How Alcohol Affects Your Weight Loss

Trying to lose weight can be stressful. Between finding time for exercise, planning and shopping for meals, and counting calories, many bariatric patients find themselves looking for a way to relax. 

For thousands of years, humans have used alcohol, or the social interaction around drinking alcohol, to relieve stress. However, for bariatric patients especially, this habit can be extremely detrimental to the success of your weight-loss journey.

Alcohol and Weight Loss

Empty Calories

If you’re trying to lose weight, you’ve probably heard alcohol is full of “empty calories”—but what, exactly, does that mean?

First, let’s take a look at the calorie count of a few common alcoholic beverages:

• 153 calories in a regular 12 oz beer
• 97-116 calories in a 1.5 oz serving of distilled alcohol, depending on proof
• About 125 calories in a 5 oz glass of wine, depending on variety

Despite those calorie counts, alcohol has no nutritional value. It doesn’t benefit you or even fill you up, like food does—hence, “empty calories.”

In addition, your body recognizes alcohol as a toxin. It’ll work harder to rid your system of alcohol, burning the calories from the drinks first, while calories gained from important macronutrients are ignored. Krissy Maurin, MS, ACT, explains in an article with Health, “The main effect of alcohol is to reduce the amount of fat your body can burn for energy. You are basically shutting down your metabolism, which then leads to weight gain.”

Alcohol-Induced Snacking

When you drink, your brain floods with dopamine, the chemical largely responsible for feeling satisfaction and pleasure. This overdose of dopamine can make it hard to tell the difference between good decisions and bad ones. In other words, alcohol lowers your inhibitions, encouraging you to act in ways you might not if sober.

This can manifest in plenty of dangerous ways, but for those trying to lose weight, it often means:

• Excessive or unconscious snacking
• Overeating or eating past the point of fullness
• Drinking more than you intended 

Injury Risks

Because it lowers our inhibitions, alcohol often leads to poor choices. Whether these poor choices involve taking the stairs too fast or attempting a cartwheel without stretching, they raise your risk of injury. If injured, you’ll need to recover before returning to physical activity, further hindering your weight-loss progress.

Bariatric Support with Wellstar

If you’re struggling to lose weight, you may benefit from a bariatric procedure from Wellstar Bariatrics. With superior medical care, experienced and compassionate staff, and highly advanced surgery techniques, our team is ready to help you meet your weight-loss goals. Learn more, or contact us today to get started.