By: Chris Gates

So you want to be able to drink alcohol and still lose weight, huh?

Well, I’ve got good news for you.

It’s 100% possible, and in this article I’m going to teach you how to do it!

This is a subject I work with my online fitness coaching clients on all the time. I mean, let’s face it…

• You’d like to let your hair down once in a while and have a few drinks.
• But you don’t want it to derail all of your progress.
• So what’s the perfect balance?

There’s a way to both have some fun, and stick to your fitness goals.

It’s going to involve a little bit of discipline and attention to detail, but you absolutely CAN make it work.

So first, let’s dive into what’s most important for weight loss, and how it relates to drinking alcohol.

Then, we can break down some of the challenges you’ll run into with alcohol and weight loss, and how you can game plan around them to keep making progress.

Let’s go!

How to Drink Alcohol and Still Lose Weight: It’s All About A Calorie Deficit

When it comes to losing weight, and shedding pounds on top of pounds of body fat, you really just need to make sure you’ve got one thing in place…

A calorie deficit.

If you’re not familiar with what that is, let’s go to school real quick and get you the foundational knowledge you need.

• A calorie deficit means you’re consuming fewer calories from food than your body burns each day.
• You need your energy in (calories), to be less than your energy out (calories burned).
• When energy coming in is less than energy going out, your body will use fat as an energy source to make up the difference.
• That’s how fat loss occurs.

Oftentimes, when I describe what a calorie deficit is, people think it means you need to burn as many calories as possible in your workouts.

WRONG.

That’s actually been found to be a very unreliable, unsustainable, and ineffective approach. I mean, think about it…

How long can you really do high-intensity interval training workouts for, before you realize you absolutely hate it and quit?

For most people, the answer is… Not long.

In fact, you’re going to burn more calories from non-exercise activity each day.

So instead, I want you to tweak your diet and slightly reduce calories in order to get in a calorie deficit. Luckily, I’ve got a ton of additional articles that will teach you how.

• How to Track Your Diet.
• How to Know if You’re in a Calorie Deficit.
• How to Get in a Calorie Deficit Without Tracking Calories.

Calorie Deficit, Alcohol, and How to Lose Weight

When it comes to how to drink alcohol and still lose weight, you can make it work by ensuring that the alcohol you drink fits within your diet and keeps you in a calorie deficit.

Because if you’re in a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. No questions asked.

So let’s say eating 2,000 calories a day puts you in a deficit (purely a hypothetical number that’s easy for me to do math with). That means all of the food and drinks you consume need to be at, or less than, 2,000 calories.

• Your breakfast
• And your lunch
• And your dinner
• Any snacks
• Along with the beer
• Or wine
• Or liquor you drink

It all needs to add up to 2,000 calories or less.

It can be quite a challenge, and normally it means you need to make some adjustments to get everything to fit.

Don’t worry. We’ll dive into how you can set up your own game plan below.

But there are a few additional factors at play that can complicate the process. I think it’s important that we go over these before setting up your game plan, because any game plan should account for potential road blocks along the way.

How to Drink Alcohol and Still Lose Weight: Alcohol is a Toxin

Ok, right off the bat… Don’t worry.

I’m not going to go on some long rant about how alcohol is toxic and you have to abstain from it forever.

Not even close.

I think it’s perfectly find to enjoy alcohol on occasion, and do it responsibly. And this is coming from a guy who has experienced both ends of the spectrum.

• I went to college, so yeah… I’ve definitely experienced “too much” alcohol.
• I’ve also gone months on end abstaining from alcohol completely.

There’s a healthy balance in the middle, and I encourage everyone to find it. (But if you struggle to find balance, then you should seek professional help and support.)

At the end of the day, alcohol is truly treated as a toxin by your body. Of all the calories you consume, your body wants to get rid of the ones from alcohol first, which means your body essentially flips a switch when you start drinking.

Those calories from alcohol will become priority No. 1, and your body will burn those calories ahead of using body fat as an energy source. It essentially blunts fat loss for a short period of time, and that’s just not the most efficient way to lose weight.

