I’m going to start by saying that I’m not judging anyone for drinking. Heck, I’ll have a planned drink or two as a planned indulgence, too. So let’s be clear that this is not a “do as I say, not as I do” situation. I just want to share some information about alcohol and weight loss so you can make an informed choice.

I will never tell any of my clients that they should “never” drink alcohol again. Hey, if it’s your birthday and you want to have some wine, go ahead!

But truthfully, regular consumption of alcohol may slow down your weight-loss progress. If you’re used to having a glass of wine at dinner each night, you can probably forget about losing those 10 lbs. before your niece’s wedding next month. Why? Read on for 3 reasons alcohol is not your weight-loss friend.

Reason #1: Alcohol is Basically Poison 

Here’s the thing: when you drink alcohol, your body uses it as a “priority fuel” until all of it has been removed from your body.

What?

It’s like a poison your body wants to expel as quickly as possible.  So when you consume adult beverages, rather than metabolizing fat, your liver goes into full-on “get rid of the poison” mode. This means that when you have a drink, your fat-burning furnace is shut off for about 6-8 hours while your liver burns out the alcohol.

You read that right: I said a drink. As in, one drink.

Logically, if you take the number of drinks you normally drink in a week and have all of them on Saturday and Sunday, your fat loss would be better (please don’t actually do this, we’re talking about fat loss, not drunkenness – your liver was not made for binge drinking) if all other things are equal. Instead of your fat-burning furnace being turned off 6-8 hours per day, it may be turned off for 12-16 hours over the weekend. So mathematically it would make sense. But if you’re drinking that much at once, can all other things really be equal? We might have bigger things to worry about.

Reason #2: Junk Food 

I cannot count the number of late-night pizza orders I’ve made, after having a drink or two too many. And anyone who knows me also knows that I don’t actually like pizza. I had such a strong aversion to it after a crappy experience as a child, I didn’t eat a single slice for more than a decade.  But you know with those drunken fast food orders it wasn’t just pizza. I ordered the wings, and the cheesecake too.

That is one more reason why alcohol is not your weight-loss friend!

It’s true – alcohol can stimulate your appetite and cause you to eat way too many calories of junk food. We’ve all had those mornings where we wake up and walk into the kitchen only to find fast food wrappers scattered all over the counter.

“Oh, no I didn’t!” is usually the first thought.

Who ever went on a drunken fast-food binge and felt happy when they remembered what they had done the next morning? No one!

When you drink, your food inhibitions are washed away in a sea of alcohol. You’re just not going to make good food choices, period. End of story. If there’s a little part of your brain that likes junk food but you don’t let yourself have it normally, as soon as the alcohol kicks in, that’s where you lose your inhibitions.

A motto worth adopting is: Eat your French fries when you’re sober so you can truly enjoy them and remember the experience.

Reason #3: The Calories Can Add Up

Pretty self-explanatory.

If you’re not willing to give up your alcohol, having 1-2 drinks a couple of times a week probably isn’t going to TOTALLY throw off your healthy living and weight loss goals. I’m not a huge fan of regular drinking while attempting to lose weight, but the truth is a few months into my weight loss journey, I’d been known to enjoy a few adult beverages (vodka soda with a lemon wedge, or a Nude) every now and then and I still lost weight and got to goal.

If you are going to imbibe while trying to lose weight, just make sure to avoid any cocktails with calorie-laden mixers. A pina colada can send the scale skyrocketing. A good rule of thumb is if it has an umbrella in it, it’s not moving you towards your ideal bikini body. Keep the alcohol on the rocks or mixed with soda water and fresh lime or lemon wedge and you should be alright.

If you found this blog useful, share it with someone else who might need to hear it too.  If you’ve got questions or comments feel free to reach out. I reply to all the emails I receive.