That doesn’t mean you have to totally swear off alcohol if you want to lose weight—you just need to be smart about drinking. “The extra calories from moderate drinking (one serving of alcohol for women a day or two servings for men per day) can certainly fit into the calorie allotment for weight maintenance,” Angelone says. The important thing is that you factor those calories in along with what you eat, she says.

How alcohol could cause weight gain

Looking at data from the end of the first year, researchers found no association between weight and drinking—even among those in the intensive intervention group who reported heavy drinking. But zooming out to year four, there was a small association between weight gain and any drinking in this group. However, there was no observed difference in weight based on alcohol consumption in the control group that received minimal weight loss and diet advice.

It makes it difficult to choose healthy options

People continue to make poor food choices the day after passing their tipping point, with an average additional intake of 2,051 calories, taking the estimated additional calorie intake to over 6,000 in two days. A recent research survey reported that the average tipping point – the point at which people go on to make poor choices with food and alcohol – is 9.3 units of alcohol. This is equivalent to only 3.7 pints of beer or 3.1 large glasses of wine.

• It’s long been known that alcohol intake can affect levels of hormones in the body, especially testosterone.
• You may or may not be surprised to hear that alcohol consumption can significantly affect your weight, but not necessarily in the way you might think.
• Some evidence suggests that sleep-deprived people eat more food and find it harder to resist tempting snacks than usual.
• Still, the researchers noted that reducing alcohol intake led to less impulsivity, like overeating.

Alcohol Can Increase Cortisol and Inflammation

People with alcohol use disorder (AUD) have a higher insomnia risk than others. Cocktails and mixed drinks often have more calories than beer and wine. For example, a piña colada has as many as 500 calories per seven-ounce serving. Exercise is also a really effective way for both men and women to lose belly fat.

• Still, even if abusive drinkers do get a few rounds on the house, calorically speaking, it doesn’t add up to a knockout figure.
• You’ve likely considered what you’re eating, what you’re not eating and of course, how much you’re moving.
• Research shows, however, that even infrequent binge drinking can thicken your midsection.
• Drinking too much wine can lead to the overconsumption of calories and possible weight gain.
• Again, you can drink and still lose weight—just keep it within moderate levels and you should be fine.
• This could be important since beer contains more calories than many other sources of alcohol.

Best alcoholic drinks for weight loss

While drinking one or two glasses of wine on occasion likely won’t lead to weight gain, regularly consuming excessive amounts of wine can contribute to this outcome and other negative health effects. Drinking too much wine can lead to the overconsumption of calories and possible weight gain. In addition, excess alcohol intake may hinder how your body burns energy and fat. Some evidence suggests that eliminating alcohol among people who drink heavily helps control weight. In a study published in 2018, people who stopped drinking lost 1.6% more weight than those who did not change their alcohol intake.

Are there ways to lose weight while still drinking alcohol?

This can cause you to feel tired and groggy the next day, leading to increases in stomach fat. If you’ve ever been even a little hungover, you know how challenging it is to exercise the next day. Lack of exercising can keep you from burning off those alcoholic calories and eat bad foods the night before. If you’re doing everything else right in your diet and exercise program, then having an alcoholic beverage or two shouldn’t contribute much to weight gain. However, as long as you keep your calories, macronutrients, and meal timing correct, it could even lose weight. Many people think that drinking makes them gain pounds, but that’s not always the case.

But you don’t have to be male or drink beer in order to gain weight from alcohol. Alcohol has sedative effects that may help you relax and make you sleepy after a drink. Still, research has linked excess alcohol use to poor sleep duration and quality.

Do you need to give up alcohol to lose weight?

• So, if you’re eating pizza or even a light salad with your cocktail, the calories from that food get stored as fat instead of burned for energy.
• Alcohol can also affect your digestion, nutrient intake, and fat-burning capabilities.
• At Healthgrades, our Editorial Team works hard to develop complete, objective and meaningful health information to help people choose the right doctor, right hospital and right care.
• But prolonged alcohol abuse can lead to chronic (long-term) pancreatitis, which can be severe.
• A night out with several drinks can lead to consuming a few hundred extra calories.

But once you go back to eating right and exercising, you should be able to flush out that water weight quickly. If your goal is to be able to still drink and get skinny, then you’re going to need to pick the healthiest alcoholic beverages. If consuming alcohol in the evening, do so at least 3 hours before going to bed. This will allow your body enough time to metabolize the alcohol properly. Then you should be able to avoid poor sleep quality as your body can achieve a night of deep sleep.

And from what we know, it won’t exactly hurt your weight loss journey. If you do plan to drink, there are ways to reduce your intake of calories and stay healthy. As with cross-sectional studies, the way by which alcohol intake is measured and categorized likely influences the interpretation of the results. Several studies have grouped all levels of individual alcohol intake above 30g/day as ‘heavy’ drinkers [12, 38]. Conversely, other studies examined alcohol intake more thoroughly, considering frequency and amount per drinking day separately [15]. French et al. [15] measured alcohol frequency ranging from 1–2 times per year to every day, while estimating the number of drinks per drinking day from 1–36.

How Does Alcohol Cause Weight Gain & How Can I Stop it?

Spirits, when drunk neat, can be one of the better choices for alcoholic drinks for losing body weight. A simple vodka, lime, and club soda will be one does alcohol make u gain weight of the best bets if you don’t want to keep the pounds off. Studies have also found that your self-control is lower after a poor night’s sleep (7).