If you are trying to lose weight, you can improve your efforts by cutting back on alcoholic drinks. While you may not need to cut out all alcohol in order to see weight loss, it is advised to make some changes.
How Does Alcohol Lead to Weight Gain?
There are essentially two main reasons alcohol can lead to weight gain.
1. Alcohol is High in Calories
First, alcohol tends to be high in calories. Some types of mixed drinks can contain as many calories as a meal, without any beneficial nutrients.
2. Alcohol Makes it Easy to Overeat
Second, we are more likely to make poor food choices when we drink. Drinking can lower your awareness and inhibitions, which can lead to an increase in mindless eating. While sober, you may be able to realize when you are full. However, after consuming a few drinks, it’s more difficult to read signs of fullness. We often end up eating when we are not hungry.
Drinking Strategies to Prevent Weight Gain
If you decide to drink alcohol, how much can you have if you are trying to lose weight? Health experts agree that consuming alcoholic drinks should be done so in moderation.
So, what does this mean? This essentially means no more than 1 drink per day for women and no more than 2 drinks for men. However, if you are actively trying to lose weight, you will want to consume even less than that.
Alcohol is basically empty calories. This means that the calories have no nutritional benefit to your body. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram compared to 4 calories per gram for protein and carbohydrates.
Even “light beer” or “hard seltzers” that claim to be low calorie pack a ton of empty calories and sugar—see the chart below.
If you do decide to drink alcohol, you must plan it into your daily calorie count so you do not go over. However, you need to be careful when doing this, as you are likely replacing healthy foods with empty calories that will not help to keep you full.
Amount of Calories Found in Alcoholic Drinks
Here are a few examples of the amount of calories found in common drinks. Notice that a single drink can pack almost 25% of a day’s worth of calories!
| DRINK | SIZE | CALORIES |
| Light Beer | 12 ounces | 100 calories |
| Wine | 5 ounces | 100 calories |
| Hard liquor | 1.5 ounces | 100 calories |
| Regular Beer | 12 ounces | 150 calories |
| Bloody Mary | 6 ounces | 150 calories |
| Margarita | 12 ounces | 175 calories |
| Pina Colada | 8 ounces | 300 calories |
| Long Island Iced Tea | 15 ounces | 450 calories |
Top Tips for Limiting Calories While Drinking Alcohol
If you decide to consume alcoholic drinks during your weight loss journey, here are some tips to help limit overall calories:
1. Pay attention to what else goes in your drink.
Calories from juices, sodas, syrups, garnishes, and mixers add up quickly. Mix drinks with sparkling water or diet sodas, for example.
2. Choose low calorie options
Choose things like light beer, or low calorie liquor—vodka, gin, white rum and tequila tend to have fewer calories than darker liquors (and certainly less than liqueurs).
3. Try wine spritzers
If you like wine, a low-calorie option is a wine spritzer. Fill your glass half full with your favorite type of wine, and then add sparkling water. Unfortunately, even wine comes full of empty calories.
4. Eat something before you drink.
Drinking on an empty stomach can make you feel tipsy sooner. This can lead to poor eating decisions. Food on your stomach prior to drinking will help absorb the alcohol more slowly and help you to make better choices.
5. Drink slowly
Sip your drink slowly. When finished, have a glass of water or sparking water before having more alcohol. Trust us—you’ll be thankful for the extra hydration in the morning no matter how much you drank the night before!
6. Make a plan.
Before you drink, set a limit and stick with it.
