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[entremet]

This is something I've noticed for years. Visit any liquor store in most big cities and you see crowd of obvious alcoholics asking for money to fund their next beer or liquor purchase. They're almost always skinny.

Obviously, that's not a gauge of health as most probably have fatty liver disease.

However, alcohol is pretty dense in calories and many of these are drinking liters of the stuff daily. This is not cocaine we're talking about, which doesn't have calories.

My only guess is that they're obviously drinking their sustenance only and probably rarely eating solid foods, but this seems to be exception of the calories are the only thing that matters theory. Again, is alcohol very calorie dense.

Another theory is that the body doesn't convert alcohol to adipose tissue well. If you're recreational drinker a weekend bender may also leave you eating greasy food. Bar food is also extremely fattening, but hardcore alcoholics don't want to spend their funds on greasy food.

Anyone else notice this and wonder why this is common?

 

[Jacobi]

You don't have any appetite when drinking regularly.

 

[gamz]

This is something I've noticed for years. Visit any liquor store in most big cities and you see crowd of obvious alcoholics asking for money to fund their next beer or liquor purchase. They're almost always skinny.

Obviously, that's not a gauge of health as most probably have fatty liver disease.

However, alcohol is pretty dense in calories and many of these are drinking liters of the stuff daily. This is not cocaine we're talking about, which doesn't have calories.

My only guess is that they're obviously drinking their sustenance only and probably rarely eating solid foods, but this seems to be exception of the calories are the only thing that matters theory. Again, alcohol very calorie dense.

Another theory is that the body doesn't convert alcohol to adipose tissue well. If you're recreational drinker a weekend bender may also leave you eating greasy food. Bar food is also extremely fattening, but hardcore alcoholics don't want to spend their food on greasy food.

Anyone else notice this and wonder why this is common?

Because they aren't eating and most are drinking vodka.

 

[entremet]

Because they aren't eating and most are drinking vodka.

Is vodka calorie dense? Alcoholic drinks don't have calorie counts so I don't know. I know beer is very calorie dense.

edit: looked it up so it's 64 calories per ounce.

 

[gamz]

Is vodka calorie dense? Alcoholic drinks don't have calorie counts so I don't know. I know beer is very calorie dense.

edit: looked it up so it's 64 calories per ounce.

Very. A lot of people drink vodka and diet coke because there's no calories.

Most hardcore drinkers drink Vodka because it fucks you up and you can hide the smell better. Plus, it's much smoother then whiskey and what not. and it mixes with just about anything.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

because you drink a lot, then you sleep a lot, and either during, before, or after, you vomit a lot.

Ain't nobody wanna eat between those steps.

edit:
also, alcoholics have huuuge issues they don't want to resolve, so being skinny is just one of their many problems.

 

[Vicetrailia]

Alcohol is calorie rich and reduces fat burning.

So it's a double whammy.

 

[entremet]

because you drink a lot, then you sleep a lot, and either during, before, or after, you vomit a lot.

Ain't nobody wanna eat between those steps.

Yeah, I'm guessing they're not eating when they're passed out of the street lol.

 

[Apt101]

Don't liver problems lead to issues with digesting and metabolizing food? I guess they also spend their money on alcohol and not food, so though alcohol has calories 10 drinks in a day of whiskey is probably less than a few good, rich meals.

 

[Raxus]

Almost all our alcoholic patients are malnourished because their meals are alcohol. They only get a belly and edemitous when severe cirrhosis begins to occur.

 

[Anteater]

sleeping a lot and also the lack of apetite

 

[entremet]

Don't liver problems lead to issues with digesting and metabolizing food? I guess they also spend their money on alcohol and not food, so though alcohol has calories 10 drinks in a day of whiskey is probably less than a few good, rich meals.

No idea.

 

[gamz]

because you drink a lot, then you sleep a lot, and either during, before, or after, you vomit a lot.

Ain't nobody wanna eat between those steps.

Actually you sleep a ton less. After a point you are wired on booze. You may pass out for a few hours, but you are always awake. Once you get to the point where you get the shakes you are basically fucked. You have to keep drinking. It's a vicious cycle that the only way to break it is rehab and they fill you with sedatives to break away from the shakes.

 

[spineduke]

I was at my lowest weight when I use to drink vodka on an almost nightly basis. It's not as calorie loaded as you think, and you don't eat as much as you normally would.

