Alcohol and intermittent fasting: can you mix them?
Beer and wine break your fast and stall fat burning. How to fit in a social drink without undoing your progress.
Part of the complete guide What breaks a fast (and what doesn't)
What the science saysDoes beer or wine break your intermittent fast?
Yes: beer, wine and any alcoholic drink break your fast, because ethanol brings calories and many drinks add sugar. On top of that, while your body metabolizes alcohol, fat oxidation drops sharply and appetite goes up. If you drink, do it inside your eating window and in moderation.
- After 24 g of alcohol, whole-body fat oxidation fell 73% and fatty acid release from fat tissue fell 53% in healthy men (Siler 1999). [1]
- Ethanol cut fat oxidation by 79% and protein oxidation by 39%, and caused acute insulin resistance (Shelmet 1988, 6 men). [2]
- Alcohol calories add to food calories, and drinking before or with a meal tends to increase how much you eat (Yeomans 2010). [3]
Does alcohol break your fast?
Yes: beer, wine and any alcoholic drink break your fast. A 12 oz beer runs about 140 kcal; a 5 oz glass of wine, about 120 kcal; and a 1.5 oz pour of whiskey or gin, about 90 kcal. Even non-alcoholic beer has carbs and breaks your fast; only a sugar-free 0.0 has a minimal impact.
Alcohol brings calories (7 kcal per gram, almost like fat) and many drinks pack sugar on top. Any drink breaks your fast and belongs inside your eating window, never during the fast.
How it slows your results
When you drink, your body prioritizes metabolizing the alcohol over burning fat. Translation: while it processes that drink, fat burning is on pause. Alcohol also makes you hungry and lowers your guard against snacking.
From least to most fasting-friendly
- Less bad: dry wine, spirits straight or with soda water (no sugar).
- Worse: beer, sugary cocktails, sweet liqueurs, shots.
How to fit in a social drink
- Keep it inside your eating window.
- Eat protein and vegetables first (less impact, less hunger later).
- Alternate with water.
- The next day, go back to your normal fast — no punishment, no extreme fasts to make up for it.
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Frequently asked questions
Can you drink alcohol on intermittent fasting?
Does alcohol slow down weight loss?
Scientific sources (3)
- De novo lipogenesis, lipid kinetics, and whole-body lipid balances in humans after acute alcohol consumption. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1999.
- Ethanol causes acute inhibition of carbohydrate, fat, and protein oxidation and insulin resistance.. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 1988.
- Alcohol, appetite and energy balance: Is alcohol intake a risk factor for obesity?. Physiology & Behavior, 2010.