Alcohols on the Maintenance Phase of the HCG Diet

Weight loss and alcohols are complicated issues as alcohol can make weight loss and weight stabilization difficult. For many dieters, avoiding alcoholic beverages may be difficult, even impossible at all.

Is alcohol bad for weight loss?

Alcohol and weight loss don’t go together for a lot of reasons.

1. Excess belly fats: Extra calories from alcohol will end up stored as fats and will lead to weight gain. These stored fats usually accumulate in the abdominal area.
2. It has too many empty calories: 1 gram of alcohol has more calories than 1 gram of carb or 1 gram of protein. It has almost as many calories as 1 gram of fat. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram while a gram of carb only has 3 calories. A gram of fat, on the other hand, has 9 grams of calories. Drinking too much alcohol can derail your weight loss efforts.
3. Longer to lose weight: When you drink alcohol, your body is more focused on burning down alcohol instead of burning fat. So, it will take much longer for you to lose weight.
4. Negative effect on sleep: Alcohol can lead to an increased period of wakefulness during the sleep cycle. This can lead to an imbalance in the hormones related to satiety, hunger, and energy storage.
5. Negative effects on digestions and nutrient uptakes: Alcohol can inhibit proper digestion by causing stress on the intestine and stomach. As a result, there is a decrease in digestive secretion and food movement in the digestive tract.

Alcohol and weight stabilization

Before you think of introducing your favorite wine back into your diet allow your body first to stabilize for a week. Then the remaining weeks, you may consume alcohol in moderations. Why?

1. Alcohols relax your inhibition making you indulge in foods not allowed during the maintenance phase while on hcg injections. You might want to reach for that extra pizza when you wouldn’t ordinarily do. You’ll be paying less attention to how and what you’re eating.
2. Your body will burn alcohol first as a primary source of fuel before it uses anything else. This includes the lipids from fat and glucose from carbs. All these are likely to be stored.
3. Alcoholic beverages reduce your actual fat metabolism. Even a small amount of alcohol can greatly impact fat metabolism. This has something to do with how alcohol is handled in the body. Study shows that alcohol can reduce your fat metabolism for up to 48 hours.
4. Alcohol can dehydrate you because alcohol is a diuretic. It causes your body to removes body fluids from the blood through the kidney. Without enough water to replenish the loss fluid, you’ll be dehydrated.
5. It’s not really a great idea to indulge in too much alcohols during the maintenance phase due to the dangerous by-products. As alcohol is broken down inside the body toxins are released as by-products. Who would want toxins after a lovely detox during the very low-calorie phase?

 Can you drink alcohol on the HCG diet?

The answer is a simple NO if you are in the very low calorie and YES if you are on the maintenance phase. Like I’ve said, it’s impossible to totally ignore alcoholic beverages. The solution is choosing the right alcohol and drinking in moderation. Moderation means drinking non-sugary, non-beer alcohols in a week. From the book “Pound and Inches”, Dr. Simeons allows a glass of wine to be enjoyed occasionally during stabilization with a meal. So, it’s possible to drink alcohol and still manage to stabilize your weight and even lose more.

Maximizing results while minimizing calories, how?

• Stick with hard liquor. Good choices include vodka, tequila, white rum, gin, and other non-sweet distilled alcohols are just fine.
  • Vodka
    • Calories: 100 calories in 1.5 ounces of distilled 80-proof vodka
  • Gin
    • Calories: 115 calories in 1.5 ounces of 90-proof gin
  • Brandy
    • Calories: 100 calories in 1.5 ounces of brandy
  • Whiskey
    • Calories: 100 calories in 1.5 ounces of 86-proof whiskey
  • Tequila
    • Calories: 100 calories in 1.5 ounces of tequila
• You can also drink red wines or white wine. Red wines have lesser sugar and more antioxidants than white wine. Sparkling wines and dry champagne are fine in moderation.
• Keep the calories as low as possible.  Absolutely avoid sugary mixes. Avoid tonic water because it’s high in sugar.
• When choosing a cocktail to enjoy, choose fruit juices such as apple, cranberry, or orange mix with sparkling water.
• The standard serving size of alcohol in the US is:
  • 5 ounces of wine ( typically 12% alcohol)
  • 12 ounces of beer (5% alcohol)
  • 1.5 ounces of liquors like rum, vodka, whiskey and tequila ( 40% alcohol)
• Limit your alcohol intake to a minimum. One or two drinks will not cause weight gain when you wake up the next day.
• Beer has the highest calorie. 1 can is around 154 calories. If you want a beer, you’ll have to compromise your meal.