Table of contents
You can lose weight after you stop drinking. What matters most is how many calories your drinking used to provide and whether you start eating more once you give up alcohol. Every gram of alcohol provides 7 kcal, and two 0.5 l beers contain about 430 kcal in total. If you replace them with sweets, sugary drinks or snacks, you may still be taking in the same number of calories, or even more. This is why some people's weight goes up rather than down after they stop drinking.
A drop in weight on its own does not tell you how much body fat you have lost either. Body weight can also go down because of water loss, so it is better to compare results over several weeks than to judge the change from a single weigh-in. Studies on abstinence cannot tell you how quickly a particular person will lose weight or how much of the loss will be water and how much fat.
If you drink every day or heavily, and without alcohol your hands shake, you sweat, feel anxious or cannot sleep, do not stop drinking suddenly on your own. Talk to a doctor first, because in someone who is dependent, stopping alcohol suddenly can be very dangerous.
In brief
- Someone who is dependent on alcohol and has withdrawal symptoms without a drink should not stop drinking suddenly and without help. Symptoms usually start 6-12 hours after the last drink, and in more severe cases they include hallucinations, confusion and seizures, which need immediate medical help.
- A half-litre of beer of about 5% strength has about 215 kcal, a glass of red wine (150 ml) about 125 kcal and a shot of vodka (50 ml) about 110 kcal. Two beers drunk every day add up to about 3,000 kcal a week.
- In one study, people who drank heavily but were not dependent weighed on average 1.5% less after a month without alcohol. The study did not determine how much of this change was due to water loss and how much to fat loss.
- In people who are dependent, the craving for sweets increases most in the first month of abstinence. In one study, people who were dependent gained more weight over six months than people who drank little.
When do you need a doctor's help to stop drinking?
Anyone who is dependent on alcohol and has withdrawal symptoms on days without drinking should stop drinking under medical supervision, not suddenly on their own. The UK's National Health Service (NHS) warns that stopping alcohol suddenly when you are dependent can be very dangerous and advises asking a doctor for help before you try to stop drinking (1).
Withdrawal symptoms usually start 6-12 hours after the last drink and most often last from 3 to 7 days. They include anxiety, insomnia, nausea and vomiting, a fast heartbeat, sweating and shaking hands, and in more severe cases hallucinations, confusion and seizures. If such symptoms appear after you stop drinking, it is a sign that your body is dependent on alcohol. Severe shaking, confusion, hallucinations or seizures after stopping alcohol need immediate medical help (1).
Someone in this situation should stop drinking during alcohol detox under medical supervision or according to a plan agreed with a doctor. We describe the course and duration of withdrawal syndrome in our article on alcohol withdrawal syndrome. What to expect in the first days after stopping alcohol is covered in our article on the first days without alcohol. Vomiting and heavy sweating can lead to dehydration. A drop in weight in this situation should not be taken as a sign that you are successfully losing weight.
How many calories are in alcohol?
One gram of pure alcohol (ethanol) provides 7 kcal (2). Beer and wine also contain carbohydrates, and beer contains more of them.
| Drink | Serving | Alcohol per serving | Calories per serving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lager, about 5% | 0.5 l | about 20 g | about 215 kcal |
| Red wine, about 13% | 150 ml glass | about 16 g | about 125 kcal |
| Red wine, about 13% | 0.75 l bottle | about 79 g | about 630 kcal |
| Vodka, 40% | 50 ml shot | about 16 g | about 110 kcal |
| Vodka, 40% | 0.5 l bottle | about 157 g | about 1,090 kcal |
These values are for typical drinks (regular lager, red wine and vodka) and were calculated from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) food composition database (3). The database gives 43, 85 and 231 kcal per 100 g respectively. To work out the calories in a serving of a given volume, the calculation uses the weight of one US fluid ounce (about 29.5735 ml) given in each record: 29.7 g of beer, 29.4 g of wine and 27.8 g of vodka. Calories were calculated as: serving volume in ml ÷ 29.5735 × weight of one ounce in g × kcal per 100 g ÷ 100. The results in the tables are rounded. Beers stronger than 5% and drinks with added sugar have more calories in the same serving.
