Alcohol packs 7 calories per gram — almost twice as much as carbs. It's also the calorie source most diets quietly ignore.
Google this topic and you will get a hundred answers, half of them wrong. Here is the version that holds up. Alcohol packs 7 calories per gram — almost twice as much as carbs. It's also the calorie source most diets quietly ignore.
Alcohol g = volume (ml) × ABV × 0.789. Beer 5% ABV × 500ml × 0.789 = ~20g alcohol = ~140 kcal pure alcohol + ~50 kcal carbs.
Cocktails (often 300–800 kcal each), craft beer (200+ kcal each), dessert wines.
Dry red wine (~120 kcal/150ml), gin & soda (~100 kcal), light beer (~100 kcal).
Alcohol blunts fat oxidation, increases late-night snacking, hurts next-day training quality.
Does alcohol stop fat loss? Not directly, but indirectly via calories + appetite + sleep.
Is red wine healthy? Resveratrol benefits are weak. Moderate consumption isn't harmful for most; teetotal isn't worse.
If you only remember one thing from this post, make it that the inputs matter more than the calculator.