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is alcohol fattening?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
hope some knowledgeable person could assist me! just had an argument with my mum. shes trying to lose weight for her hollibags next month, so is on a healthy eating plan, and is going to the gym and walking lots etc.

but the amount she drinks is unbelievable! she just spent an hour in the gym, then half an hour swimming, then went straight to the pub from the gym and had 5 vodkas! and shes downstairs now having another! and will most likely have a few more before the night is out.

so i just had a huge rammy with her, saying shes pretty much erased all her work for this evening by having 8/9 vodkas. she claims that because she has slim-line tonic in her drink it wont affect her weight loss. bullshit imo!

so aye, is she wiping out her potential weight loss by being a jakey bastard?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    yes it has lots of calories in it! :grump:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Vodka actually isn't too bad, but beer and most spirits are high in calories.

    Not sure about wine.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    someone told me that your body cannot turn alcohol into fat. it can use it as energy so if you eat it will convert the food to fat and use the alcohol for energy.

    can anyone confirm/refute this?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    minimi38 wrote:
    someone told me that your body cannot turn alcohol into fat. it can use it as energy so if you eat it will convert the food to fat and use the alcohol for energy.

    can anyone confirm/refute this?

    beerbelly.jpg

    ^^ you never seen one of these then ^^ ?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thats a beer belly, from all thhe sstuff thats in beer.

    I have a sneaky feeling slimline tonic and vodka is another matter, Could be wrong and I'm sure it won't help.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    minimi38 wrote:
    someone told me that your body cannot turn alcohol into fat. it can use it as energy so if you eat it will convert the food to fat and use the alcohol for energy.

    can anyone confirm/refute this?

    carbs will be turned into fat if not used. alcohol behaves like a fat in some ways in the body and like a carb. in others. generally you could think of something like beer as being more nutritious than a fizzy drink and around the same no. of calories. a pint of larger usually clocks between 150-200kcals. if she is trying to loose weight then alcohol is fine, so long as it is only taken in moderation. but some people find alcohol increases their appertite and the have less self disciplin of staying on a diet after a few bevvies.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It depends on the drink doesnt it.

    Vodka and slimline tonic aint too bad.

    Beer and stuff like Baileys is terrible.

    Why do you think they make half-sugar Bacardi Breezers and Low-Carb bullshit Cobra beer etc etc.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you want to drink, but want lo-cal, then try diet mixers. A Gin and slimline tonic is much better than a glass of red wine. If you drink white wine, then make it into a spritzer with soda water or diet lemonade.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ^^ you never seen one of these then ^^ ?

    you never read a post properly?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you want to drink, but want lo-cal, then try diet mixers. A Gin and slimline tonic is much better than a glass of red wine. If you drink white wine, then make it into a spritzer with soda water or diet lemonade.

    aye thats fair enough, and thats her reasoning, the fact that she has vodka and slim line. but surely having 8 a night would impede your weight loss??
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    give the poor woman a break!! she's spent a good 90 mins exercising. :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    White spirits are the best in terms of calories. Vodka has about 50 per 25ml measure, so about half that of a small dry white wine (small being 125ml compared to 175ml which is what most bars serve as small). I don't know the calorie content for whatever mixer you put in it though. As a rule, the more sugar, the larger the calorie content in alcohol (so I would assume Archers, Sambuca or Bacardi would have a slightly higher calorie count despite still being clear).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you drink white wine, then make it into a spritzer with soda water or diet lemonade.
    And make sure it's a dry white wine as well, not medium or sweet.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    paperdoll wrote:
    aye thats fair enough, and thats her reasoning, the fact that she has vodka and slim line. but surely having 8 a night would impede your weight loss??
    Well, 8 a night is a bit gluttonous really, imo. And scarily binge-worthy :chin: Sounds like your mum needs to find an alternative habit to take up. :yes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    there is around 70 calories in a pub measure (single) vodka - these are empty calories therefore have no nutritional value, so get converted straight to lard i was told.

    to lose weight a woman should have around 1400 calories ish. 70 x 8= 560 so, she may be alright depending on how many calories she has eaten, but it isn'ta healthy or nutritionally sound diet.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    to lose weight a woman should have around 1400 calories ish. 70 x 8= 560 so, she may be alright depending on how many calories she has eaten, but it isn'ta healthy or nutritionally sound diet.
    That's it, most people don't actually eat enough calories, it's just the stuff they do eat is full of shit that's bad for them.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    paperdoll wrote:
    aye thats fair enough, and thats her reasoning, the fact that she has vodka and slim line. but surely having 8 a night would impede your weight loss??
    If she is drinking 8 vodkas a night ,she will have more than her weight to worry about, check out the Sites homepage on sensible drinking.Despite what a lot of people think, doctors do actually know what they are talking about when they make these recommendations.I'm talking from,and with, experience.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    johnnny wrote:
    If she is drinking 8 vodkas a night ,she will have more than her weight to worry about, check out the Sites homepage on sensible drinking.

