Consuming alcohol on a diet

A recent consumer report by Kantar shows that 38% of UK adults are trying to lose weight. However, if you drink, this can get in the way of your goals.

We’re going to look at how alcohol affects weight loss, nutritional considerations and how to make healthy choices.

Caloric density

Alcohol is calorie-dense – this means it contains more calories per gram than other macronutrients.

A gram of alcohol contains 7 calories. For comparison, a gram of protein or carbohydrate contains 4 calories, and a gram of fat contains 9 calories.

If your weight loss plans involve calorie counting, regular drinking can make hitting your goals more challenging.

Alcohol slows weight loss

When you drink, your body drops everything to focus on processing the alcohol and getting it out of your body. Any other macronutrients in the body have to wait their turn – and this can mean they’re stored in the body as fat instead of burned for fuel.

Alcohol can slow down your weight loss progress even if you’re eating in a calorie deficit, especially if your alcohol consumption is higher.

Alcohol can impair your judgement

You may have been following your diet to the letter, then go to a bar with friends to only have a drink or two – and end up overindulging. When you’re drunk, your inhibitions are lowered, and this can mean impulsively buying a takeaway on your way home. Late-night food options are almost always unhealthy, and a night of heavy drinking can easily take you off-track. There is even some evidence that alcohol itself is capable of triggering hunger signals in the brain.

Alcohol consumption and different diets

Not everyone only restricts calories to lose weight. Many people also choose to change the type of food they eat, such as keto, carnivore or plant-based diets, or change the frequency they eat, such as intermittent fasting. Alcohol consumption is not recommended on some of these diets, and may actually be dangerous.

Ketogenic and low-carb diets involve restricting the amount of carbohydrates you eat to enter a state called ketosis. In ketosis, your body will switch to using fat as its primary fuel rather than glucose. Giving up alcohol entirely is common among people who follow these diets, as many alcoholic drinks are loaded with sugar. Unflavoured spirits, like vodka, whisky and gin, contain no carbohydrates, as long as they’re served with a sugar-free mixer. However, many people who follow low-carb diets still choose not to drink or only drink very moderately because these diets can drastically reduce your alcohol tolerance and make hangovers more intense.

Intermittent fasting (IF) is also potentially dangerous to mix with alcohol. Intermittent fasting involves eating bigger meals less frequently. A popular variation of IF is the 16:8 diet – you fast for 16 hours and have an ‘eating window’ of 8 hours. Many people skip breakfast and have lunch and dinner, but your eating window can be set to any time of the day – and some people choose to have shorter eating windows.

If you’re drinking while intermittent fasting, it’s crucial to set your eating window so you have a meal in your stomach before you drink. Drinking on an empty stomach will make alcohol effects more intense, and a night of heavy drinking could even run the risk of giving you alcohol poisoning.

Tips for enjoying alcohol on a diet

Alcoholic drinks generally don’t contain fat or protein. There are exceptions to this, like egg nog or Baileys, but these are only some people’s drinks of choice. However, many alcoholic drinks contain sugar – and some of them contain a lot! Switching your drinks to a lower-calorie option means monitoring the sugar content.

Alcopops, beer and cider, contain a lot of sugar. Opting for spirits with sugar-free mixers or sipping neat spirits with no mixer are good ways to decrease sugar consumption. Dry wines can also be a lower-calorie and lower-sugar option. There are even low-carb beers on the market that have very low sugar content if beer is your drink of choice – but these won’t be available in most bars.

Even if you choose low-sugar options, alcohol itself contains a lot of calories. A single 25ml serving of vodka, considered one of the lowest calorie options, contains 55 calories. A night of heavy drinking can quickly add up to more calories than you’re aiming to consume.

This means that if you’re aiming to lose weight, alcohol should be consumed in moderation or as an occasional treat. Opt for single measures of spirits or small glasses of wine, and try to savour each drink.

Looking after your health

If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important that you don’t drastically reduce the number of calories you’re consuming and that what you’re eating nourishes your body. Focus on whole or minimally processed foods that will help you to get the nutrients you need, and set a realistic goal. A calorie deficit of 3-500 calories a day is considered sensible – but this will depend on your size and how much weight you have to lose. For shorter people who are just looking to lose a few pounds, 500 calories may be too much. Use an online calculator to find out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight, and cut a sensible amount from this to maintain weight loss. You need at least 1200 calories a day to maintain basic bodily functions and stay out of starvation mode- it’s safer to make sure that you stay above this baseline.

Skipping meals so you can indulge in alcohol is dangerous. If you do decide to have a night of heavier drinking, it’s important to ensure your body is fuelled and you don’t drink on an empty stomach. Consistently forgoing food to indulge in alcohol may be a sign of alcohol addiction or a sign of disordered eating.

If you’re struggling with alcohol or eating – or both – we can help.