Is it possible to lose weight but still drink alcohol regularly?

[LittlePeepoToy]

I normally drink beer could switch to vodka and Diet Coke. I normally have a couple a night my diet is carb heavy which I can sort. Less carbs, more exercise can I lose a significant amount of weight despite drinking?

[LittlePeepoToy]

By significant I mean 4 stone plus which i want to lose by Nov/Dec time?

[AriettyHomily]

Depends entirely on the calories you take in and expend.

[Gwenhwyfar]

I don't know about huge amounts because most of my slimming/maintaining has been a vanity stone here and there, but it definitely IS possible to drink alcohol at the same time. People will probably come on here and insist you must be healthy all the time, but I don't think that's sustainable. Most British people aren't going to want to turn T total, especially during lockdown with so few pleasures available to us.

[Gwenhwyfar]

Gin and slimline tonic also a good option I think. You can buy those little cans.

[CookPassBabtridge]

Yeah I lost loads of weight but stuck to spirits and zero calories mixers.

[pinotgrigio]

Yes, I managed to lose weight by only drinking at the weekend. I'd previously done several months of being very strict, with lots of gym time and very careful eating. When I added wine back in my weight loss slowed down significantly though and for the rest of the time I was still doing a lot of gym time and careful eating, so I tend to feel its not really worth it.

[GrumpiestOldWoman]

One drink some evenings, maybe. A couple of drinks most evenings probably not.

[mynameiscalypso]

Totally; just factor it into your calorie allowance and don't drink so much that you end up eating everything in sight or being so hungover that you need a full English the next day!

[Sadbridetobe]

Of course! You just need to cut down on other things in order to keep to the correct amount of calories. I can have a triple Gordon’s pink gin for 101 calories so just have to count that in my allowance for the day. I think the problem starts when people drink while still eating normally too.

[bluebluezoo]

Basica- calories in must be less than calories out. Doesn’t matter where those calories come from.

Take a look at your priorties. Would you rather have those calories in beer or food? Are you prepared to significantly increase your exercise to compensate for the alcohol?

Fact is the easiest way to cut a large amount of calories is to stop the alcohol. That will be your best way to aid weight loss.

Bottom line for me, as an outsider, is why is alcohol so important to you? Does it matter more than your weight?

Even restricting to weekends rather than every night. But it sounds like you can’t go without it, even for a few months to get your weight under control...

[Wauden]

Two beers every night is a lot of calories

[LightenUpSummer]

Not for me because it kills my willpower (I’m a lightweight and feel tipsy very fast)

[Elouera]

I did a keto diet and had occasional G&T or wine and lost 10kg. You should really have some alcohol free days though, to give your liver a rest. It will speed up weight loss too, but as others have said, its your overall in take and output that counts.

[TazSyd]

White spirits and zero / low calorie mixers. Each shot of gin or vodka has c100 calories in. So you would need to build this in to your daily / weekly allowance. I have lost weight before and still had a few G&Ts over the weekend. I counted calories in / out very carefully though. I’d stay clear if wine, cider and beer though.

Based on losing 1.5 pounds a week, you could lose 30 pounds by the end of October, on a sensible diet. If you want to lose more than that, you will have to be much stricter, which would mean cutting calories where you can ie giving up all treats. In my experience a very strict diet with no treats is only sustainable for 2 weeks.

[StealthPolarBear]

Yes agree, I lost weight successfully stillenjoying the odd red wine. However I did cut right down, both because of the calories in the drink but also because of the resultant lack of willpower and any feeling rough the next day which can only be cured by four slices of toast and butter.

[Sunnydays123456]

Yes if you have a couple of units once a week

No otherwise

Tbh if you can’t give up to achieve your goals then you should look at your drinking anyway..

[MsTSwift]

I drink usually only at weekends lost 2 stone on 16 / 8 and maintaining so for me yes!

[GrumpiestOldWoman]

It's a myth that it's all about calories in/calories out. Some foods cause insulin levels to increase, this switches your body into fat storage mode and as insulin drops again you feel very hungry.

Sugar and processed carbs are bad for weight loss as they increase insulin levels very high very quickly. Fat is good as it doesn't make your insulin level soar and it makes you feel full more quickly and for longer. If you eat 300 calories of carbs you'll feel hungry again much quicker than if you ate 300 calories worth of fat.

[BobbinThreadbare123]

I generally eat in a 16:8 way and only drink on a Friday evening. Works for me when I'm not scoffing lockdown biscuits!

[Graffitiqueen]

Not for me.

[TazSyd]

Calories in / calories out works for me. I do eat good quality food (most of the time 😁). I put on a stone after DD and the way I lost it was by counting calories on my fitness pal. In order to maintain it I still loosely count calories and if I am putting on weight I go back to being strict again.

I agree that there may be more to it than calories in / out though, as post child and 40, it is a lot more difficult to keep the weight off.

[bluebluezoo]

It's a myth that it's all about calories in/calories out. Some foods cause insulin levels to increase, this switches your body into fat storage mode and as insulin drops again you feel very hungry

So what you are saying is some foods make you hungry, so you eat more.

Which is calories in, no?

[LaceCurtains]

I'm struggling to lose those last few pounds and really the only thing I have left to cut back is my Friday night bottle of wine (shared with DH).

I often hear about the empty calories in alcohol but actually it must only make a difference if you drink a lot. I was surprised to find that my half bottle is only about 300 calories. If it takes 3500 calories to gain/lose 1lb, that's a lot of wine.

[Hagisonthehill]

Possible but not easy especially if you drink every night.
I have g&TS and wine at the weekend.Most days are now alcohol free because I find it hard to stop at one.

[ITonyah]

People that do 16.8 - do you have your alcohol before 8?

I usually drink a glass of wine at about 9pm watching a movie but I think I might try 16.8. Do you do it every day?