So, I've observed an odd phenomenon many times in my life. I've had friends that will start partying and drinking like fishes and then become *magically* super skinny in no time.

Here is what a normal night looks like calorie-wise (lasts approx. 6 hours, 10pm - 4am): 3x tequila: 195, 8 x 150: 1200. Total alcohol calories: 1395.

Then, they are usually eating something fast-foodish before and after drinking. Nothing huge of course, but even a simple mcdonalds cheeseburger has more than 300 calories.

And then they are losing weight and getting skinny.... of course, they don't have a lot of energy for exercise or cooking healthy things and I am in NO way saying that this is a good idea - it is obviously not intelligent to drink so much.

I am just stumped - how are they losing? Alcohol calories must have some different effect than other types of calories. They are not dancing the night away or anything.... just sitting or standing and talking.

Because alcohol has no fat and is radically different from food- does it not store well as fat? My question sounds so childish.... I also remember seeing Intervention on A&E one time where a terrible skinny/anorexic woman would drink a half bottle of vodka every night.

Has anyone else ever noticed this, or am I crazy?

Honestly, I think it's confirmation bias. You notice these cases because they are so unusual. I know LOTS of people who started drinking more and packed on the pounds. In fact, among the people I know with an intermittent drinking problem you can usually tell how much they are drinking by how much weight they have gained.

That said, some heavy drinkers really don't eat at all between waking up and going out at night. This is really unhealthy but it can lead to weight loss.

And some heavy drinkers are also doing a lot of coke.

Yeah I think it depends a lot on the circumstances. Most of the people I know who drink have a bit of a belly at the very least, many quite obviously overweight. In fact, the only actual skinny drinker I know is a guy who barely eats and has a natural string bean build anyway. Alcohol's never looked good on my scale either! Age plays a huge factor too.

When I hang out with my friends who drink a lot, I see puffy, haggard, worn people who used to be pretty and fresh faced and are now just soaked in alcohol. Give your friends a few years, they'll be nothing to admire.

Of the heavy drinkers I know (people who drink a lot 2-3x/week), the skinny ones don't eat very much at all, outside of the alcohol. In fact, I can count the number of times I've seen them eat food, and even then its a bite or two or something light.

The other set is very overweight... in fact, two of them had to stop drinking completely when they wanted to lose weight. But I can tell when they're drinking heavily again based on how much weight they're gaining.

I gained weight while drinking because i tend to eat to drink more, when i was a heavy drinker.

oops...double post

I'm glad I posted this - now that I think about it, I do know many more people that drink a lot and are overweight than the other way around.

I've suddenly noticed that four - yes four of my friends (and they don't all know each other) have quickly lost significant weight, become quite skinny, but have also taken up the alcohol and cigarettes diet. For example, one friend of mine just went on a european concert tour with her boyfriend who plays in a bad (no one really famous) - she got SO skinny in a month. It was jaw dropping. But they drink severely every night. I mean, a LOT.

And then with the others I know.... I sort of was wondering if there was another aspect of alcohol calories/the way they are metabolized, that I had never considered. But, I don't think so - I think they are barely eating and smoking more.

And seagirl - I agree.... it is cute to drink too much when you are younger, but then as you get older it really catches up with you - it is no longer so cute.

Nothing seems to AGE a person prematurely like alcohol does. I really don't think any kind of a drunk is cute! I think it's sad...especially when they are young and have their whole lives ahead of them....wasting it

I agree with what someone else posted...the only heavy drinkers/alcoholics that I've ever known to be skinny did NOT eat...a bite here and there. There is a biological/scientific reason for this. When you drink excessively, you liver has to process all those toxins, however, that same liver is also needed to break down proteins in our diet. When you flood your liver with so many toxins (alcohol), it cannot do both...and viola!..you lose your appetite!

I definitely agree that it's the fact that the thin alcohol consumers are not eating. Alcohol dehydrates you as well, so you lose water weight when you drink. Alcohol calories are empty calories so in theory they burn off "quickly" but they also usually make you crave fatty foods. Being "thin" isn't worth the lifestyle. Ugh.

I'd bet real money there's cocaine involved here, and I would wonder about your other friends if it's been equally rapid. I am not joking at all. Cocaine really is very good at taking the weight off very quickly (it speeds up your metabolism and kills your appetite). It's not a GOOD way to lose weight, and the weight tends to pile back on when you get cleaned up, but it does have this effect. People who use cocaine don't tell even their best friends about it if they know those friends will disapprove, so don't assume you'd know.

Awhile back I saw an article on "thinorexia" or some other nonsense term. It was basically about sorority type girls who starve themselves during the day so that they can drink at night and not gain weight. They would also purge before/after drinking. I doubt it is such a big problem as the article made it out to be, but I think a lot of people definitely have that mindset. I know I eat less during the day when I know I'm going to be drinking that night (not quite that extreme, maybe save 300 cals for alcohol).

Of course that's part of the reason that I gained over 20 lbs in the last two years is that I started drinking 5-7 nights a week. Plus, during the summer there would be all day booze sessions on the weekends. & I like the good calorie laden beers like IPAs and wheat beer. Now I only drink once or twice a week and try to do rum or vodka with a diet soda. But man do I miss good beer!

I'm kind of taking offense to you when you keep posting about alcoholics also most likely doing coke. I am NOT an alcoholic but I have a couple in the family and they don't do coke. I know numerous people who drink heavily ( yes I know this sounds bad) and none of them do coke. It is kind of like saying obese people are lazy, not cool.

I agree,
although weightloss attained from drug use and alcohol use WILL NEVER be healthy, you are damaging your body either way!

I am saying that when someone starts partying heavily---not just drinking, but adopting a "partying" lifestyle--and that is accompanying by rapid, SHOCKING weight loss, that cocaine is likely involved. This isn't all heavy drinkers by any means. It isn't even 5% of heavy drinkers. It's a very distinctive pattern: suddenly lots of parties/new social scene, lots of drinking, and dramatic, immediately noticeable rapid weight loss. In the last 10 years I've seen this four different times, and each time it ended up being cocaine (and a fifth time it was meth). I'm not talking about after school specials here: I'm taking about my sister, my best friend's dad, a friend's wife, two good friends from high school. Heavy drinking does not cause rapid weight loss, even if you aren't eating much.