 

[120v]

back during a rough patch i'd drink heavily, lost 50 lbs

people told me i wasn't eating anything though i don't particularly remember eating less. i think it just naturally curbs your appetite after awhile to where you're not grabbing for food every so often

 

[entremet]

Actually you sleep a ton less. After a point you are wired on booze. You may pass out for a few hours, but you are always awake. Once you get to the point where you get the shakes you are basically fucked. You have to keep drinking. It's a vicious cycle that the only way to break it is rehab and they fill you with sedatives to break away from the shakes.

I've seen this before. It's pretty crazy. They will try to fall asleep while standing up and then will jolt themselves awake, shaking like you said.

Alcohol is a ridiculous drugs in terms of abuse side effects.

 

[Raxus]

Look up the CAGE assessment. It gives an insight to what alcoholic behavior is like.

 

[TickleMeElbow]

Idk I was fat when I was a hardcore alcoholic.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

I'd imagine the body starving for nutrients is mostly focused on stopping the intestinal damage. As the liver shuts down, and small hemorrhages and bleeding on the inside, probably takes a lot of calories to constantly try and heal. Certain functions probably shut down, as the body eats away at existing muscle and fat storage. It probably shits out a lot of the empty calories and doesn't use them because alcoholics are very inactive, sleep or are in general inactive.
Alcoholics are also often skinny fat. They generally only blow up on the belly area, but might otherwise seem thin. Sometimes they don't blow up on the belly either, but on closer inspection still have the health of someone who is obese. "bad fat" in the abdominal area puts them in danger for various cancers.

My uncle died 15 years ago from drinking. His heart just gave in. He was also skinny. He barely ate and drank to just sleep/forget/dull the pain. I think the body does its best to try and fix things on all emergency valves. As a general rule it's said that the body uses incredible amounts of energy to just try and digest food. I've seen a lot of studies that propose there is a partial correlation between living for a long time and consuming less food, just because the body uses so much energy on digesting food and turning it into energy.

 

[BrassDragon]

Malnutrition is common because alcoholism messes up your appetite something fierce.

Alcohol has a decent amount of calories so you generally don't usually feel the need to snack/eat to keep your energy up.

Also, eating is inherently a social activity and it can depress addicts to eat alone or 'keep up appearances' around others, diminishing appetite and increasing the craving for alcohol.

(Used to cook for my addicted dad, not very rewarding.)

 

[Fluvian]

At my worst I was barely eating, in February when I relapsed hard on alcohol I realised I got drunker if my stomach was empty. Lost about 20 pounds of muscle and fat between mid February and late April.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

Actually you sleep a ton less. After a point you are wired on booze. You may pass out for a few hours, but you are always awake. Once you get to the point where you get the shakes you are basically fucked. You have to keep drinking. It's a vicious cycle that the only way to break it is rehab and they fill you with sedatives to break away from the shakes.

I've never seen 'the shakes' , sounds nightmarish.

 

[Phobophile]

I've never seen 'the shakes' , sounds nightmarish.

Delerium tremens isn't just an ironically named beer

 

[Fluvian]

I've never seen 'the shakes' , sounds nightmarish.

Meh, you get it in the mornings worst, you forget you have them the rest of the day, it's freaky how fast they go away after you get clean, I thought it was gonna be a lingering problem that would effect me forever.

 

[mike6467]

I've never seen 'the shakes' , sounds nightmarish.

If I remember correctly, alcohol is the only drug that you can die from while withdrawing. I worked with a guy who had been a hardcore alcoholic, and he would legit get 5-10 GALLONS of vodka and go camping. He did that because it ensured he wouldn't get a DUI or fuck up any relationships. He said he'd blackout for days at a time. I've blacked out a few times after bad nights, and had pretty nasty hangovers, but hearing that made me realize how scary alcohol can really get. I stopped because I didn't want to know if I was an alcoholic or not, and that path is easy to end up on once you start.

Edit: Dude was a bigger guy. He ate regularly when he wasn't binging though.

 

[tokkun]

Is vodka calorie dense? Alcoholic drinks don't have calorie counts so I don't know. I know beer is very calorie dense.

edit: looked it up so it's 64 calories per ounce.

It's not clear that calories from alcohol should be treated like calories from fat, protein, or carbohydrates because they are metabolized differently.

Keep in mind that caloric values were computed by burning things and seeing how much energy they released rather than by any measurement of how they affect the human body.

 

[gamz]

I've never seen 'the shakes' , sounds nightmarish.

And it could cause seizures and death. I'm pretty sure booze is the only drug that you can die from withdrawals.

