At the LifeShape Clinic we're often asked if drinking alcohol can hinder weight loss. Here's our answer: To lose weight, you will probably need to moderate your alcohol consumption. We don't want to demonise alcohol (or any other food or drink) - we're strong believers in the saying "all things in moderation" and you still need to go out and enjoy yourself when you are losing weight. But it's important that you appreciate that drinking alcohol will hinder your weight loss efforts.
Alcohol contains 70 calories (294 kilojoules) per serve. To put this into perspective, the following meals contain the same amount of energy as three standard alcoholic drinks:
These meals provide important nutrients, vitamins and minerals, which can't be said for alcohol: alcohol calories are 'empty calories', or energy without any substantial vitamins or minerals. Additionally, alcohol may directly promote fat storage by slowing fat and carbohydrate digestion and increasing appetite (1). If you were on a 1500 Calorie (6300 kilojoule) a day meal plan during weight loss and chose to consume 500 of these calories from alcohol (approximately 4 x 375mL cans of regular beer), you would need to provide all your essential nutrients from the remaining 1000 Calories. This may be difficult; and it's possible that nutritional deficiencies may occur over time. And if you consumed 1500 Calories of food per day plus 500 Calories of alcohol per week (approximately 4 x 375mL cans of regular beer), you might gain 5kg of weight per year!
The risks of consuming alcohol far outweigh any possible benefits. There are health benefits from drinking alcohol, but these can be obtained by drinking as little as half a standard drink per day (2).
The Australian Alcohol Guidelines have recently been updated (3) and consist of four recommendations:
See the image above. Note that there is no standard glass size used in Australia: you will often be served more than one standard drink.
Try the following practical tips for reducing your alcohol intake:
So go easy on the alcohol when you are trying to lose weight and you'll reap the rewards.
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