How many calories a week does regular drinking add?
| How someone drinks | Calories from alcoholic drinks per week |
|---|---|
| one 0.5 l beer every day | about 1,500 kcal |
| two 0.5 l beers every day | about 3,000 kcal |
| four 0.5 l beers on Friday and four on Saturday | about 1,700 kcal |
| a bottle of wine twice a week | about 1,270 kcal |
| half a litre of vodka once a week | about 1,090 kcal |
The Polish Society for the Treatment of Obesity (PTLO) recommends that people with obesity eat 500-600 kcal a day less than they need (4). Two beers a day provide about 430 kcal, which is most of that deficit.
Why does alcohol make it harder to lose weight?
As long as there is alcohol in your blood, your body burns less fat. In one study, eight healthy men drank 96 g of alcohol over a day, roughly the amount in five 0.5 l beers. That day they burned 36% less fat than on a day without alcohol, and the difference appeared during the hours when their bodies were breaking down the alcohol (5).
People who drink do not usually eat less because of it, and they even eat more after drinking. The authors of a 2019 review gathered 22 studies involving 701 adults. When the results of 12 of them were pooled, participants ate on average 82 kcal more after an alcoholic drink than after a non-alcoholic one. Together with the calories in the drink itself, they took in 256 kcal more (6). Participants were mostly aged 18-37.
How much weight can you lose after you stop drinking?
There is no single number of kilograms that applies to everyone. In a study of people who drank heavily but were not dependent, body weight fell by an average of 1.5% after a month without alcohol. Any further loss depends on whether food takes the place of the calories from alcohol.
In a London study, 94 people who drank an average of 258 g of alcohol a week (roughly the amount in 13 beers of 0.5 l) stopped drinking for a month. They were not dependent and had no liver disease. After a month, they weighed on average 1.5% less (the median for the group fell from 81.1 to 79.5 kg), while in the group that carried on drinking, the change in body weight was not statistically significant (7). The participants decided for themselves whether to stop drinking and were recruited mainly from universities and among readers of a popular science magazine, so the result may not apply to everyone.
Scientists estimate changes in body weight over longer periods using models. According to a model developed by Kevin Hall's team, when someone permanently eats and drinks less, their weight falls more and more slowly. Half of the total change is reached after about a year, and almost all of it after 3 years. The popular rule that a kilogram of fat equals about 7,700 kcal leads you to expect roughly twice as much weight loss in the first year as this model predicts. The model also assumes that the change is permanent and that the calories are not made up in some other way, and the authors point out that the result can differ markedly from person to person (8).
In practice, drinking less does not always mean losing more weight. A US weight-loss programme included 283 people with overweight or obesity, most of whom drank little or moderately. In the group as a whole, how much people cut down on alcohol was not linked to how much weight they lost. This link appeared only in more impulsive people: the more they cut down on alcohol, the greater the percentage of body weight they lost (9).
What affects how much weight you lose after you stop drinking?
- The more someone drank, and the more often, the more calories they cut by stopping. Someone who drank two beers every day takes in about 3,000 kcal less a week from beer alone after giving it up. If all you gave up was one beer at the weekend, the difference on the scales may be small or not visible at all.
- If you also drop the snacks you had with beer and the late-night eating after drinking, you cut more calories than from the drinks alone.
- Sweets, sugary drinks and evening snacking can provide as many calories as alcohol used to.
- If two people cut their food intake by the same amount, the one with more body fat will eventually lose more kilograms, but their weight will keep changing for longer before it stabilises (8).
When will you see a difference on the scales after you stop drinking?