Beat me to it.

If I remember correctly, alcohol is the only drug that you can die from while withdrawing. I worked with a guy who had been a hardcore alcoholic, and he would legit get 5-10 GALLONS of vodka and go camping. He did that because it ensured he wouldn't get a DUI or fuck up any relationships. He said he'd blackout for days at a time. I've blacked out a few times after bad nights, and had pretty nasty hangovers, but hearing that made me realize how scary alcohol can really get. I stopped because I didn't want to know if I was an alcoholic or not, and that path is easy to end up on once you start.

 

[entremet]

And it could cause seizures and death. I'm pretty sure booze is the only drug that you can die from withdrawals.

Wow, really?

Not even opiates?

 

[blame space]

you shouldn't stereotype alcoholics

 

[mike6467]

Wow, really?

Not even opiates?

No, opiate withdrawal is hell, but it can't kill you.

 

[Airola]

Most of the money supposed to go into buying food my uncle used on alcohol, and when he couldn't afford to buy food he would just drink water with salt added to it. That was his food.

He was skinny and he died.

 

[gamz]

Wow, really?

Not even opiates?

Yep. Even Heroin. Of all the withdrawals opiates is the worst. You feel like shit and have withdraws for a long time. Booze after a couple of days on seds you are good to go.

 

[blame space]

drinking makes you skinny? i was doing it all wrong!

 

[gamz]

drinking makes you skinny? i was doing it all wrong!

I mean what drug that you abuse doesn't make you skinny?

edit: Wait. Pot! LOL!

 

[ascii42]

Wow, really?

Not even opiates?

Actually, barbiturates as well, but those are the only two, I believe.

 

[Christberg]

You get drunk easier on an empty stomach. And when you've been at it for a while eating anything makes you feel worse because your stomach and intestinal lining are shot.

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

Where the party at?

 

[Thebox]

I can't imagine drinking liters of alcohol a day, but i met many patients that do just that. I once had a patient who is a school teacher tell me that he would drink over a liter
of fireball whiskey every night and was still able to go teach in the mornkng. I would feel like shit if i drank 1 pint of that stuff. There's noway I would be able to go to work in the morning.

 

[120v]

I'm pretty sure booze is the only drug that you can die from withdrawals.

nope... Benzodiazepine withdrawal will wreck your body like no other.

 

[gamz]

I can't imagine drinking liters of alcohol a day, but i met many patients that do just that. I once had a patient who is a school teacher tell me that he would drink over a liter
of fireball whiskey every night and was still able to go teach in the mornkng. I would feel like shit if i drank 1 pint of that stuff. There's noway I would be able to go to work in the morning.

Not if you drink daily. You feel like more shit if you don't drink.

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

That sounds like a challenge

 

[Netherscourge]

Drunks don't eat much because it makes the vomiting a whole lot more messy.

Wet puke is better than chunky puke.

 

[entremet]

Drunks don't eat much because it makes the vomiting a whole lot more messy.

Wet puke is better than chunky puke.

Sounds more painful tho.

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

Booze is all you need

 

[MaulerX]

I knew one that was somewhat fat. He used to love drinking and eating. That being said he eventually got so sick from his alcoholism that they had to remove part of his intestine not to mention the liver problems. He ended up being so skinny that you could barely recognize him. Sad.

 

[DietRob]

Liquid diet.

 

[bobeth]

Meh, you get it in the mornings worst, you forget you have them the rest of the day, it's freaky how fast they go away after you get clean, I thought it was gonna be a lingering problem that would effect me forever.

That's not what I remember it being like with my father. Real bad shaking (can't write, or do anything kind of bad), until he got a few in him.. That was just before he got into rehab (one of the many times). You're not really functional when you reach that point.

 

[kavanf1]

To echo what Vigilant Walrus said, "regular" fat people generally have high levels of subcutaneous fat, ie it lies beneath the skin. However both skinny and fat people can also carry high levels of visceral fat, which is the fat around the organs in the chest and torso. Chances are that homeless alcoholics don't eat enough to retain much subcutaneous fat, but given what they do eat is likely to be poor quality, chances are they have high levels of visceral fat and are slowly strangling their organs. Though usually it's the liver that gets hit first.

 

[bengraven]

Many people eat out of boredom. Many people also smoke or drink when they're bored - these people tend to be skinnier.

 

[Hesemonni]

Vodka has approx 230kcal per 100g. Shot is approx 4 cl ie. 40g - - > 92kcal per shot. Quite a lot actually.