It’s something to be aware of, and something to consider.

Hidden Calories in Alcohol

Some drinks will spell out the exact calories right there on the label. If you’re a beer or wine drinker, that’s super straightforward and easy.

But for mixed drinks, you’re dealing with additional sugars and other additives that can skyrocket the amount of calories that are in a single drink.

Here are a few examples of how the calorie count can get out of control:

• Chocolate Martini: ~415 calories
• Mai Tai: ~300 calories
• Pina Colada: ~500 calories
• White Russian: ~550 calories
• Margarita: ~200 calories

If you go back to the example we discussed above, where you have a daily calorie deficit of 2,000 calories…

Some of these drinks may account for 25% of your daily allotment of calories, which is a lot! And it will make it very hard for you to actually stay in a deficit and stay on track.

In this case, it’s not necessarily the alcohol that’s causing problems.

It’s what comes WITH the alcohol.

And that’s something to be aware of.

How to Drink Alcohol and Still Lose Weight: Liquid Calories Are Dangerous

This point is going to feed off what we just talked about above.

There are typically a ton of additional calories that come with alcoholic drinks. These come from different ingredients and additives.

That’s a problem.

Beyond that, liquid calories are just far too easy to consume.

That’s problem No. 2.

When you put high calories in an easy-to-consume form, it can spell disaster for your calorie deficit.

This applies to many other forms of non-alcoholic drinks as well. I talk with my online fitness coaching clients about sugary sodas and juices all of the time as well.

• Liquids go down quick.
• They don’t fill you up.
• So the calories will pile up without you even realizing it.

When you’re drinking alcohol, it’s really easy for your calorie intake to add up quickly. And typically you’ll be drinking in a social setting, which is an environment that encourages grabbing another, and another, and another.

I think by now you can see how this will cause challenges.

Alcohol Impairs Your Sleep

Once you’re done with your night on the town, it’s time to go to bed.

And unfortunately, alcohol and sleep don’t mix very well.

Especially if you’re drinking in the 1-2 hours right before going to sleep, you’re most likely going to have a pretty crappy night.

Depending on how much you drank, you might not notice it. But…

• Your sleep quality will be trash
• You’ll toss and turn all night
• And you won’t fall into a lot of the REM and deep sleep that your body wants and needs.

In short, your sleep quality will be absolute shit.

So you’ll wake up feeling sluggish and probably a big hungover. We’ll get to why that’s a problem in a second.

On top of that, poor sleep is associated with weight gain — NOT weight loss.

All in all, this is a real problem.

How to Drink Alcohol and Still Lose Weight: You’ll Make Poor Decisions

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never made the best decisions when drunk.

Actually, I take that back.

I DO know about you.

You make terrible drunk decisions, too.

And I’m not even talking about the catastrophic ones where you do something stupid and ruin a friendship or relationship.

I’m talking about…

• Buying 7 dollar pizza slices at 2 a.m.
• Running through the snack aisle at the gas station.
• Ordering seconds and thirds and fourths at dinner, and then diving into the dessert menu.
• Doritos and a 2-liter of Coke (that used to be my own nutritional atom bomb).

Oftentimes, it’s not just the alcohol playing a role in why you’re struggling to lose weight.

It’s everything else that’s associated with your night of drinking.

If this sounds like a familiar problem, then it’s something you need to keep in mind.

One Day Often Bleeds Into 2, 3…

We touched on this briefly above, but when’s the last time you woke up hungover and had a really productive day?

Not never.

A night of heavy drinking often leads to your next day being extremely sedentary, which means you’re not exercising or partaking in any of the healthy habits that are part of your weight loss program.

• You’ll move less.
• You’ll sit (or lay down) more.
• Chances are, you’re gonna eat more crappy foods because they’re easy.
• You’re not gonna work out.

The entire day ends up being a wash.

Again, this is a problem for weight loss.

How to Drink Alcohol and Still Lose Weight: A Game Plan That Works

OK, I understand if you’re a little confused at this point…

“At the beginning, Chris said it’s 100% possible to drink alcohol and lose weight, but ever since then he’s been scaring the shit out of me.”

