“I Want to Lose Weight, but I Want to Drink”

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“Is there alcohol on this program?”

“Will I be able to drink on this program?”

“I go out socially a few times a week and I like to drink.”

“I enjoy a nightly drink or two when I get home after a stressful workday.”

“A glass of wine or two in the evening helps me sleep better.”

“When I know I’m going to drink in the evening, I cut down on what I eat during the day.”

“It makes me feel more relaxed.”

“I feel more confident in social situations when I drink.”

“I can stop any time I want, but I don’t want to.”

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When I hear these kinds of questions and statements in an initial conversation with someone who has reached out with an interest to work with me, I’ve got to set them straight right from the get-go.

First, I don’t get paid to tell clients what they CAN’T do. I’m not their mommy.

I’m paid to teach people the What, How Much and When to eat; to put a system in place for that purpose, to guide them through that process, to provide the tools and resource to steer them towards that end, and to hold them accountable all along their journey.

And everyone knows that I don’t believe in all-or-nothing. I emphasis, repeatedly, the importance of planning (in advance) to indulge every now and then.

So, enjoying a social drink or two (or even three!) every now and then is one thing.

But even when it’s every now and then, alcohol lowers inhibitions and can (and almost always does) lead to poor decision-making in the heat of the moment — especially when it comes to food choices. So, when alcohol is a regular occasion in one’s life, so are the bad food choices.

Do you really think you can drink as much alcohol as you’ve been drinking to date, that has contributed in no small way to your weight gain and STILL lose weight AND keep it off?

Sorry, folks, but that dog just ain’t gonna hunt!

If achieving and maintaining specific weight loss, fitness and health goals are a real priority for you . . . you have to re-think your drink.

And if you feel you’ll be deprived without it . . .

If the mere thought of not drinking as often as you do now distresses you . . .

If cutting back to complement a change in eating habits to achieve your desire for healthy weight loss makes you anxious . . .

Well, boys and girls . . . perhaps you’re imbibing way more than you think or want to admit.

When the fear of abstaining or cutting back on your alcohol is GREATER THAN the fear of what being perpetually overweight or obese will surely bring, you’ve got a problem.

Whether it’s a disordered eating problem, or a problem with coping in social situations or trying to fit in or keep up, or an alcohol problem, you’ve got a problem.

I am not a mental health professional.

I am not an addiction treatment specialist.

I am not a recovery sponsor in any of the 12-step programs.

Those are all very special people doing the Lord’s work every day.

But one thing I do know:

As alcoholism progresses, so does the denial!

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I want to point out a few important alcohol- and health-related facts:

(1) Our body’s ability to tolerate alcohol decreases as we age. That is partly because lean body tissue, such as muscles and organs, absorbs alcohol and fat does not — and the amount of fat rises with age, while the amount of lean tissue decreases. As a result, it takes less alcohol to affect our coordination, thinking, and behavior as we get older, making accidents more common. For example, alcohol can alter an older person’s sense of balance, leading to falls and fractures or worse: Drinking is a favor in 65% of fatal falls.

(2) Women are more prone to the immediate and long-term harmful effects of alcohol.

1. More of the alcohol women drink gets into their bloodstream and tissue than men (and blood alcohol levels rise faster in women and stay elevated longer t00). This happens because women have less of an enzyme called alcohol dehydragenase, which breaks down alcohol in the stomach. And women tend to have less water overall in their bodies than med do — both in their blood and in their tissue –so the alcohol doesn’t get as diluted. As a result, more of the alcohol they drink ends up reaching, and potentially damaging, their organs.
2. Estrogen also has an effect. Alcohol raises estrogen levels in women, and high amounts of that hormone have been linked to breast cancer and certain other malignancies as well.

(3) Many people think there is no difference, health wise, between having three drinks in one day and having one drink on three different days. But the more alcohol the body must process at one time, the greater the effect on the liver, heart, and other organs.