Unfortunately there are calories in alcohol. A large glass of red wine has over 200 calories, as does a pint of beer and a gin & tonic. The calories in alcohol are also empty calories, meaning they have no nutritional value. When you consume alcohol your body puts fat burning on hold while it processes the calories in the alcohol.
Alcohol also affects our food choices, with even a small amount of alcohol shown to increase appetite.
You can still lose fat with alcohol consumption but it will make it harder. You don’t have to go teetotal to lose weight, but there are a few things you can do to help.
There are a number of low calorie options for alcoholic drinks. Try low or zero calorie mixers such as slimline tonic, diet coke or soda water, instead of the full sugar kind. Consider switching large glasses of wine for small, or pints of beer for halves.
Also, try not to have high calorie snacks to hand when drinking. As alcohol stimulates the appetite, it’s very easy to get through a small 50g bag of peanuts (300 calories), bag of crisps (200 calories) or chocolate bar (200-300 calories) when drinking. This can have a huge effect on your overall calorie intake.
If you’re serious about your results, reducing the frequency and volume of alcohol will certainly help.
