hello! im new here in dire need of an answer thats been boggling my mind for a while. is it alcohold itself that makes you gain weight or is it the excess calories? id really appreciate feedback here. peace

Excess calories cause you to gain weight. Whether you drink your calories in the form of alcohol or you eat them ... it's all about the calories.

Yes..the calories.

Alcohol itself has calories, not to mention the "vehicle" that it usually comes in: sugars in wine, sugars in beer, sugars in mixes!!

Not to mention, they're just empty calories...you'll still need to eat...so it certainly doesn't help anyone!

~Tim

I was thinking about this last night because the question sort of stumped me - not the answer itself, but how to properly explain the answer. Here's what I came up with.

Asking this is the same as asking "is it the food that makes me fat or the calories in the food". The answer is .. it's all the same thing. Food=calories. Drink=calories. Alcohol=calories. You can't separate the calories from the vehicle that contains them. (Thanks for that word, Tim!)

That's pretty much the basis of it.