Can I drink alcohol and still lose weight?
Yes, absolutely! But in moderation. Just like most things in life, a little bit of something not-so-healthy is fine in moderation. If you are going out having multiple drinks a night, several nights a week, this will definitely hinder your fat loss progress. However, having a small glass of wine with dinner every night or even having several drinks one night a week shouldn’t really set you back. As long as you build them into your overall nutrition plan, you should still be able to make great progress towards your goals.
Besides just the extra calories that alcohol will add to your diet, you should also consider ow it makes you feel. If you feel terrible the next morning and aren’t motivated to work out after drinking, you may want to consider cutting back. I personally get a hangover from one drink in my old age so I am now very selective about when I drink (which is not very often).
Macro-Based Nutrition Plans
This is yet another why I LOVE macro-based nutrition planning. If I can fit in alcohol and chocolate and still lose fat, that is a win! It is the only nutrition service I offer because I am such a believer in this method. Knowing how many grams of protein, carbs, and fats you are getting each day can help you make educated decisions on what to change (or not to change) when you are looking to lose body-fat or build muscle. Whether you hate tracking your food or you love it, it is a great tool when you are trying to change your physique.
Another reason why I like macro-based plans is that they allow for flexibility for individual preferences. Do you want to have a drink each night? Build it into your macros. Do you want to eat chocolate every day (that’s me!)? Build it into your macros. Do you prefer to eat three large meals a day? That’s great, as long as you hit your macros. Do you prefer to graze all day long? Again, that’s fine…if you hit your macros. As you can see, this style of nutrition planning can fit everyone’s lifestyle and food preferences. Including those who want to fit in some alcohol.
How to track alcohol macros
I tell my clients to track alcohol as either a carb or a fat (it is actually neither!). Figure out how many calories are in your drink (many restaurants now have this on their menu) and divide that number by 4. This will give you the number of carbohydrate grams you should track. You can then manually add these carbs into your food tracking app. Alternatively, you can track it as a fat by dividing the total number of calories by 9. This will tell you how many fat grams to track. (Myfitnesspal lets you simply add “carbs” or “fats” or “protein” without inputting the specific food.) You can also find nutrition information for many popular drinks in Myfitnesspal.
What are the best alcoholic drinks to have when trying to lose weight?
Anything where you avoid calories coming from the mixers is a good choice. Try to keep most of your calories from the alcohol itself. Most hard alcohols (vodka, run, gin, brandy, tequila, etc.) have about 70 calories per shot. If you mix that with a no or low calorie mixer such as soda water or diet soda, you have a very low-calorie drink. Beer and wine are not terrible choices either. The worse type of drink you can have when looking to lose fat is one that is loaded with sugar from the non-alcoholic parts of the drink – some example include margaritas, mudslides, or any sort of “umbrella” drink.
Dealing with hangovers
Sure you might be able to make alcohol fit into your macros. But how does it make you feel after you drink it? I think the healthier you are in general, the more alcohol will affect you in a negative way. Alcohol is a toxin to your body and when your body is used to a healthy lifestyle, drinking will probably hit you harder than someone who drinks regularly and is not eating healthy. If you plan to drink, just know that you might be moving a bit slower the next day. I typically try to schedule the day after a night of having a drink or two as an off day from working out. That way I’m not actually missing any of my scheduled workouts.
You may also crave more unhealthy food the next day. Do your best to stick to mostly healthy foods and not let the day become a setback in your progress. I’ve also heard supplements like milk thistle and activated charcoal can help with hangovers but I have yet to test them out myself.
So go ahead and have a drink or two if you really want one, but be sure to plan it into your day and track your alcohol macros.
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