So you want to lose fat and you also want to drink. Who doesn’t?
While drinking alcohol is great, drinking booze and getting fat is not fun.
Does Alcohol Make You Fat?
The answer to this question is not straightforward as most people think. The common knowledge is that drinking alcohol makes you fat. But it is not that simple.
When you take a drink of beer, wine or hard liquor, you consume a mixture water, differing amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and fats and of course alcohol.
For example, a 12 ounce Bud Light contains 110 calories. About 26 of those calories come from carbs and 4 comes from protein for a total of 30 calories. Where do the other 80 calories come from? You guessed it – alcohol.
Alcohol is a stand alone macronutrient (like carbohydrates and protein) that contains 7 calories per gram. Alcohol has almost twice as many calorie If you are trying to lose weight, you need keep an eye on calories and make sure that you include the calories from alcohol in your total calorie count for the day.
Alcohol Above All Else
When alcohol enters the body, it is split it into two separate compounds – fat and ethanol. The ethanol is then converted into acetate. The fat is stored in the body’s fat cells (or wherever else you are storing fat). Your body prioritizes the digestion and metabolization of alcohol over all other macronutrients. That means that your body will process the alcohol in the body before it processes any fat, carbohydrates or protein. A small portion of the acetate passes through the stomach wall and hits your brain within a minute giving you that initial “warm and fuzzy” feeling. The majority – 80% – of the alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream through the intestines. Your liver then begins to remove the alcohol from the blood at a rate of about 1 drink per hour.
Fat is stored in the body when you eat or drink more calories than you burn. So if you are drinking a ton of beer, wine or liquor, then you are probably going over your calorie goal. The surplus calories from alcohol are also worsened by the fact that your body burns alcohol above everything else. Any additional calories from the carbohydrates in beer, mixed drinks or wine are circulated in your system (because your body is busy burning alcohol) and deposited in your fat stores.
Adding Insult to Injury: The Appetite Stimulating Effect of Alcohol
So alcohol adds calories and takes precedent over all other macronutrients. But guess what it gets better! Alcohol also naturally acts as an appetite stimulant. So when you are having that second gin and tonic at the bar, it is only natural for you to smell the food cooking in the back and want to pound down a greasy, salty hamburger. And also have a third (or fourth) drink! Studies have shown that consuming alcohol has a stimulatory effect on food intake – in plain english, it means that you eat more food when you drink alcohol before or during a meal. Eating more will undoubtedly make you stray from your diet and get fat.
Overcoming the (Unholy) Alcohol Drinker’s Trinity and Losing Fat When You Drink
Drinking alcohol has three negative effects on weight loss:
- calories from the alcoholic beverage cause you to go over your total calorie goal for the day;
- your body stores fat from other sources while it burns through the alcohol that you have consumed; and
- your appetite for both fattening foods and more drinks is heightened after just one drink (and usually within one minute of consuming that first drink).
This is the (unholy) trinity of why drinking is usually considered to make you fat. But have no fear! We have the solution for you to drink AND lose fat.
Step 1: Get More Bang For Your Buck: Only Have Drinks that Have a High Alcohol to Calorie Ratio
The first step in drinking and losing weight is to first “get the most bang for your buck” when you drink. This means that you only consume beverages that have a high percentage of their calories from alcohol rather than other sources. This is commonly referred to as Alcohol By Volume or “ABV” for short. If you look at the side of most alcoholic bevarages you will see the ABV listed on the label. For example, wine has between 9% – 16% ABV while most hard liquors, including vodka, whiskey and tequila, have about 40% ABV. You will often times see a “proof” listing on hard liquors – divide this number in half and you will find the ABV.
So where does alcohol to calorie ratio come into play when dealing with ABV and proofs? Simple – the higher an ABV of a drink the higher the alcohol to calorie ratio and the more likely it is that you will get a buzz off of it. And the higher the ABV of a drink the less other stuff – carbohydrates, sugars etc. – that will contribute unwanted calories and add to your waistline. When choosing a drink when trying to lose weight, go for one that is more alcohol than not. For a complete list of all calorie to alcohol ratio, check out this page.
Bottom Line: drink shots of hard liquor, use zero calorie mixers in mixed drinks and light beer to maximize your drink’s alcohol to calorie ratio.
Step 2: Include Alcohol Calories in You Daily Calorie Budget
Drinking a 6-pack of beer is not a wise choice if you are trying to lose weight. A normal six pack will run you about 1200 calories. What about that bottle of red wine? Oh, right, that will run you about 625 calories. Well then what about 3 shots of whiskey? Getting better (hard liquor has high alcohol to calorie ratio) but that is more than 315 calories.
Regardless of the type of drink you have, make sure you account for the calories in your daily goal. If you are eating at “maintenance calories” (the number of calories that your body needs to maintain an ideal weight), then you will undoubtedly gain weight regardless of the choice you make. Alright, you think, then I will just eat less food so that I consume fewer calories prior to drinking so that If you eat at a slight deficit from maintenance calories, then the drinks won’t push you over. But if you are working out, using alcohol calories to make up your calorie budget is not a good idea because, while alcohol is burned for energy, it does not help repair muscles. In fact, if you are trying to actively build muscle, you may want to amp up your protein intake.
Bottom line, figure how many calories you need to consume to lose weight (experts agree that a 10% reduction is reasonable) and make sure the drinks you plan to consume fall within that range. Keep the number of overall drinks to no more than 1 – 3 per night and don’t make a habit of it!
Step 3: Pre-Game Your Drinking
Having a plan before you go out is key. Recognize early in the day that you are planning to drink that evening (or afternoon!) and make room in your diet for those calories as outlined in Step 2. If you are going to cut out any macros to make room for alcohol calories, do it in this order: (1) carbohydrates first, (2) fat second and (3) then protein. Protein will help spare any muscle mass you currently have. At least one hour before drinking, have around 12 to 20 ounces of water. You also want to eat a high protein, moderate fat and low carbohydrate meal about an hour before your first drink. Drink at least one glass of water between each alcoholic beverage. This will keep you hydrated and level headed and also make you feel more full. If you can, have some raw vegetables to nosh on while you are drinking (but stay away from the high calorie dips and dressing!). You can also take a pre-drinking herbal remedy. We recommend:
Step 4: Post-Game Appropriately
Okay, you have followed all of the steps up to this point, had a great night out, now is the time to buckle down and make sure that you keep on your track to fat loss. Ignore the voice in your head that says you need a greasy pizza. Go home, drink another 2 glasses of water and go to sleep! Plan a light cardio morning for first thing in the morning. This will get all of the systems up and going, get you to sweat out all of the “toxins” you consumed the prior night and set you up for a fabulous day!
Follow these four steps will ensure that you can drink alcohol and lose fat while doing so. Stay strong (and have a drink now and then!)
