Does alcohol actually make you gain weight?

A straightforward question. For quite some time now, I have completely cut out sweets—I don't even take sugar in my coffee. I avoid juices and sodas, and I stay far away from junk food like chips. My bread intake is minimal, and when I do eat it, it’s strictly whole grain. My diet consists primarily of meat, vegetables, and a bit of fruit. However, I typically accompany my meals with wine, and I often have one, two, or even three shots of brandy beforehand. I rarely touch beer.

Despite this, I am still struggling with my weight, sitting at about 215 lbs at 6'1". I stay moderately active, though I don't follow any specific training regimen.

I am trying to pinpoint the source of these excess calories, and the only logical culprit I can identify is the alcohol—specifically the wine and the spirits.

It is an obvious fact that alcohol leads to weight gain. Especially beer.

Angela Morris said:It is an obvious fact that alcohol leads to weight gain. Especially beer.

And what about whiskey or wine?

Kevin Gonzalez79 said:And what about whiskey or wine?

Everything carries calories; I don't have the exact figures at hand, but they exist.
If you simply cannot go without alcohol, perhaps aim for a single glass of wine per day...🙂

By the way, you might want to consider your metabolism; it could be sluggish. I recently cut out sweets and soda, and I noticed some immediate weight loss. 🙂 (Consuming just half a liter of Coke a day can easily lead to a 15-pound weight gain over a year, and I suspect alcohol works similarly).

Angela Morris said:By the way, you might want to consider your metabolism; it could be sluggish. I recently cut out sweets and soda, and I noticed some immediate weight loss. 🙂 (Consuming just half a liter of Coke a day can easily lead to a 15-pound weight gain over a year, and I suspect alcohol works similarly).

I honestly can't remember the last time I had a regular Coca-Cola. If I recall correctly, I've only had one this entire year, and even then, it was a Diet Coke. I don't consume sugar in any form whatsoever.

The reality is that I drink two glasses of wine with lunch, followed by a couple of shots of whiskey and more wine in the evening.
When I cook, I stick strictly to olive oil and focus my diet on vegetables, legumes, fish, and chicken.

Lately, I’ve also started cycling up hills for thirty minutes every single day. Since I don't own a car, I navigate the city entirely on foot or by bike... yet the scale refuses to budge.

Look, if you think whiskey makes you gain weight—and honestly, alcohol in general definitely does—then yeah, maybe you’re drinking way too much

Not to be rude or anything, but maybe you should try hitting up an AA meeting. Might actually solve the problem there.

Adam Lewis said:Not to be rude or anything, but maybe you should try hitting up an AA meeting. Might actually solve the problem there.

And then I'll just lose weight? Since when is half a bottle of wine and a few shots of bourbon considered a cause for concern?

Alcohol itself doesn't actually make you gain weight because your body tends to burn it off as heat rather than storing it as fat, but the problem is usually what we're drinking alongside it. Most cocktails and beers come packed with extra calories that your body will definitely tuck away as fat if you aren't careful.

So, how many times a day are we actually eating? If you aren't giving your body enough fuel, it just starts hoarding everything... everything... because it thinks there's a shortage coming. I hear people asking all the time, "How am I gaining weight when I only eat twice a day?" Well, that might be exactly why...

If everything else is dialed in—consistent meals, working out, staying active... and I can tell you move around quite a bit and stick to healthy stuff—then maybe it's worth getting your thyroid levels checked out somewhere like the Mayo Clinic.

Harold Stewart3 said:So, how many times a day are we actually eating? If you aren't giving your body enough fuel, it just starts hoarding everything... everything... because it thinks there's a shortage coming. I hear people asking all the time, "How am I gaining weight when I only eat twice a day?" Well, that might be exactly why...

If everything else is dialed in—consistent meals, working out, staying active... and I can tell you move around quite a bit and stick to healthy stuff—then maybe it's worth getting your thyroid levels checked out somewhere like the Mayo Clinic.

I am not overweight. I am 185cm and 98kg. Most of my weight is concentrated in my stomach and love handles. I typically eat three meals a day.

Common issue, the gut... check out the thread on how to lose the belly fat over in the fitness and wellness section...

Kevin Gonzalez79 said:And then I'll just lose weight? Since when is half a bottle of wine and a few shots of bourbon considered a cause for concern?

He could've asked what's actually concerning about being 215 lbs, right?

Personally, I don't think you're fat enough to be starving yourself like that.
Maybe you're just dealing with some drinking issues and trying to blame the extra weight instead.
I'm in the same boat, honestly... I'm sitting at 220 lbs right now and I'm about 5'10".

