Lose Weight Without Ditching Booze

Question: How much does alcohol consumption really affect weight loss?

(from reader Gerald Decoste) 

Answer: In moderation—about one to two glasses per day—alcohol may not affect your ability to shed pounds. One study found that moderate drinkers were 27 percent less likely to be obese than those who skipped the juice. “Some folks have a pronounced hunger response to alcohol consumption, and getting the munchies in a state of inebriation can be a bad thing when your judgment is on the far side of hazy,” says Men’s Health weight loss coach Alan Aragon.

Researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism found that men consume an additional 433 calories on days they drink—61 percent of the calorie increase comes from alcohol and the rest comes from food, especially saturated fat and meat.  “If you can limit your drinking to one to two drinks per day at most and maintain good choices despite being buzzed, then alcohol consumption isn’t likely to negatively impact your weight loss,” Aragon says. “However if you can’t drink unless you go full-out fratboy, then limit these episodes to one to two times per month, max, if you don’t want to sabotage your weight loss efforts.” (See how one MH editor shed 10 pounds by giving up alcohol.)

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