By: Chris Gates

Everything you put in your body will impact your weight loss goals.

Food, drinks, supplements, or any tiny licks, bites, or tastes you have throughout the day. It all counts.

And one of the biggest culprits that can derail your progress is not accounting for alcohol.

I’ve received this question a lot in the past: What kind of alcohol is best for weight loss?

Is beer bad? Are seltzers good? Is there a type of alcohol that will lead to less weight gain?

And what people think often isn’t in line with the correct answer. Just check out this poll I ran on my Twitter account.

What Kind of Alcohol is Best for Weight Loss?

— Chris Gates Fitness (@Chris_Gates) December 8, 2021

Does one of those look like the right answer to you? (Hint: they’re all wrong answers!)

Let’s talk about what kind of alcohol is best for weight loss, and outline the best strategy you can use to enjoy alcohol while also managing your overall diet effectively.

Before We Get Started…

I’m quick to mention this whenever I write about alcohol… You need to understand how this stuff impacts you, personally.

There are some general rules and recommendations you can follow, and we’ll get to those in a second. But your own relationship with alcohol is going to be paramount for this discussion.

There’s nothing wrong with consuming alcohol, but for some people it can be a trigger for a lot of issues. As you read through this article, please understand that I’m in no way endorsing binge drinking or consuming alcohol in excess.

If you have problems with alcohol, you should seek help.

If alcohol is a trigger for you — if having one drink typically leads you down the path of having too many drinks — then stop reading this article. Because even attempting to drink in moderation is probably a bad idea.

So be honest with yourself here. Your ability to drink responsibly is imperative as we continue into this topic.

Alcohol and Calories

In terms of alcohol as it relates to your weight loss goals, we can simplify things.

Consuming alcohol is consuming extra calories.

Your body processes calories from alcohol slightly different than calories from other food sources, as alcohol is viewed as a toxin by your body. But at the end of the day, we’re still talking about calories in vs. calories out.

And whenever you drink alcohol, it means you’re going to be adding more calories into your daily diet. It’s important to understand this, first and foremost.

If you’re consuming alcohol to the point where it turns your calorie deficit into a calorie surplus, then you’re going to stop losing weight and start gaining body fat. Alcohol has to be treated like everything else you consume — it needs to be accounted for in the bigger picture

Obviously, you’re here because your goal is weight loss. So in order to consume alcohol while losing weight, something needs to be adjusted or changed.

(Read my article on how to know you’re in a calorie deficit to learn more about the concept of being in a calorie deficit for weight loss.)

For reference, here are a few estimates of the calorie content of some popular alcoholic drinks…

Drink:	Calories:
Light beer	~100 calories
Regular beer	~150 calories
Craft beer	200-300 calories
Distilled alcohol (gin, rum, vodka, whiskey)	90-120 calories (per shot)
Mixed drinks (alcohol + other ingredients)	100-500 calories
Wine	120-150 calories (per 5oz glass)
Seltzer	~100 calories

As you can see, drinks that have fewer ingredients tend to be a bit lower in calories.

And while there are lighter and heavier options when it comes to calorie intake, your preferences may rule out certain options. You may not be willing to sacrifice taste and/or enjoyment.

So for each of these drinks, whatever you choose, you’ll need to account for the calories you drink elsewhere in your daily diet in order to stay in a calorie deficit and lose weight. Let’s talk about how to strategize for success.

What Kind of Alcohol is Best for Weight Loss?

The answer here is all of them, and none of them.

Makes sense, right? haha

Let me explain…

There isn’t a “best” or “worst” option. There’s some combination of your preferences, what you’re willing to sacrifice, and how you’re able to manage your diet to stay in a calorie deficit while drinking alcohol.

No specific drink will help you put on less weight, or help you burn body fat. There’s not a drink in the world that will help you avoid adding a little bit of belly fat, either, if your calories aren’t appropriately controlled (except good old fashioned, high quality H2O).

But there is a solution.

What you CAN do is plan ahead with your nutrition. You can make a drink or two fit within the overall framework of your diet so that you stay in a calorie deficit and continue to lose weight.

For instance, if you have an event coming up where you know you’ll have a few beers, you can simply conserve a few hundred calories earlier in the day and reallocate that to those alcoholic drinks later on. A couple easy strategies are:

• Skip breakfast that morning
• Reduce some carbs/fats from your lunch
• Reduce some carbs/fats from your dinner
• Eliminate 1-2 snacks that you typically eat throughout the day

Any of those ought to give you the needed flexibility to drink alcohol without ruining your calorie deficit.

And that’s really all you need to do. Don’t overthink this or put more stress on the situation than needs to be.

You’re going to have a drink or two with family or friends. It shouldn’t be stressful. You don’t want to spend the entire night worrying about counting calories.

So make some slight adjustments, and take confidence in the fact that you’re going to be fine.

A Hard Truth

We’ve outlined a game plan that allows you to enjoy a few drinks and stay in a calorie deficit, but there’s an unfortunate consequence to drinking that we need to discuss…

Even if you perfectly control your calories and remain in a calorie deficit, you may still see the scale go up.

And that’s because the scale goes up for a number of reasons — many that aren’t related to gaining body fat. In fact, it’s much more likely that a spike up in weight is predominantly water weight.

So don’t freak out.

If you drink alcohol, you’re most likely going to retain some water. You’re most likely going to step on the scale the next morning and weigh 1-2 pounds heavier than you did the day before.

It’s completely normal.

And it’s OK.

Don’t freak out, and do anything drastic. Just get right back to your regular diet and routine, and in a day or two that weight will come back off.

One Last Really Important Factor

The most effective way to lose weight is without alcohol.

Now, I know the majority of this article has been about making alcohol fit within your weight loss plan. And I truly do believe you should be able to enjoy it in moderation within the overall framework of that weight loss plan.

But regular alcohol consumption is going to make balancing your nutrition and weight loss goals complicated.

Not impossible.

Just complicated.

And it gets more complicated the more that you drink.

It’s important to acknowledge this and understand that drinking alcohol is going to make losing weight noticeably harder.

A drink over the weekend won’t make a noticeable impact, but multiple drinks on multiple nights each week will be hard.

So take some time and think about how much it means to you to continue drinking while you’re trying to lose weight. Think about how much you’re willing to sacrifice, and what would be sustainable for you long term.

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Thanks for reading! I hope you found this article helpful. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all. I’m always here and happy to help!

And if you’re interested in online coaching to get a fitness and nutrition plan that’s customized to YOU, check out my coaching page and fill out a coaching application form. We can work together to find the right balance so that you lose weight consistently and sustainably.

~ Chris