If you swapped out the booze for actual hobbies or something, you'd see results 100% of the time.

I hit the gym every single day, but the real struggle is that I just end up eating way more after.🙄

Adam Lewis said:He could've asked what's actually concerning about being 215 lbs, right?

Personally, I don't think you're fat enough to be starving yourself like that.
Maybe you're just dealing with some drinking issues and trying to blame the extra weight instead.
I'm in the same boat, honestly... I'm sitting at 220 lbs right now and I'm about 5'10".

If you swapped out the booze for actual hobbies or something, you'd see results 100% of the time.

I hit the gym every single day, but the real struggle is that I just end up eating way more after.🙄

Actually, I am not starving myself; I eat reasonably and maintain moderate activity. I can't pinpoint where the calories are coming from, so I have concluded they likely stem from wine and bourbon. I don't drink beer, nor do I consume sugar—I simply don't have a sweet tooth. I generally prefer salty and spicy foods.

I don't know; to me, hitting 215 lbs is alarming because I have never been this large before. As for alcohol issues, I haven't had any problems yet. I don't drink bourbon every day, though I might have an aperitif every third day, but I do have red wine with my meals daily, and I usually consume more than a full glass.

A glass of wine is only about 60 calories, whereas a shot of whiskey jumps right up to nearly 100, isn't it? Now, sipping on a little bourbon probably won't hurt since you're keeping the portions small, but if you're knocking back half a bottle of wine every single night, you're looking at a massive amount of calories... honestly, couldn't you just skip an entire meal every day to make up for all that wine? It's really up to you how you want to handle it!
but anyway... 🙂

Kevin Gonzalez79 said:And then I'll just lose weight? Since when is half a bottle of wine and a few shots of bourbon considered a cause for concern?

Yes. And yes.

Alcohol is just empty calories hitting your system.

Moderate drinking is fine.
The standard guideline is no more than one drink a day for women and two for men. This isn't about your weekly average; it means you shouldn't exceed one (for women) or two (for men) in a single sitting.

A single "drink" is defined as:

12 oz of beer
5 oz of wine
1.5 oz of hard liquor
or an equivalent cocktail—though cocktails usually pack a punch because they're loaded with sugary mixers that add even more empty calories.

How many calories are we talking?

While light beer is lower in calories, an average light beer still clocks in at 100+ calories per 12 oz can, while regular beer typically runs between 140 and 200 calories.

Even though it's a small amount of liquid, a single 1.5 oz shot of spirits can range from 115 to 200 calories. For comparison, a 5 oz glass of wine sits somewhere between 62 and 160 calories. If you're doing mixed drinks, that's where things get messy; a Gin and Tonic might be around 280 calories, while those heavy, frozen, creamy cocktails can easily soar past 800.

Look, boss, I’m not trying to be rude, but drinking that much every day—regardless of whether you're eating fish or steak—seems like overkill. You might want to get your liver, spleen, or gallbladder checked out if your metabolism is running that slow. Personally, I drink on the weekends and don't bother with any diets. It’s impossible to stick to a diet and actually enjoy life at the same time. But let's look at the math: half a liter a day adds up to 3.5 liters a week, 14 liters a month, and 168 liters a year. That's a lot, man. And that's not even counting the whiskey.👍

I honestly don't know what else to tell you all without the moderator getting bent out of shape!

Look, I’ve been a moderator before, and—full disclosure—my professional background is actually in psychology, but I just cannot wrap my head around why people think that alcohol itself makes you gain weight.

If your goal is to absolutely ruin your health, then by all means, knock back fifteen beers a day—and trust me, you won't see the scale move—but there's a catch: you can't eat a single bite while you drink.

There are plenty of people who barely touch food when they're drinking; they stay skinny because the alcohol isn't the culprit, it's the lifestyle. But if you're eating like a pig every single day and washing it all down with beer or wine... well, what exactly are you expecting?? That you're going to magically slim down!!

Believe me, you aren't. You'll just end up putting on maybe 6 or 7 pounds every year, steadily climbing...

It's actually pretty grim to talk about—and look, I was in the military, too—but just show me one person who survived six months in a POW camp weighing 220 pounds!?

Take my word for it: it doesn't happen!

All those medical theories about hormonal imbalances—thyroid issues, reproductive hormones, whatever else you want to throw at it—they all just fall apart in that scenario.

If you drink enough beer, you don't even need to eat.🙂