Can You Drink Alcohol With Semaglutide?
Drinking alcohol while using semaglutide is not strictly “off-limits,” but there are some things you should know about potential side effects that you may experience and how this can impede your weight loss efforts.
Weight Loss Is Not Simple
Losing weight is a complex process, and the exact strategies or interventions needed for someone to lose weight are vastly different for each person. Weight loss requires creating a calorie deficit, and it takes a 3,500-calorie deficit to lose just one pound.
Sometimes the individual may have an underlying condition that impedes their weight loss efforts, or in other cases, the individual’s body can quickly adapt to the strategies they are using so they become ineffective and their weight loss stalls.
Using a prescription weight loss medication can help these individuals break through these challenges and lose a significant amount of weight. The catch is that the medication can only do so much, and it is going to be necessary for them to make some major changes in their lifestyle for them to reach a healthy weight. These changes will include things like eating healthy foods that are low in calories, reducing their portion sizes, and getting an adequate amount of exercise.
Most people will need to use a combination of strategies to help them effectively lose weight that go far beyond just cutting calories, including getting enough sleep, managing their stress level, and drinking enough water. Adding semaglutide to their other strategies can help optimize their metabolism so their efforts count for more.
How Does Drinking Alcohol Affect Weight Loss?
To understand the effects of drinking while taking semaglutide, let’s take a look at the ways alcohol can impact your weight loss in general.
You Consume Extra Calories Without Nutrition
Alcoholic drinks can add a significant number of calories but do not provide the nutrients your body needs. A regular beer contains about 150 calories, a glass of wine has around 120, and a frozen mixed drink can pack as many as 300 calories.
You Can Feel Hungrier After Drinking
Drinking alcohol can make you feel hungrier because it messes with the balance of hormones that regulate your appetite. It can also interfere with signals in your brain that provide your hunger and fullness cues and cause you to overeat.
It Influences Your Blood Sugar Levels
Alcohol can cause your blood sugar levels to drop, making you feel hungry and causing you to crave unhealthy foods. This can result in you eating more than usual, even if you are not even hungry.
It Slows Down Your Metabolism
When you drink, your body identifies the alcohol as a toxin and begins to focus on breaking down and eliminating the alcohol. What your metabolism should be doing is burning calories and processing carbohydrates and proteins to create energy, but it becomes temporarily reassigned to remove the alcohol, so your body burns fewer calories, and it is harder for you to lose weight.
Alcohol Can Cause Hormone Imbalances
Drinking alcohol can adversely affect your hormone balance, like cortisol, insulin, leptin, and ghrelin, which help manage how full or hungry you are and how efficiently your metabolism runs. Cortisol is your “stress hormone” and is released by your body by your natural, built-in survival instinct. It can also affect your body’s response to insulin and prevent your cells from absorbing excess glucose like they should. This imbalance of hormones can cause you to eat more and store fat instead of converting calories to energy.
It Can Cause Dehydration and Poor Nutrient Absorption
Alcohol can dehydrate your body and reduce the number of essential vitamins and minerals that your body can absorb and use, making you feel tired and unable to get in your daily physical activity, which slows down your weight loss efforts.
Drinking Lowers Your Willpower
Drinking can impair your judgment and cause you to make decisions you will regret later (we can all probably relate). This can make you more likely to choose unhealthy foods or eat more than you intended and sabotage your weight loss goals.
Drinking Can Disrupt Your Sleep Patterns
Drinking can sometimes make you drowsy and cause you to fall asleep initially, but it can also disrupt your sleep cycle so you are unable to get good-quality rest. Lack of sleep can trigger the release of hormones that increase hunger and make it harder to follow a low-calorie diet. Poor sleep can also zap your energy levels and prevent you from exercising.
Does Alcohol Affect Semaglutide?
Yes, it most certainly can affect how your body responds to the semaglutide. Some of the things that you might experience include:
- It can cause unpredictable changes in your blood sugar levels, leading to dangerous highs or lows.
- It can exacerbate the side effects of semaglutide, and nausea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal issues may intensify and make you feel worse.
- If you are experiencing vomiting or diarrhea as a side effect of semaglutide, drinking alcohol can elevate the risk of becoming dehydrated.
- Drinking alcoholic beverages can hinder your weight loss efforts by adding extra calories to your diet and preventing you from creating the calorie deficit you need.
Tips For Drinking While Taking Semaglutide
It is best to avoid alcohol when taking semaglutide, but for the rare occasions that you choose to have a drink, here are some tips to help reduce the risks of adverse effects or derailing your weight loss journey.
- Drink in moderation and stick to only one or two drinks maximum.
- Avoid alcoholic drinks that are high in sugar and choose options that do not have added syrups, sodas, or juices.
- Eat a healthy meal before drinking because having food in your stomach can help prevent blood sugar crashes and can slow the absorption of alcohol.
- Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and avoid extra dehydration.
- Listen to your body and pay attention to how it reacts to alcohol while on semaglutide. If you notice adverse effects, and the alcohol makes you feel dizzy, nauseous, or generally unwell, you would do better to just avoid it.
Drinking while on semaglutide is not advised because this medication helps you lose weight by reducing your appetite, slowing down your digestion, and helping control your blood sugar levels. When you drink alcohol, it counteracts many of these benefits and can lead to unwanted side effects, inhibit your progress, and even cause weight gain.
Are You Looking For Semaglutide?
If you are looking for an expert who can help guide your weight loss journey and prescribe semaglutide, you have come to the right place! Dr. Angelina Postoev is an expert in medical weight loss, and she and her team at MySlimMed can help you reach your weight loss goals.
It is easy to get started; just set up your personalized consultation either online or in person and talk with Dr. Angelina about whether semaglutide is right for you. Our new patient program may be the perfect thing to jumpstart your journey to better health. Get started today!
