Can You Still Drink Alcohol and Lose Weight?

Yes, you absolutely can. Alcohol is calories, and that is really all it is when it comes to your weight.

It is the same as asking "can I eat X and still lose weight?" Can you eat donuts and lose weight? Can you eat butter and lose weight? Yes, as long as the day still lands in a calorie deficit.

It makes it a little harder

Here is the catch. When you drink, you swap calories your body can use for calories it has no use for. That is what makes it harder, even though it is not impossible.

About the "a little is good for you" idea

I am going to be direct, because it is honest and not because I am judging you. Alcohol does nothing good for your body. There is no positive.

You have probably heard that a small amount might lower your blood pressure or help your heart. Shut up. That is a story we tell to feel better about something we already know is not great for us. And most of the supposed benefits come from red wine specifically. If that matters to you, eat some grapes. Do not pretend a drink is doing meaningful good for your heart.

The honest part, again, without the judgment

If you want to drink, or eat donuts, or eat butter, I treat them all the same way. They are not good for your body, and we can still build them into a pattern that gets you to your goals. That is perfectly okay.

A simple way to make it work

Alcohol runs about 7 calories per gram. That is much closer to fat, at 9, than to carbs, at 4. So I treat it like fat:

Every calorie you drink is a calorie of fat you do not get to eat.

Do that, and the alcohol will not get in the way of your goals. And do your best to keep the amount down, because it does not help the process.

Built with Courage. Built with Consistency. Built Anyway.