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- Henry Blodget
- It changes how your body processes fat. Alcohol is a toxin. If you consume too much of it, you can develop alcohol poisoning or even die. This is important for potential weight gain because it dictates how your body reacts to alcohol.
- It makes you hungry. Alcohol can also affect hunger levels, which may lead you to snack more, which then causes you to consume more calories, which ultimately may cause weight gain.
- It makes it difficult to choose healthy options. Drinking alcohol can also lead you to make poor food choices. Alcohol is known to lower inhibitions, impairing the logical decision-making sections of your brain like the prefrontal cortex.
- It's already loaded with calories. Alcohol is packed with calories: It contains 7 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates and protein and 9 calories per gram for fat.
Oct 21, 2020 · Packaged together, a drink could be contributing 200 calories extra energy in, on top of anything else you’re eating. Alcohol And Your Metabolism. Then, there’s the metabolic fate of alcohol. Unless you’re taking in extremely high intakes of alcohol, it’s oxidized solely in the liver.
- Overview
- How alcohol affects your weight loss
- Best alcoholic drinks for weight loss
- The bottom line
Reducing the amount of alcohol you consume may help support weight loss, as it often contains “empty calories” and can impact your organ systems.
1. Alcohol is often “empty” calories
Alcoholic drinks are often referred to as “empty” calories. This means that they provide your body with calories but contain very little nutrients. There are almost 155 calories in one 12-ounce can of beer, and 125 calories in a 5-ounce glass of red wine. By comparison, a recommended afternoon snack should have between 150 and 200 calories. A night out with several drinks can lead to consuming a few hundred extra calories. Drinks that have mixers, such as fruit juice or soda, contain even more calories.
2. Alcohol is used as a primary source of fuel
There are also other elements that can cause weight gain outside of calorie content. When alcohol is consumed, it’s burned first as a fuel source before your body uses anything else. This includes glucose from carbohydrates or lipids from fats. When your body is using alcohol as a primary source of energy, the excess glucose and lipids end up, unfortunately for us, as adipose tissue, or fat.
3. Alcohol can affect your organs
The primary role of your liver is to act as the “filter” for any foreign substances that enter your body, such as drugs and alcohol. The liver also plays a role in the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Excess alcohol consumption can lead to what is known as alcoholic fatty liver. This condition can damage your liver, affecting the way your body metabolizes and stores carbohydrates and fats. Changes in the way your body stores energy from food can make it very difficult to lose weight.
1. Vodka
Calories: 100 calories in 1.5 ounces of distilled 80-proof vodka Alternative cocktail: Choose low-calories mixers such as club soda and avoid overly sugary juices.
2. Whiskey
Calories: 100 calories in 1.5 ounces of 86-proof whiskey Alternative cocktail: Ditch the cola and take your whiskey on the rocks for a low-calorie alternative.
3. Gin
Calories: 115 calories in 1.5 ounces of 90-proof gin Alternative cocktail: Aim for something simple, such as a martini — and don’t skip the olives, they contain beneficial antioxidants such as vitamin E.
While cutting alcohol completely out of your diet isn’t necessarily the only way to lose weight, there are many improvements that can be made in your health journey by simply cutting back on the booze.
You can enjoy a healthier body, improved sleep, better digestion, and fewer of those excess “empty” calories.
Jul 18, 2023 · Alcohol may make you gain weight if you drink heavily, or more than three to four drinks daily. ... Your liver breaks down alcohol rather than fat while you are drinking. As a result, fat may ...
- Claire Gillespie
- 1 min
Apr 25, 2021 · Obviously the caloric content of alcohol—7.1 calories per gram—can do much caloric damage after a weekend of heavy drinking or a long afternoon spent on a boat drinking beer.
Nov 3, 2023 · Does alcohol make your face fat? Drinking alcohol can make you dehydrated, which can cause temporary bloating until your body gets the hydration it needs. Alcoholic beverages also have a lot of calories, so heavy drinking over time can lead to weight gain. Depending on how your body stores fat, heavy drinking may make you gain weight in your ...
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Dec 1, 2023 · It can take your body up to 7 hours to finish processing alcohol after you finish drinking. But the amount of alcohol you drink will affect this timeline. In general, the more alcohol you drink, the longer it takes your body to break it down. And, in turn, it takes longer for your body to go back to burning fat and running other chemical reactions.