    That's equivalent to about 4 pints of lager. It's not that bad, but it is made worse by being from the top shelf.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/nutrition/drinks_alcohol.shtml
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    There's also the problem of needing a post-booze munch. Carrot sticks and celery usually don't appeal after eight vodkas or five pints.

    My constantly "diet"ing friend always drinks spirits with slimline mixers when we're out, but always falls at the last hurdle - the 'bab shop :lol:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    johnnny wrote:
    If she is drinking 8 vodkas a night ,she will have more than her weight to worry about, check out the Sites homepage on sensible drinking.Despite what a lot of people think, doctors do actually know what they are talking about when they make these recommendations.I'm talking from,and with, experience.

    yeah her and my dad do drink alot tbh - a litre of vodka, a litre of gin and a few bottles of wine between them from thursday to sunday :|

    they dont think they drink too much, ive been on at them for years. so im trying this tack now - telling her shes gubbing up her weight loss with the boozing. but my dad claims im talking mince, and ive to pipe down, basically. so i dont really know....
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    briggi wrote:
    My constantly "diet"ing friend always drinks spirits with slimline mixers when we're out, but always falls at the last hurdle - the 'bab shop :lol:
    On weightwatchers, a Kebab is recommended as one weekly meal - providing it's a chicken kebab, with no added sauces or chips, then it's actually pretty healthy.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    On weightwatchers, a Kebab is recommended as one weekly meal - providing it's a chicken kebab, with no added sauces or chips, then it's actually pretty healthy.

    Well that makes sense.

    But I'm not talking about healthy chicken kebabs... the ones I'm talking about are a fuck-off massive dirty doner with enough garlic and chilli sauce to fill a paddling pool. Hold the cabbage.

    And chips. She's a funny lass :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Corr, the garlic sauce is to die for :love:
    But ahem, I shouldn't know that because I'm eating healthily :lol: :hyper:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah i was pretty sure you piss out all the alcohol you take in.. haha, it's just the other stuff in beer that make you fat
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Alcohol is made by fermented sugar.

    Sugar is well known for its calorie content, as it is a complex carbohydrate with a lot of glucose in it.

    Any calories that are not burned off through exercise will sit on your hips and bum.

    Yes, alcohol is fattening. And no, you don't urinate the calories back out.

    If you combine the pure alcohol with things such as yeast or barley, or cream, or more sugar, then you will get even fatter.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    briggi wrote:
    There's also the problem of needing a post-booze munch. Carrot sticks and celery usually don't appeal after eight vodkas or five pints.

    My constantly "diet"ing friend always drinks spirits with slimline mixers when we're out, but always falls at the last hurdle - the 'bab shop :lol:
    Ahh I love chips and cheese after boozing :yum:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    paperdoll wrote:
    yeah her and my dad do drink alot tbh - a litre of vodka, a litre of gin and a few bottles of wine between them from thursday to sunday :|

    they dont think they drink too much, ive been on at them for years. so im trying this tack now - telling her shes gubbing up her weight loss with the boozing. but my dad claims im talking mince, and ive to pipe down, basically. so i dont really know....
    That's what is known as denial.The amounts you quote, totals about 100 units.If you are saying that your parents drink that every weekend then that is serious boozing.There is not much you can do other than point it out to them.Some people can drink heavily for years with little obvious damage but that's a bit like saying ''My grandad smoked 60 fags a day and lived to be 95''.Besides booze can damage a lot more than your physical health,ditto for those around you.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    briggi wrote:
    There's also the problem of needing a post-booze munch. Carrot sticks and celery usually don't appeal after eight vodkas or five pints.

    My constantly "diet"ing friend always drinks spirits with slimline mixers when we're out, but always falls at the last hurdle - the 'bab shop :lol:

    Aww why not? My mate and I have had peppermint tea and pitta with hummous after a pissup... and grapes.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    tell your mother: the calories from alcohol are more fattening that calories from other things with the same calorific value - ethanol (alcohol) is converted directly to fat (aswell as other things), it isnt used in metabolism, ie. for energy.

    but, as people have said, vodka and diet mixers is the least calorific.

    i think your mum should be more worried about the effect all that alcohol is having on her liver, kidneys and pancreas rather than shedding a few pounds!!!
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