Cape Town - Religiously counting calories in order to slim down for summer is seeing some people turn to a liquid diet with a twist.
The Industry Association for Responsible Alcohol Use said a new diet fad, known as alcorexia or drunkorexia, where people skip meals in favour of a glass of wine or a pint of beer, could be a popular option among those looking to shed the kilos.
But the bottom line is that it’s dangerous and ineffective.
Every year there is a wave of new diets. From intermittent fasting to Tim Noakes’s no-carb menu, they all carry the same promises of a flatter stomach and trimmed figure.
Alcorexia is believed to have its roots in Hollywood where models and actors would save up calories throughout the day to “spend” on binge drinking in the evening.
The thinking is that by cutting down on food, dieters can still enjoy cocktails and shots in the evening without having to worry about the calories in their Long Island Iced Tea.
It’s unsurprising that dietitians have taken a strong stance against the diet.
The Cape Argus interviewed a few licensed practitioners operating in the Western Cape and the answer to the alcorexia was a unanimous “no”.
Shelli Marx said her patients were definitely not doing that. In some cases she said it was okay to cut out only one non-essential carbohydrate to allow for a glass of wine. “But only one.”
Another dietitian said alcorexia would wreak havoc on the liver and the body would start craving the vitamins missing as a result of skipping out on a full supper.
The Association for Responsible Alcohol Use’s chief executive Dr Osborn Mahanjana said this lifestyle could also lead to alcoholism.
“A person who wants to lose weight should rather reduce the amount of alcohol consumed for the period of the diet and not be so dependent they feel forced to rather give up food.
“When trying to lose weight it is better to rather drink less as this can assist weight loss.
“However, if you find that you cannot reduce intake or drink less frequently for a short period of time then there may be an underlying factor of addiction which should be addressed.”
Megan Pentz-Kluyts, a registered nutrition and dietetics consultant said alcohol could still contain a large amount of calories. For example, a pint of cider has around 216 calories, around 10 percent of the average person’s recommended daily intake of energy.
A night of drinking could quickly exceed the daily limit.
Cape Argus