A change in body weight may be visible after just a few weeks. How fast and how much your weight goes down depends on, among other things, how many calories alcohol provided and whether food has taken their place. The available studies on abstinence do not describe a pattern of water and fat loss that applies to everyone.
| Time since stopping | What changes | What the scales show |
|---|---|---|
| first days (in someone who is dependent) | withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and sweating, which usually last 3-7 days | weight loss with vomiting and heavy sweating may be due to dehydration; it needs assessment and is not a measure of fat loss |
| first weeks | cutting calories may change body weight; no typical pattern of changes in glycogen stores after stopping alcohol has been established | the scales alone do not show how much of the change is water and how much is fat |
| about a month | in a study of people who were not dependent, body weight fell by an average of 1.5% and systolic blood pressure by 6.6% (7) | the first clear drop in body weight |
| first month of sobriety (in someone who is dependent) | the craving for chocolate and other sweets increases the most | weight may stall or go up |
| the following months | if the change in energy intake is maintained, body weight may keep going down; according to the model, it takes about a year to reach half of the eventual change in body weight | weight loss slows down over time and may level off |
Is the first weight you lose after stopping alcohol water or fat?
Your weight alone cannot tell you how much of the change after stopping alcohol is due to water loss and how much to fat loss. The body stores carbohydrates in the liver and muscles as glycogen. The study that described each gram of glycogen being stored with about 3-4 g of water looked at a very low-calorie diet, not at stopping alcohol (10). It does not show that the first kilograms lost after you stop drinking are mainly water.
The amount of water in your body changes from day to day, so a single measurement says little. It is better to compare results over several weeks, for example by weighing yourself once a week at the same time of day. We write about what causes a large belly in someone who drinks, and when it gets smaller, in our article on alcohol belly.
Why do some people gain weight after they stop drinking?
Some people put on weight after giving up alcohol because food, especially sweet food, starts to take the place of drinking. In people who are dependent, the craving for sweets increases most in the first month of abstinence.
German researchers followed 150 people dependent on alcohol for six months after outpatient detox. Participants increasingly wanted chocolate and other sweets and ate more chocolate, and the biggest change came in the first month. One in four participants ate chocolate rarely before detox and often a month later. Those who had not drunk for a month ate three times as much chocolate as those who had gone back to drinking. A greater craving for sweets did not go hand in hand with stronger alcohol cravings (11).
A small US study had similar results. People dependent on alcohol who had recently stopped drinking gained more weight over six months than people who drank little, and in taste tests they more often chose the sweetest samples (12). However, only 38 of the 68 dependent participants stayed to the end of the six-month follow-up.
In the first days after stopping, nausea and vomiting can take away the desire to eat. Once these symptoms pass, appetite returns. Anyone who swaps beer for sugary drinks, or evening drinking for evening snacking, can gain weight even though they have stopped drinking.
What can you do about sugar cravings after you stop drinking?
For someone who is dependent, not going back to drinking matters more than weight. In the same US study, participants were randomly assigned to three groups with different advice: to reach for sweets when they had an alcohol craving, to eat balanced meals, or to avoid sweets. None of this advice had any effect on alcohol cravings or drinking (12). If sweets permanently replace your evening drink, however, it will eventually show on the scales.
In obesity treatment, PTLO recommends eating 3-5 meals a day at regular times, without snacking in between (4). It helps to have a plan for the times when you used to drink and to tell your addiction therapist about strong cravings for sweet things, because this is a common reaction in the first weeks of sobriety. If your weight keeps going up for several months, you need to discuss this with a doctor.
What happens to your liver after you stop drinking?
In people who drank heavily but were not dependent, liver test results improved after just one month without alcohol. In the London study, liver enzyme activity fell by an average of 28.6% for GGT and 14.5% for ALT (7).
Fatty liver can be caused by obesity, by drinking alcohol or by both. According to PTLO, there is no safe dose of alcohol for people with liver disease, and with advanced fibrosis, abstinence is essential (4).
Liver tests such as ALT, AST and GGT are ordered by a doctor. We describe the other tests worth having if you have obesity in our article on tests before obesity treatment, and how long recovery takes in our article on liver regeneration after alcohol.
