Interesting read, especially since I got in two really excellent workouts on the two days after I had alcohol. I guess it's really like anything else - use caution, moderation and good sense.
I don't drink anyways, but after a long weekend of my boyfriend drinking lots of beer, I am interested to see how he keeps up at the gym with me tonight! ;-)
Several members of my family have lost a lot of weight recently, all using different methods (dinner party conversations are very interesting and the food always healthy... lol). The "most successful", if you want to base success on just simple percentage of weight lost, is the heaviest drinker. The "least successful", based on a fairly small loss followed by the biggest gain when she fell off the wagon never drinks a drop. So while the advice given in the article might not be all "wrong" I don't think it's so cut and dried as that article might lead us to believe.
The "wrong" part of it is the science part of it. He was particularly enraged at the phytoestrogen part because broccoli and soy have high levels of that as well - so according to the article we should avoid broccoli?
As an Italian (and a Sicilian at that,) I've always had wine around. Usually deep reds and generally 5 to 6 glasses a week (usually one with dinner.) My doctor has told me that wine can actually increase your good cholesterol, lower your bad and help with heart health and weight loss. I think, like many people have already said, it's all about moderation and control. Even now, if I hit the town hard and drink I don't usually gain, I lose if anything but I think it's all a matter of how your body handles it and how you handle it after a night out.
Thanks for posting this! I seriously love drinking (especially b/c I have a stressful job), but now that I'm revamping my weight loss alcohol is one of the first things to go!
Again, its all in moderation and the food choices (if any) that you make when you are drinking. I have had several friends that actually lost weight becuase when they drank all day on the weekends, they wouldnt eat. So the only calories they were getting in was the alcohol. They didnt do this on purpose but usually you dont think about eating when you are out drinking and having a good time. If you eat healthy, exercise, and have 1 or 2 nights of drinking and not eating bad those days, I think it will NOT prevent weightloss. Worse case scenario, you will just maintain for the next few days, but at least its not a gain!
Wow, this is all so interesting. I do enjoy drinking (a drink or two w. dinner weeknights, and nights out drinking on the weekends) and I've been wondering if it's been holding me back. It's not something I want to have to give up entirely, like I have junk food. So far I've just been making room for it in my calories for the day.
It's too bad we don't have any definitive advice on the subject. I think I might do some research. If I find anymore articles I'll post them here.
Cheers!
Last edited by Scatterheart; 06-02-2010 at 10:25 AM.
It's all about moderation. I was watching something about this on tv, and they said that you're fine if you have ONE drink. Once you start pounding them back, that's when you start having problems. Hence the beer gut.
Alcohol consumption...why you shouldn't!
