Why You're Not Losing Weight After Quitting Alcohol

It’s common to believe that when we cut back or eliminate alcohol from our lifestyle that we will instantly drop weight or manage our weight with more ease. It might even be one of your key motivators in wanting to reduce your drinking habits.

After all, we’re cutting out many excess calories, carbs, and sugar, right?

That 650-calorie bottle of wine each night is certainly not helping. And even if you’re having a lighter option, like a vodka soda or light beer, they might still be getting in the way of weight management.

I get this question very regularly from those I work with in my sober nutrition and functional sobriety programs. In fact, one of my most viewed social posts is on this exact topic. So, let’s dive more into why you might be struggling to drop a few pounds even after kicking your alcohol habit.

Yes, its true that when we eliminate alcohol from our lifestyle that we are absolutely reducing our total caloric intake, sugar and carbs. These “empty calories” provide excess energy without contributing any positive nutrition in our diet. These excess calories are often converted to storage as adipose tissue (fat tissue). This is why when we’re consuming high amounts of alcohol, we can easily see weight and body fat percentage rise.

We might simply think that by cutting out these extra calories we should see the weight drop, right? Unfortunately, it’s not always that simple. And if you’ve experienced difficulty losing weight after alcohol cessation or have plateaued in progress — you’re not alone!

I more frequently hear from clients that their weight loss has stalled, rather than the easy, quick weight loss they expected.

So, what gives?

There are a few reasons why this can happen. If you have a longer history of alcohol consumption, or have consumed alcohol frequently or heavy over the course of a few years, you might be especially prone to this. We’ll talk about three key areas to address, including the liver, hormones and metabolism.

LIVER

Many of us know that the liver is affected by alcohol use, but what does that mean for weight loss? The liver plays a big role in the maintenance of hormones, fat storage, waste removal and the release of hormones that manage our blood sugar. When our liver is even slightly sluggish in function, it can effect our normal metabolism (how our body uses fuel and stores fat).

METABOLISM

Put simply, metabolism is the way that our body uses fuel and stores fat. This has a lot to do with blood sugar management, release of insulin, and the release of hormones from the liver that balance our energy management systems. Because alcohol use can affect the liver and how we manage our blood sugar, we often see irregular blood sugar patterns that can slow weight loss and contribute to cravings for sugar and carbohydrates.

HORMONES

The liver also manages sex hormones, like estrogen and testosterone, as well as stress hormones, like cortisol. When we have excess levels of estrogen stored in the body or high amounts of cortisol in the system, our body can tend towards storage of fat to support these imbalances. This might be especially true if you are:

1. A woman who experiences PMS symptoms, heavy periods, a history of infertility, extreme menopause symptoms, or even hormonal acne

2. A person with high stress who has a history of adrenal imbalance

3. A man with low testosterone or high estrogen levels

It’s not ideal to have these underlying imbalances in the way of achieving your healthy weight… but here’s the good news. Nutrition is the key to unlocking better liver function, elimination of excess hormones, and balancing of the overall metabolism so that weight loss begins.

What can you do?

Here are a few simple tips to begin using sober nutrition and my functional sobriety method to jumpstart your metabolism:

1. Evaluate sugar or replacement calories/sugar/carbs

   While you may have cut out alcohol, check to see if you’re replacing that intake with sweets or carbs that might be contributing to excess calories and blood sugar spikes.

2. Support your liver

   Consuming liver-supportive foods, like broccoli, cauliflower, beets and citrus can help to support better liver function. Incorporate these in your meals on a regular basis.

3. Boost metabolism

   You can help support a healthy metabolism by managing blood sugar throughout the day. Add more protein, fiber and health fats to each of your meals and snacks.

4. Stress reduction

   This one might seem simple but is not always easy! Reducing stress will lower cortisol and balance hormones to support a healthy weight. Add exercise, meditation, a new hobby or another stress-reducing activity each day.

Several of my clients from my Functional Sobriety programs have hit their weight management or weight loss goals within only a few weeks or months. It is truly a well-rounded approach to changing your relationship with alcohol and exploring a sober or sober-curious lifestyle.

Right now, you can also schedule a 45-Minute Health Power Session with Dr. Brooke, no strings attached. Limited spots available!

Click here to book your power session >>