I hear you.

And I wasn’t lying.

You absolutely can drink alcohol and lose weight, but we need to keep all of those potential road blocks in mind when we set up your game plan.

So now that we’ve outlined some of the challenges and difficulties, let’s break down how to drink alcohol and still lose weight.

Moderation Is Key

This is probably going to be the most “duh” item on the list, but it’s also the most important.

You know how most cliches kind of make you roll your eyes… But at the same time they’re painfully true?

Same deal here.

You can absolutely have a drink or two on occasion, and it won’t make a dent on your progress. That’s super easy to account for and keep your daily and weekly nutrition on point.

When you get beyond that threshold of moderation, you run into problems. For instance…

• 6+ drinks in one night
• Multiple drinks a night on most, or every night of the week
• A weekend bender

Chronically high doses of alcohol are not only a problem for your weight loss progress, but they’re also dangerous to your health.

You need to go into this process with the mindset of having 1-2 drinks on 1-2 occasions across the week.

And if that’s not something you think is possible — if there’s a high likelihood that 1-2 drinks will turn into 7-8 drinks — then perhaps drinking alcohol isn’t right for you, right now.

The Type of Alcohol Matters

We touched on this a little bit earlier in the article, but it’s important to dive in again…

The type of alcoholic drink you choose will, in part, determine your level of success and progress.

If your two drinks for the night are 500-calorie pina coladas, then it’s going to be really hard to stay on track.

Some smarter choices:

• Clear liquors
• Light beers
• Low-calorie seltzers

If you can, try to avoid mixed drinks with a ton of ingredients or fillers like soda, added sugars, etc. And if you need a mixer, think about soda water or plain water.

Remember, sugary mixers will increase the calorie count of your drinks quick, and it will make it harder for you to stay in a calorie deficit.

Cut Yourself Off 1-2 Hours Before Bed

Avoiding alcohol right before bed is so important.

Getting a good night of sleep is crucial if you want to wake up, be productive, and make smart choices tomorrow. And since you’re trying to lose weight, your productivity is important.

If you can give yourself a few hours of breathing room between drinking alcohol and going to bed…

• You’ll have higher sleep quality.
• Decision making will improve that day.
• You’ll be able to wake up and be more productive tomorrow.

Sleep is not only crucial to help you recover, but it also tends to set your next day up.

Set yourself up for success.

Avoid alcohol right before bed.

Don’t Be Sloppy

This one might sound crass, but it needs to be said.

You’re trying to lose weight. Part of that process requires you to be deliberate with your decision making.

It doesn’t mean you need to be perfect all of the time. But avoiding total meltdowns is preferred.

When you drink a ton of alcohol, you tend to get sloppy with the decisions you make.

You may go into the night planning on having 1-2 drinks and just enjoying yourself, but then you have an a couple extra and things spin out of control.

• You end up having 10 drinks and you’ve consumed your daily calories just from alcohol itself.
• That puts you beyond the point of having fun, and instead you’re throwing up.
• You swing by the gas station on the way home and load up on more calories.
• After a night of binge drinking and eating, you wake up hungover.
• You feel awful about the night before, and now you’ve got shame and guilt to deal with on top of the calories.

It’s a vicious cycle. And none of it is productive.

It certainly doesn’t help you continue to lose weight.

And it’s most definitely not part of the plan when it comes to how to drink alcohol and still lose weight.

Keep in mind what’s going to make you feel good long term. What decisions will lead to a happier you tomorrow?

Act on those decisions.

I Hope This Helps!

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading this article! I hope you found it helpful.

Hopefully you can see that drinking alcohol and losing weight is definitely possible, but to do it successfully you’re going to have to adopt some type of behavior change.

If you have any questions or feedback, please drop it in the comments below!

And if you think you’d like some help in your weight loss journey, I’d love to help. I coach people all over the world to burn fat, build muscle, and develop healthy lifestyle habits.

Check out my coaching page to learn more.

~ Chris