The reason you don't want to eat a lot of sugar is that it causes a blood sugar spike, as the sugars go right from your stomach into your blood system. Then your blood sugar plummets once that spike is done, and you starve, and you eat more. It's the Chinese food syndrome.
Alcohol works differently. It is the ALCOHOL that goes into the blood system. That's why police can test your blood alcohol level (BAC) to determine how much alcohol you've drunk recently.
It then goes into your liver. Your liver processes alcohol at the rate of about 1 drink per hour. So that's one glass of wine, one shot of alcohol, one bottle of beer.
Intriguingly, the liver also deals with blood sugar levels. But because alcohol is a toxin, the liver always gives preference to alcohol before it worries about blood sugar. So if you had a high blood sugar level for some reason, it would stay high until the alcohol was all processed.
It's important to realize that alcohol is NOT calorie free. There are four main types of energies your body can burn. These are fats, sugars (carbohydrates), alcohols and protein. All of these have calories. So when you drink alcohol, eventually it does become a acetyl CoA in your system, so your body can "do" something with it (like store it as fat).
Still, the reason low carb doesn't "count" things other than carbs it is that your body metabolizes and handles this energy source differently. It's the same reason that you can eat as much protein as you want (while maintaining a balanced diet of course).
So to summarize in the alcohol situation, yes, the alcohol eventually turns into fat on your stomach. However, because it does this in a slow, gradual manner, and because the impact on your blood sugar is therefore gradual and gentle, it's not something you have to worry about. Always drink in moderation, of course!
Focus on the sugars, and eat balanced. That'll help you lose weight!
Lisa Shea's Library of Low Carb Books
