Best Alcohol for Weight Loss & How Often You Can Drink
Is there a best alcohol for weight loss? View my dietitian opinion, and key things to keep in mind when choosing between your drink options.
“The best alcohol for weight loss” may sound like a contradictory phrase to most people – and for good reason. Oftentimes, people feel they have to sacrifice their way of life in order to start (and maintain) a weight loss journey. And giving up alcohol is one of the biggest sacrifices for some.
Whether you drink socially on the weekends, or choose a glass of wine to wind down at the end of a busy day, these can be important mental wellness practices to forsake in the name of weight loss. Luckily, science is more on your side than you think when it comes to alcohol and weight gain. So here are some ideas about how you can drink alcohol and still lose weight.
Does Alcohol Make You Gain Weight?
Let’s get the hard truths out of the way first. Alcohol is not considered a “healthy food,” but you’re likely not shocked to hear that. Over the years, science has found negative effects of alcohol such as a decrease in testosterone, hindered muscle growth and recovery, poor sleep quality, and an increase in fat storage.
The fact is, alcohol is a toxin. So, the process of metabolizing and expelling it from the system takes a lot of work from your liver. Plus, nutrients and calories from food are also metabolized by the liver. And if it's already overburdened with an excess of alcohol, food tends not to be metabolized and stored properly, particularly fat.
How Much Alcohol is Too Much?
Where the liver really starts to feel the metabolic pains is with binge drinking. A binge drinking episode is defined by the CDC as five or more drinks consumed on a single occasion for men, and four or more drinks consumed by women per occasion.
According to the National Institute of Health, this is what is officially classified as one standard drink:
12 ounces of regular beer (5% alcohol)
5 ounces of wine (12% alcohol)
1.5 ounces of liquor (40% alcohol)
However, studies have shown that the negative effects on the body mentioned before really start to show when you have engaged in binge drinking. This is because the load on the liver starts to become harmful to the metabolism after this much drinking.
What the Research Says About How Often You Can Drink
Given the effects, you don’t want to be drinking more than 4-5 drinks more often than once a month, especially if you are trying to lose weight.
Recent studies have found that, when calories are accounted for and alcohol is consumed in moderation, it isn't that detrimental to weight. A 2011 study even stated, “light-to-moderate alcohol intake, especially wine intake, may be more likely to protect against weight gain.”
A 2004 study done on overweight and obese subjects appears to support these findings in which the subjects even lost weight after consuming a moderate amount of wine every day for 3 months.
Thus, it appears that the number of drinks consumed in a single day or occasion plus the amount of calorie intake is the most important factor in determining weight gain while drinking alcohol. So, in the spirit (no pun intended) of controlling calories, let’s look at the lowest-calorie alcohol there is to choose from.
Best Alcohol for Weight Loss
So, what are the safest options to go for if you want to enjoy a social night out or weekend festivities without worrying about your calorie intake? The best thing you can do is opt for low-calorie alcohols, watch your sugar intake, and stay away from high-calorie mixers and cocktails. Here are some examples.
Lowest Calorie Alcohol
These are common alcoholic drinks that are a bit lower in calories than others before anything has been added – such as with a mixed drink. Thus, if you are just enjoying a single drink on its own or having a spirit on the rocks, these are some top picks:
Champagne (90 calories per drink)
Liquor on the rocks (100 calories per drink)
Light Beer (about 100 calories per drink)
Red Wine (110 calories per drink)
Low Calorie Drink Mixers
A 100 calorie drink isn’t going to make or break your calorie deficit, but the ingredients that are added to it can. Multiply that calorie cocktail by 2 or 3 and you’re going to quickly shake up a night of weight loss sabotage.
In general, traditional fruit juices, soda, and anything with syrups and grenadine are going to rack up the numbers. Tonic is easily confused with club soda. But tonic water has as many calories as Coke or other similar sodas do! So steer clear of that mixer as well.
Here are great choices for mixers:
Club Soda or sparkling water
Flavored sparkling water
Diet Soda
Diet Red Bull
Diet Lemonade
Lite Orange Juice
Lite Cranberry Juice
Coffee/Espresso
Lowest Calorie Cocktails
Identifying low sugar alcoholic drinks is key because calorie control is important when it comes to the best alcohol for weight loss. So, frozen drinks and craft beers are not always going to be the best options - especially if you have them often.
Here are alternatives, all under 200 calories:
Vodka & Soda
Vodka & Lite Orange Juice
Rum & Diet Coke
Bloody Mary
Old Fashioned
Wine Spritzer
Alcohol and Weight Loss Takeaways
So, can you drink alcohol and still lose weight? Yes…if you stay mindful. Remember, alcohol is still empty calories – meaning it provides zero nutritional value for the body and thus has no place in any significant measure in a healthful dietary pattern.
However, this insight into the research, guidelines and tips from a nutrition perspective can show you how to safely enjoy alcohol in moderation – even while on a weight loss journey. If you are still in need of support to lose weight or improve your diet, check out my weight loss program.
