You might be able to drink and stay thin at the same time. I’m not sure that I believe it because it sounds too good to be true, but that doesn’t stop me from wishful thinking about this one.

After a slew of studies about the benefits of moderate drinking, a new study conducted in the United States was released with surprising results - women who drink stay thinner than those who don’t drink at all.

Who knew?

Of the 19,000 female participants of the study, the non-drinkers gained the most weight. In fact,  according to the BBC (who we have to trust, right?), “there was an inverse relationship between alcohol drinking and weight gain.”

The red wine drinkers stayed the thinnest, but other drinkers stayed slim as well. This doesn’t mean that they didn’t gain any weight, just less weight than their non-drinking counter-parts.

Unfortunately, the results were only for moderate drinkers, which means about two drinks a day, so don’t get the idea that a super extended cocktail hour can keep you looking nice and svelte.

Of course, there is the distinct possibility that this is a hoax, or that the non-drinkers were all recovering alcoholics too addicted to chocolate and sweets as a substitute to their preferred choice or that the majority of non-drinkers used sweets as a way to unwind after a hard day. Seriously, often times drinkers will have a drink after a meal while the non-drinkers will have half an apple pie.

In any case, this study should take away some of the smugness from people that are proudly claiming that alcohol has never touched their lips.

My favorite part of the story was the helpful advice from the expert from the Diabetic Association, “It would be a mistake to think that drinking alcohol helps you lose weight." I'm glad that someone is clarifying that for me- I was about ready to start my beer diet, but I guess I won't now....

If you are a man or a binge drinker, alcohol might not affect you in the same way due to how it’s metabolized in the liver. In other words, if you plan on drinking like a fish (or you are a dude), be prepared to add a few inches to your waist line around the time you reach middle age.

And, don’t be too jealous of the rest of us who will still gain weight, just not quite as much.