I'm not sure this is the right thread, but I guess moderators will move it if they think another thread is more suitable.

I got this link from a friend at another forum. We discussed alcohol during Atkins OWL. I was so happy to reach this pint at the ladder. Finally I could have my red wine...... Oh was I wrong...... Up to this point I was losing, - slowly, but losing..... after wine was introduced - FULL STOP !! (in fact I gained...) I went back down on the ladder and cut the wine....started losing again.

WHY ?? Found the explanation HEREit might help others in the same situation !

Why alcohol calories are more important than you think...

Successful weight loss is all about oxidizing (or burning), more calories than you eat. When they go on a diet, many people choose low-calorie alcoholic drinks, mainly because they contain fewer alcohol calories than their regular counterparts.
However, drinking too much has a far more damaging effect than you can predict simply by looking at the number of alcohol calories in a drink. Not only does it reduce the number of fat calories you burn, alcohol can increase your appetite and lower your testosterone levels for up to 24 hours after you finish drinking.

Alcohol calories

According to conventional wisdom, the infamous "beer belly" is caused by excess alcohol calories being stored as fat. Yet, less than five percent of the alcohol calories you drink are turned into fat. Rather, the main effect of alcohol is to reduce the amount of fat your body burns for energy.

Some evidence for this comes from research carried in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition [4]. Eight men were given two drinks of vodka and sugar-free lemonade separated by 30 minutes. Each drink contained just under 90 calories. Fat metabolism was measured before and after consumption of the drink. For several hours after drinking the vodka, whole body lipid oxidation (a measure of how much fat your body is burning) dropped by a massive 73%.

Rather than getting stored as fat, the main fate of alcohol is conversion into a substance called acetate. In fact, blood levels of acetate after drinking the vodka were 2.5 times higher than normal. And it appears this sharp rise in acetate puts the brakes on fat loss.

A car engine typically uses only one source of fuel. Your body, on the other hand, draws from a number of different energy sources, such as carbohydrate, fat, and protein. To a certain extent, the source of fuel your body uses is dictated by its availability.

In other words, your body tends to use whatever you feed it. Consequently, when acetate levels rise, your body simply burns more acetate, and less fat. In essence, acetate pushes fat to the back of the queue.

So, to summarize and review, here's what happens to fat metabolism after the odd drink or two.

• A small portion of the alcohol is converted into fat.


• Your liver then converts most of the alcohol into acetate.

• The acetate is then released into your bloodstream, and replaces fat as a source of fuel.

The way your body responds to alcohol is very similar to the way it deals with excess carbohydrate. Although carbohydrate can be converted directly into fat, one of the main effects of overfeeding with carbohydrate is that it simply replaces fat as a source of energy. That's why any type of diet, whether it's high-fat, high-protein, or high-carbohydrate, can lead to a gain in weight.


Appetite

The combination of alcohol and a high-calorie meal is especially fattening, mainly because alcohol acts as a potent appetizer. A Canadian study shows that an aperitif (an alcoholic drink taken before a meal to increase the appetite) increased calorie intake to a greater extent than a carbohydrate-based drink [5].

Not only does alcohol put the brakes on fat loss, it's also one of the most effective ways to slash your testosterone levels. Just a single bout of heavy drinking raises levels of the muscle-wasting hormone cortisol and increases the breakdown of testosterone for up to 24 hours [6]. The damaging effects of alcohol on testosterone are made even worse when you exercise before drinking [1].

The effect of alcohol on testosterone could be one reason that people who drink a lot carry less muscle. In fact, a 1993 study shows that alcoholic men have bigger waists and smaller muscles than teetotalers [2].

Although an alcohol-rich meal does increase your metabolic rate, it also suppresses the number of fat calories your body burns for energy — far more so than meals rich in protein, carbohydrate, or fat [3]. While the odd drink now and again isn't going to hurt, the bottom line is that alcohol and a leaner, stronger body just doesn't mix.

There has been other research which showed consumption of wine, particularly red wine increased weight loss.

Caveman? I want your research!! I love red wine . I don't want to stop drinking my wine. Where did you hear this?

Thanks,
Ada

Yes please, I'd like to read that ! I loooove red wine, and I still have a glass once in a while. It's just hard to stop at just one.... and as I said, I never even knew it could stall me until I read the link. I have friends at this forum who consume a h.. of a lot at times and the lbs are just falling off...... it must be my bad luck then.... *sigh*

I think in moderation it's fine. A glass a day has many heart benefits and the alcohol in one glass doesn't pause your system for long. Keep in mind that alcohol DOES pause your system until you burn it off, so the more you have(or the slower your metabolism) the longer you'll be on "pause".

Your body burns Calories in the following order:

1) Alcohols
2) Carbs
3) Fats

If you are drinking alot of Alcohol, it can stall weight loss. On top of that, Alcohol [in excess] can raise Triglycerides. I personally believe a drink a day is fine. But, drinking several a day, regardless of the Carb count can cause serious problems...

In order for me to lose while not giving up alcohol is to replace food calories with alcohol calories. You can't eat what you normally do, then add alcohol calories to that. So when I do drink I don't eat as much. Because of the fact that your body burns, alcohol calories first. Probably not the best way to lose weight but it works for those days that I want a few low carb cocktails.

When you stalled, were you replacing the wine for food or just adding the wine and not eliminating anything. You might try that sometime. I have to make sure that I don't eat too many calories or I will not lose. Some people can eat as much as they want, but unfortunately I'm not one of them. Maybe it was just the extra calories that were causing you to gain or stall.

Wee

Would that be me?

I must be some kind of Frankenstein's LC Monster or something, but I managed to drink a heck of a lot of rum throughout the whole of my first 2 weeks of induction in Aug. last year and still lost over 14 lbs. But I think I must be almost unique. Everyone else I've spoken to on the boards have had probs with alcohol and losing weight. So don't use me as a measure, I'm the alien planted here to cause havoc and disruption in peoples minds.

If I quit drinking altogether, I'm sure I'd be about ten pounds lighter... but I'll take a little extra flab in exchange for homebrew and Saturday night clubbing.

I'm sure that article is correct, though. I also read an article blaming cortisol for the tendancy to be apple shaped and store fat abdominally - not good. If alcohol raises cortisol levels, then the term "beer gut" is pretty accurate, after all.

Here's a short article about some of the benefits of drinking red wine, in particular how it decreases the instance of heart disease:

http://www.campusrec.uiuc.edu/fitne...gwell_wtr03.pdf

I have also read research which shows that it increases weight loss, but I can not find the articles right now.

Here's an another article which implies the consumption of alcohol decreases the instances of Stroke:

http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/D...45,1296,00.html

Here's another article about the benefits of alcohol consumption:

http://www.aim-digest.com/gateway/p...es/evidence.htm