Some people consider alcohol an effective source of relaxation after a tedious day at work. However, over-consumption or incorrect ways of drinking alcohol can wreak havoc with your body’s weight and shape. The effects of alcohol on weight are a serious issue for the weight conscious drinkers. Did you know the weight gain occurs because the calorie count or energy provided by alcohol is not used up efficiently?
Alcohol and Weight Gain
There are numerous environmental and biological factors that contribute to weight gain due to alcohol. Obesity due to alcohol occurs due to the content of ethanol in the alcohol. Ethanol keeps you from feeling full even after you have eaten a complete meal, thus contributing to weight gain.
Other reasons for weight gain due to consumption of alcohol include the following:
- Increased Appetite – Research and studies have found alcohol consumption stimulates appetite. This, generally, happens when drinking at parties and social events or with family. At such events, wide variety of irresistible foods keeps you engaged. A sober person can avoid these high-calorie foods easily. This is, however, difficult under the influence of alcohol and the increase in appetite the alcohol causes.
- High Calories – This is perhaps the most obvious reason for weight gain due to alcohol. Alcohol adds empty calories to the diet. Although you can keep a check on the calories you eat, watching the calories present in your alcoholic drink is a different ball game altogether. Only a few beers can add as much as 300 calories to your diet. These calories can be burned by jogging for half an hour.
- The Next Day – When you drink in the evening, you may feel tired and hungover the next morning. The hangover brings along problems like clumsiness, dehydration and nausea. All these feelings do not encourage you to workout to burn the calories consumed the previous night. Hence, the calories stay and turn into fat.
- License to Indulge – Alcohol not only adds calories to the diet, but also keeps you from maintaining a healthy diet regimen. Huge will power is required to resist high calorie foods. Alcohol consumption depletes this will power, thus leaving you more vulnerable to consuming tempting foods to satiate your cravings. The healthy diet you maintained for several weeks seems of no importance after a few drinks.
Tips for Drinking
Although alcohol adds calories to your diet followed by subsequent weight gain, moderate drinking can provide various health benefits. Moderate drinking refers to having fourteen or fewer drinks a week. However, even moderate drinking can provide those additional calories to your body.
Check out the following tips to balance the amount of calories entering the body through these drinks.
- Exercise – Balance the amount of calories going in by burning equal amount through exercise and workout.
- Healthy diet – Make sure to eat healthy and nutritious snacks and foods while drinking. Combining processed foods with alcohol is a quick way to gain weight.
- Avoid overeating – Avoid getting tempted by food when you are under the influence of alcohol. This can cause weight gain. In case you cannot resist your temptation, it may be time to reconsider your drinking habits.
- Opt for alcoholic drinks with low sugar content – It is recommended to pick on alcoholic beverages with lower sugar content. These include dry wines and liqueurs.
- Avoid excessive consumption – Excess of anything is not good. Therefore, make sure you don’t overdo the consumption. Just because you read somewhere red wine is healthy, it doesn’t mean you should drink the whole bottle to gain those benefits! Drink a glass and then have the courage to say no.
Alcohol is loaded with empty calories that contribute to weight gain. Hence, it is important to get your metabolism going to burn those calories. The only way you can do it by sticking to an exercise routine and cultivating healthy eating habits.