When should you see a doctor about your weight after you stop drinking?
See a doctor if you still have obesity after several months without alcohol or if the urge to drink comes back. You need to seek help urgently if your belly is growing while the rest of your body is losing weight.
- If, after several months of abstinence, your BMI is still 30 or more, or 27 or more with high blood pressure, diabetes or fatty liver, a doctor may suggest obesity treatment and, if needed, a medicine (4).
- A belly that is growing while the rest of the body is losing weight can mean fluid in the abdominal cavity due to liver disease, known as ascites. A belly like this, especially with yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes, needs an urgent appointment with a doctor.
- If the urge to drink comes back or you have already had a drink, you need to start or resume alcohol addiction treatment. Obesity treatment can run alongside it.
Frequently asked questions
Do you lose weight if you stop drinking beer?
You can lose weight after giving up beer if your total calorie intake goes down. A 0.5 l beer has about 215 kcal, so two beers a day add up to about 3,000 kcal a week. In a study of people who were not dependent and drank the equivalent of 13 beers a week on average, body weight fell by an average of 1.5% after a month without alcohol. If you drank beer rarely, you may notice only a small difference or none at all.
Will your belly get smaller after you stop drinking?
If you lose body fat after stopping alcohol, your belly measurement may go down. There is no set time for this change, however, and a belly measurement does not reflect fat alone. We explain what causes a large belly in someone who drinks and how long it takes to go away in our article on alcohol belly. A belly that is growing while the rest of the body is losing weight needs an urgent appointment with a doctor.
Can you start a diet straight after you stop drinking?
You can start eating regularly and more healthily from day one, but starvation diets are a bad idea. PTLO advises against them because they appear to be ineffective in the long term and sometimes harmful, and recommends a moderate deficit of 500-600 kcal a day and 3-5 meals without snacking (4). Someone who is dependent should focus on staying off alcohol in the first weeks and agree a weight-loss plan with a doctor or dietitian.
Do you have to stop drinking completely during obesity treatment?
The safest option is not to drink alcohol for the whole of your obesity treatment. Alcohol provides calories and makes it harder to lose weight, and according to PTLO there is no safe dose of alcohol for people with liver disease. Anyone with a drinking problem should have treatment for dependence alongside obesity treatment and agree with a doctor on a safe way to stop drinking. If you have had withdrawal symptoms when cutting down on drinking, do not plan to stop suddenly without a doctor's help. If such symptoms have already appeared, seek medical help, and if you have seizures, hallucinations or confusion, call an ambulance immediately. We describe what is known about drinking alcohol while taking obesity medicines in our article on obesity medicines and alcohol.
Sources
- NHS. Alcohol-use disorder. Page reviewed 24 April 2026. nhs.uk
- European Commission, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Knowledge Gateway. Alcoholic Beverages. Updated 6 February 2026. knowledge-for-policy.ec.europa.eu
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, SR Legacy: Alcoholic beverage, beer, regular, all, FDC ID 168746; Alcoholic beverage, wine, table, red, FDC ID 173190; Alcoholic beverage, distilled, all (gin, rum, vodka, whiskey) 80 proof, FDC ID 174815. 2019. Volume unit conversion according to NIST, Guide to the SI, Appendix B.8.
- Bąk-Sosnowska M, Białkowska M, Bogdański P et al. Zalecenia kliniczne dotyczące postępowania u chorych na otyłość 2024 - stanowisko Polskiego Towarzystwa Leczenia Otyłości (Clinical guidelines for the management of patients with obesity - position statement of the Polish Society for the Treatment of Obesity). Medycyna Praktyczna, special edition, September 2024. ptlo.org.pl
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Want to stop drinking but not sure how to do it safely?
At a consultation, the doctor will assess your risk of complications after stopping alcohol and whether you need detox, and then draw up a plan for treating your addiction with you.
