Can you have Alcoholic Drinks When Dieting?

Everything I read says "no alcohol or limit alcohol" when on a diet. Is this true for mixed drinks as well? I thought that straight alcohol - like shots -- had 0 calories??? If you mix that with fruit juice or diet soda....should be good to go! I was my lightest weight (25lbs lighter) when I was drinking every weekend -- maybe I was dehyrdated?

Fri. Jul 21, 9:43am

Alcohol definitely has calories. You can drink as long as you drink in moderation and account for the calories by eating less that day. When I'm serious about losing weight, I cut down on alchohol considerably--not just to cut out the empty calories, but also to prevent myself from the relaxed attitude I get about eating when I'm tipsy.

Friday, July 21, 2006, 9:50 AM

Those adds on TV must have misled you -- spirits have no carbs, but they definitely have calories. Check the Calorie Wiki, I think it comes to 65 calories an ounce, and a standard shot/serving in a mixed drink is 1.5oz, so about 100 calories.

Friday, July 21, 2006, 9:55 AM

I discovered on my last vacation that it wasn't the alcohol itself that caused me problems, it was my poor food choices I made when I was tipsy or drunk. I'd have a couple margaritas, fine, but then the chips and guac would come out and I'd devour them, oops.

Friday, July 21, 2006, 10:27 AM

A shot has about 80 calories in it. Add that to diet soda, and 1 drink has 80 cals. Add that to juice, which is very high cal, and your one drink is probably more like 200 calories.

Friday, July 21, 2006, 10:53 AM

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Friday, July 21, 2006, 2:37 PM

Not only is alcohol 7 calories per gram of completely nutritionally empty calories, but it replaces fat as your body's primay fuel and can damage the liver's ability to metabolize fat (if you drink it often enough or in larger amounts). SO you get plenty of calories AND you metabolise 0 fat while your liver is tied up with breaking down the alcohol (it takes appx 1 hour to metabolise 1 drink). Also, women do not posses as much of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol as men so the effects are worse with us.

Moderate alcohol drinking (1 drink per day or less) probably won't appreciably impair your body's ability to burn fat, but several certainly can. There is plent of information out there on this and here is a good, factual site to consider.

BTW, I do drink, but do so very moderately and generally only one or two on a weekend evening. So far I have had no problems losing weight while still having a small amount of alcohol in my diet.

Link

Friday, July 21, 2006, 5:28 PM

All alcohol has calories. Your best strategy is Rum or Vodka which are around 65-70 calories per ounce. Mix it with zero or low calorie mixer like diet sodas. I have a few recipes on my blog, www.lowcaloriedrunk.com.

Link

Saturday, November 28, 2009, 2:09 PM

Yes, alcohol has calories. If you're going to cut down on calories, that is a good place to start because alcohol has essentially no nutrient value.
Ever wonder why big beer drinkers have "beer bellies"? It's because of all the beer with the associated calories they drink. Well, "beer bellies" can be secondary to cirrosis of the liver and ascites too but that's another story.

Saturday, November 28, 2009, 6:57 PM

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