Alcohol and how it may impact your weight loss journey

Let's face it we all enjoy a glass or two of alcohol, be it wine, beer or spirits, every now and then particularly coming into the silly season of Christmas, New Years and all those endless parties. So can I still drink alcohol and lose weight? Or at the very least can I still drink alcohol and maintain my current weight? In short alcohol of any kind is not great for weight loss as it is what I call 'empty calories' (meaning you get no nutritional benefits for the amount of calories you are consuming), it also promotes fat storage and decreases muscle growth. Once you begin consuming alcohol it takes away the glycogen built up in our livers which makes us hungry meaning not only are we consuming the empty calories of the alcohol but we are also more likely to consume fatty take away foods which also sabotage our weight loss.

Alcohol can impact on the liver, stomach and kidneys due to it irritating the lining of the stomach and gradually weakening the kidneys and liver meaning all 3 don't work as efficiently as our bodies require them to. If these organs are impaired we will not be able to break down our food as effectively which will effect our ability to absorb nutrients and maintain a healthy body. So how is alcohol absorbed? Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream extremely quickly with approximately 25% absorbed in the stomach and the remainder through the small bowel. Absorption is affected by food in the stomach (drinking on a full stomach slows absorption of the alcohol), carbonation of the drink being consumed (champagne is absorbed quicker then non-sparkling wine) and the concentration of alcohol within the drink (the higher the concentration the faster it is absorbed so choose low alcohol options). At least 90% of the alcohol is processed in the liver taking approximately 10 hours per standard drink to be completely processed by the body. This is why we can offer wake up after a big night out still feeling intoxicated and why police are often doing RBTs in the morning as it is likely you would still be over the limit.

Something you need to keep in mind is for every gram/ml of alcohol you consume that is 7 calories or 29KJ. If you think about that the AVERAGE Australian male should consume 8700KJ per day. This is all the drinks, main meals and snacks throughout the day. And I say average because this does not fit for everyone, if you are someone who is really active then you may need to consume more than this, there are many factors which influence the amount of kilojoules we should consume each day including gender, age, fitness levels and ethnicity. So what are the best options when consuming alcohol this festive season?

Common drinks and calorie/kilojoule content:
Beer - 139 calories / 581KJ
Light Beer - 104 calories / 435KJ
Wine - 120 calories / 502KJ
Cider - 210 calories / 879KJ
Vodka and club soda - 64 calories / 268KJ
Champagne - 84 calories / 351KJ
Rum and coke (small glass at pub) - 120 calories / 500KJ
Sangria - 167 calories / 698KJ
Martini - 69 calories / 289KJ
Vodka and 1/2 can red bull - 110 calories / 460KJ

It is also really important to keep up water intake throughout the night as well as alcohol can cause dehydration, leading to headaches and feelings of fatigue so try and match your alcohol glass for glass with water.

Hopefully this helps you to choose your alcohol wisely if you are looking at losing weight or going out throughout the next couple of months.

Simone
xx