Alcohol and Fat Loss

The other night my sister was pouring herself a glass of red wine that had been sitting on the counter for a few weeks. She offered me a glass and I pleasantly declined. She told me that having a glass of wine with friends was one of life's greatest pleasures.

I'm here to talk about wine, alcohol, and fat loss. I'm going to tell you right now that if you want to stay lean or are trying to get lean, then stop drinking wine and alcohol.

According to Susan Kleiner, the author of Power Eating, "alcohol puts fat metabolism on hold. It's not your friend if you're trying to stay lean." I think that summarizes this post. If you want to metabolize fat, then don't drink alcohol.

Here's how alcohol works in your body: alcohol goes to the liver, which processes and removes toxins from your body (this is why excessive alcohol consumption can cause cirrhosis). As long as the liver is busy oxidizing alcohol, it isn't oxidizing anything else. Meanwhile, the other macronutrients in your body cannot be utilized. Lyle Macdonald writes in The Ketogenic Diet, "alcohol consumption will almost completely impair the body's use of fat for fuel." So if those macronutrients aren't being utilized, then what are they doing? They're making you fat!

The metabolization of fat also depletes your body of vitamins and water-soluble minerals, niacin and thiamin in particular. It ruins the lining of your stomach and impairs digestion. It can dehydrate you, and even lower your testosterone production. Not only do you get fat, but you lose your ability to build muscle. A double whammy.

If that weren't bad enough, alcohol is devoid of nutrients. It's empty calories. It has some vitamins and nutrients, but not much. The media have touted the benefits of resveretrol, a compound in wine that can protect against cardiovascular disease because its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Okay, but if you want resveratrol, you can eat grapes. Not only that, but resveratrol needs to be present in such large quantities to have any significant impact.
If you must have alcohol, then drink one small glass of red wine per night, or every other night. Remember, the larger and heavier you are, the more you can tolerate. Men can tolerate more than women. Avoid martinis, daiquiris, and margaritas. Don't have multiple drinks and never, ever binge. Just realize that every glass you drink is taking your backwards, not forwards. How badly do you want to lose fat? If you drink every night, you need to question your commitment to your fitness goals.

How much do you want to drink alcohol? That's a question you have to decide for yourself. If you want to lose fat more than you want to drink alcohol, then cut it out immediately. At the very most you should have no more than a few glasses per week.

Keep in mind that a "glass" should be a tall glass of about 5-6 oz of alcohol. Alcohol is calorically dense. It provides seven calories per each gram. That's more than carbs or protein, but less than fat. Anything beyond "moderation" is going to ruin your fat loss efforts.

Of course athletes consume alcohol sometimes. But they are using enormous amounts of energy each day, and one or two glasses is hardly going to dent their performance. They could probably use the extra calories.

Kevin

PS- I'm reading the New Testament right now, and I've noticed several references to wine. Since this is a health and fitness blog, here's my message: I don't care what the NT says about wine, it's not good for fat loss!