the evenings, it didn't interfere with my day-to-day life, I'm successful and on the ball, etc., but I did pretty much drink every single night--and I have a family history of alcoholics on both sides of my family, which does kind of nag at me.

So I decided (and successfully so far) to view alcohol as I view any treat. I love to drink, and I also love chocolate and ice cream and Coke. But just like I don't eat ice cream every night, I also stopped drinking every night. I guess the idea is that I wanted to be aware of what I was doing--just like I log a serving of potato chips, I also log my drinking (which is now reduced to a glass of wine or two on the week-ends). It's sort of like logging funds in a checkbook to make sure I stay aware of my financial situation--I want to be accountable and aware of what's gong into my body.

I didn't realize how much alcohol had really affected my body. I have more energy in the morning, I feel better over all (quicker, sharper, just over all better)--similar to how I feel when I eat well. It's even gotten to the point where I turn down drinking because I just feel so much better without it. But I like to know that I COULD if I wanted to. And I will. Just not every night.

And for the weight loss--I wasn't overweight at all, I just wanted to tone up and look a little sleeker, but just by not drinking alcohol or soda and working out, I have lost weight (1 lb a week so far). And that's after many little splurges at restaurants (eating over my calorie limit--which isn't very limited) and once, eating an entire Ben and Jerry's in two days (my suggestion is to NOT buy Chubby Hubby if you can't limit yourself to one serving because it's just so good). My point here is that alcohol really does seem have an impact on your (or it least my) metabolism and imposing some limits will absolulely help. 

Good luck and best wishes. :-)  

 

Driving - So did you still lose weight even with drinking a few days a week? I sound just like you! I had a drink or two every night, mostly with dinner. Since counting calories I have decided to only allow myself two days of alcohol. I choose the days and then I drink what I want...I don't limit myself to a number of drinks or anything. I do try and plan ahead and say to myself before going to a party or get together and say ...ok..i will have two to three glasses of wine and that it is.

I have lost a few pounds already, but am just nervous that even drinking just a few days a week will erase all of my hard work. So, you still found that you are losing weight even with drinking a bit?

I weigh 138-135 and just want to get to about 130. I mostly want to lose belly weight, which I hear is directly related to alcohol.

Starbuck-- Yes, I did still lose weight even with drinking a few nights a week. But I think before I began this process, I was drinking more than you to begin with--two or three drinks per night, every night, and being a woman, this was way too much by any standard (as I said, I believe I have some tendency towards alcoholism, which I've decided I'd better nip in the bud right now).

With this new way of doing things, I think I have drastically cut back calories more than I realized I would. I don't know how many calories all that drinking was actually adding to my old way of eating (I haven't changed my over all eating habits, which weren't too bad for the most part, other than really limiting cola, which I love and drank at least two cans per day), but I'm guessing it was a lot. So that might also be a part of the relatively easy weight loss so far (that and I am now working out five days a week--30-35 minutes of pretty strong cardio and then I do the weight circuit. Plus I also take long walks with my neighbor a few times a week). I think all of this is enough of a calorie-reduction and an exersize plan for now.

I think a few drinks every now and then is fine. And so far, I have lost weight doing just that. I was actually kind of amazed that I continued to lose wieght when, over the week-end I drank wine and ate an enormous amount of calories dining out because, like you, I thought it would erase all my hard work. But while it was true that I didn't feel as energetic the next day, I still lost a pound at the end of that week. I think it's what we do MOST of the time that counts. It's a long-term thing.

i've read some stuff about the metabolic effects, etc.  i dunno.  i just know that when i don't drink at all, the weight practically falls off.  any time i find myself creeping back up, i cut out all alcohol and within a day or two i'm dropping between 0.3 and 0.7 of a pound a day.  then i have a couple of glasses of wine or three beer and i'm right back to a holding pattern.  if my social life kicks into high gear and i find myself drinking several days a week, i start gaining.  i know it's a combination of the alcohol, the snacks that go along with it, and the next-day laziness.

no wonder i'm trying to lose the same 10 pounds for the 4th damn time!

Although I do not drink very often I found this article to be helpful when trying to make the best choices. The last page of the article is most helpful:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/low-calori e-cocktails

Pgeorgian--I completely agree. Because it isn't just the drinking--it's feeling lazy the next day, so then I maybe don't want to work out, it's the mindset of "well, as long as I'm having a drink, I will also eat these chips...." etc. So yes, if I were at a peak and stopped losing weight, it wouldn't hurt to stop drinking altogether.

I think drinking much, much less than I was before is working for me now because it's so early on (I've been doing this for about two months now)--but after I lose more weight, I might see more of slowing down of my metabolism with even occasional drinking.  It's just that for now, I've cut back so drastically, a glass of wine or two once a week doesn't seem to have that effect. But that might change as my body gets used to it. Or it may not. It's fascinating how we're all different in this way.

I just didn't want to set myself up by making anything forbidden, including alcohol, so it didn't seem wise to me to not give myself permission to drink if I wanted. So I did, but I usually just don't feel as good when I do, so I end up choosing not to. That's what's working for me now.  

And of course, there are no harmful effects of not drinking at all. :-)

 

 

By far the best reason not to drink is because it impairs your judgment and often time will leave you eating everything in sight.  but I still drink and I will admit I am a bit of a binge drinker.  I never drink during the week, and when i do drink I will drink 8 to 10 drinks.  And I have consistently lost weight and i actually just came off my best weight loss month yet and started the month off with a four day bender over the long 4th of July weekend.  This is what I do, and I am not saying it works for everyone.

• try and consume 100 to 200 less calories a day for the two days before you drink and the two days after, that way you are covering some of the extra calories coming in.  If I try and fit drinking in with my average daily calories I end up sick or way to drunk since I do not have enough food in me.
  
• try and drink as much water as humanly possible the day you drink.  I generally drink 7 or 8 16 oz glasses of water a day and push that up to 10 or more on days I drink (I know that is a lot of water but I am a big guy and it works for me)
• Try and drink a glass of water between each drink
• Try and drink vodka and soda water only.  If you have a low ball glass with only one shot you are only taking in 64 calories! (lime and tons of ice is key to a good vodka soda, let the ice melt for a minute and it tastes very much like water)
• Try and eat 40 grams of Fiber the day you drink (could be less for smaller people)

i do not like sweets and I do not love chocolate so drinking and having a having a good time is very important to me so I just listened to my body, pay attention to the scale and devised a way of doing it that works for me and my weight loss goals. So that is what works for me, AND I have not had a hang over for at least 6 months (I used to get the worst hang overs) I am getting better and better at not eating Pizza or hot dogs or something like that late night when i drink.  Also I really think you just plan ahead, if you know you are going to drink on Friday make sure to eat extra healthy the couple days before to make up for the nutrients that your body will lose from drinking.  Like I keep saying this work flawless for me but obviously we are all different

 

Just my two cent

i wonder if alcohol depresses the satiety center or something.  because normally i have absolutely no trouble sticking to 1400-1600 calories a day and not eating after 7 or 8pm, but if i've had a couple, i'll find myself absolutely needing a little something at 10 or 11.  i don't eat everything in sight - far from it.  i still have self control that way.  i can even be at a party with loads of junk food and not overeat.  but the late night thing gets me....

right now, though, i'm off it and have lost 2.4 pounds in 5 days ;)