Drink Alcohol to Lose Weight?

[Welsh_Biatch]

As i have mentioned in another thread I have just turned 20 and have had an eating disorder for about 6 years, and have over the passed year discovered that drinking alcohol helps me lose weight. Since January I have lost about 7 pounds, drinking alcohol and eating nothing. Not for one minute do I advertise this, I know I have both an ED and possibly a drinking problem. What I want to know is does anybody else drink alcohol to lose weight? without vomiting.

[piglet]

i lost half a stone on holiday once cz i drank all night and slept it off in the sun without eatin the next day...

not sure its a gd long term plan though!

[Thinsexy]

it is not a good idea to have an alcohol diet, but the reason to why youve lost so much weight is that alcohol dissolves fat.

[Lankylil]

I am a recovering alcoholic - I have been drinking heavily since I was 18 - I have had an ED since I was 15
The only time I wasnt throwing up all the time was when I was too drunk to function - I have not had a drink in almost a month and the thing that made me stop is the bloating effect it has in the long run.
The reason you have lost weight is that alcohol burns fat but it also makes you lose track of what your aim is and makes you hungrier. Also the long term effects of alcoholism include bloating so do not use alcohol as a weight loss system - in the long run it will make you fat again. xxx

[BohemianButterfly]

I totally agree with the last post. It does make you lose weight for a while, but in the end, you end up bloated, and it is VERY hard to get rid of that. At least for me it has been. Big no no, the alcohol diet.
But you are right, it does make you lose weight. At first. Remember the at first, lol.

xxBB

[Hermy964]

Hi, my name is Tori-Kate
This was something I sort of discovered by accident when I was 15, after having ED for about 3 years. what I found was, is that it seemed to stop making me feel hungry, and for while, make me forget my troubles (I'm as yet too nervous to talk about them here). This went on for about 6 years, with me ending up in hospital on many occasions. No matter what the doctors said, I would go straight back to drinking (white cider, as it was cheap), for that stopped me from eating anything.
I felt in control, not having to do gross things like dump (yukky to the max), and feeling freedom and power over how my body looked. I found, however, no matter what I drank, that I would frequently be vomiting, or dry heaving, especially in the morning which hurts really bad.
Anyway, about 2 years ago I ended up in hospital yet again, and after I came round from their treatments (I understand this took about a week), I found myself so shocked as to how I looked. I was then sent to a mental hospital, for I had every intention of dying then and there.
My teeth (my pride and joy) were almost gone; my lovely smooth skin was spotty, dry and covered in pustules and other gross stuff; my hair, once long, silky and flowing was a dry matted mess; I could go on and on about my looks alone...
I spent months on all sorts of medications, Prozac, Librium, you name it. I felt like death and, I dunno yet where this came from, I wanted to show the world I could carry on, and I wanted to stick 2 fingers up to the world and say 'f**k you'.
I didn't 'get with the program', I just wanted to do things my way. I tried all sorts of ways to get what I wanted, but f****d up nearly every time.
However, it took a simple phrase to sew a seed of thought in me: 'accept responsibility for your own actions'. I didn't want to hear it at the time, cos I was not then ready. But the seed grew... I cursed the person who said it at the time, but now I bless her instead.
Over the past year or so I had a lot of therapy and education sessions, discovering who I am, and looking at the consequences of my actions.
First, I would like to tell you some facts about the alcohol diet, and maybe debunk some myths.
Alcohol affects EVERY cell in the body, therefore damaging ALL organs.
It is a depressant, and only masks your real feelings, preventing you from facing up to reality. It is a mind-altering substance.
Alcohol contains a lot of EMPTY calories but has NO nutritional value
It can irritate the stomach lining, supressing your appetite.
Alcohol DOES NOT dissolve fat, because fat may ABSORB alcohol
Women are more at risk from alcohol than men because they have a lower fat to body mass ratio, and tend to have lighter body mass (don't we know it!).
I was, at one point at 5 stone 6 pounds, now I am at 6 stone 12 pounds. I have also shrunk 1 inch from 5'8" to 5'7".
I certainly couldn't carry on the way I was going (& I own this statement and all of the above).
Dammit, I'm only 24, but sometimes I feel as though I have lived through 124 years of experience, mostly bad.
The 'alcohol diet' was, I thought a solution to my problem; instead, I ended up with a whole lot more problems. And no, you won't avoid the vomiting...
I post this as this is my experience, make of it what you will...

[meltingaway]

Thanks for sharing this experience/info Hermy - agree with lots of points you've made about why this may not be a good diet.

Personally I avoid alcohol as am terrified it will effect my self control.

[bluebutterfly]

Dear Hermy,
thanks for sharing this story with us. I know what you've been through though I don't have the same kind of issue. Alcohol is NOT the answer to theses types of problems. It was really emotional to read your story, bless you and stay strong

- B

[Ambivalent]

I find alcohol to be a real problem for me. If I don't eat when I drink, then it doesn't hamper my weight loss (but doesn't in my opinion help it, because, alcohol is full of calories - you're just drinking your food instead of eating it). If I drink and eat, I GAIN GAIN GAIN. The fattest I've ever been in my life is because I was over-eating and drinking. Gained at twice the rate. The problem you have is that on the one hand alcohol can help you to not feel hungry, but it also lowers inhibitions and may make you more likely to binge and overeat. ALso, if you are just drinking and not eating once you inevitably start eating again, if you've now made alcohol a habit you may find it hard to give up and then you'll be eating and drinking which is the ultimate evil weight gain combination. So tread carefully. My fondness for alcohol is usually the un-doing of my diets.

[hello rice cakes]

Thanks for sharing! I almost considered this, I have bi polar disorder and always want to turn to drinking to mask emotions and 'not feel' but now, this kinda made me wake up. The fact that im not losing any weight atm makes me wanna drink as well, but when i drink, i get so HUNGRY.