It was just yesterday that living a healthy lifestyle was a luxury for many people. However, everything has changed in the last few months as the world gets held captive in a dreadful global health crisis.
When it comes to weight loss, it’s generally recommended to consume alcohol in moderation or avoid it altogether. Here are five proven reasons why mixing alcohol and weight loss can be detrimental:
In a snap, healthy living becomes the latest trend worldwide, which further means being in good shape, and keeping the right weight for your particular body composition and characteristic.
While getting your proper fit is strenuous, maintaining it isn’t a joke either, especially during these days when movements get limited or restricted.
Overview
Maintaining the desired weight is impactful on your overall health and your susceptibility to critical medical conditions. When you are overweight, you are at a high risk of crucial health issues, such as diabetes, high blood, and heart problems.
So, how can you keep a healthy weight? It’s a question that has become relevant and trending these days.
A proper diet and exercise are two significant ways to keep a healthy weight. Cutting calorie intake in your meal is as important as maintaining your health. Taking out bad habits, such as vices, is also impactful in losing and keeping weight.
Drinking and smoking are two factors that hinder your healthy living and weight loss efforts. You can’t mix alcohol and weight loss.
By saying so, here are the top five (5) proven reasons why there’s no such thing as alcohol weight loss.
These are the practical grounds and proofs why it is never advisable to combine losing weight with drinking alcohol that has medical pieces of evidence from various research and studies conducted over time.
The relationship between alcohol consumption and fat loss is a topic that has gained significant attention in recent years, particularly among individuals seeking to achieve their fitness and weight loss goals. Alcohol is a commonly consumed beverage in many social settings, but its impact on fat loss remains a subject of debate. This essay aims to shed light on the truth about alcohol and its effects on fat loss, taking into account scientific evidence and various factors that contribute to weight management.
Alcohol and Caloric Content: One of the primary concerns regarding alcohol consumption and fat loss is its caloric content. Alcohol is relatively high in calories, containing approximately 7 calories per gram. While this is less than the caloric density of fat, which contains 9 calories per gram, it is higher than carbohydrates and protein, which both contain 4 calories per gram. Consuming alcohol in excess can contribute to an increased caloric intake, which can hinder weight loss efforts.
Metabolism and Fat Oxidation: When alcohol is consumed, it undergoes a metabolic process in the liver. Unlike carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, alcohol is prioritized as a fuel source by the body. Consequently, the metabolism of alcohol takes precedence over the breakdown of stored fat, effectively slowing down the fat-burning process. Moreover, excessive alcohol consumption can disrupt metabolic pathways, leading to an impaired ability to utilize fat as an energy source.
Impaired Nutrient Absorption: Another aspect to consider is the effect of alcohol on nutrient absorption. Alcohol can impair the absorption of essential nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, which are crucial for overall health and body functioning. When the body lacks these nutrients, metabolic processes may be compromised, potentially hindering fat loss efforts.
Increased Appetite and Poor Food Choices: Alcohol consumption has also been associated with increased appetite and poor food choices. Studies have shown that alcohol can stimulate appetite and lead to overeating, particularly high-calorie, nutrient-poor foods. This combination can contribute to an energy surplus, making it more challenging to achieve a calorie deficit necessary for fat loss. Additionally, alcohol can impair judgment and self-control, leading to further unhealthy food choices.
Hormonal Impact: Alcohol consumption can influence hormone levels in the body, particularly affecting hormones involved in fat metabolism. Alcohol can disrupt the balance of hormones such as insulin, cortisol, and testosterone, all of which play crucial roles in regulating metabolism and fat storage. These hormonal imbalances can further hinder the body’s ability to efficiently burn fat.
Moderation and Individual Factors: While excessive alcohol consumption can have detrimental effects on fat loss, it is important to note that moderate alcohol intake may not significantly impact weight management for everyone. Individual factors, such as overall diet quality, physical activity levels, genetics, and metabolism, can influence how alcohol affects an individual’s body composition. Nevertheless, it is essential to be mindful of the caloric content and potential negative impacts of alcohol on fat loss.
Top Five (5) Practical and Proven Reasons Not to Mix Alcohol and Weight Loss
Are you wondering why it seems extremely hard to lose 5kg of your weight? Why does the number don’t add up?
The answers to the questions above depend immensely on your lifestyle. Keeping the vices like drinking alcohol will never help in shedding those excess fats or maintaining a healthy weight.
Here’s why:
Alcohol has more “empty” calorie content
Losing and keeping weight requires you to cut down some calorie intake, and you can never do that when you’re a drinker.
Tons of alcoholic beverages have “empty” calories that are harmful to your body. A study shows that in a twelve-ounce can of beer, there is about 155-calorie content, while a five-ounce glass of red wine has one hundred twenty-five calories.
The daily recommended calorie intake in an afternoon snack is around 150 to 200, and so, when you drink more beers or glasses of wine during a night out with your friends, you are consuming more than hundreds of extra calories.
And not to mention the calories in mixers included in most of the drinks, such as soda or fruit juice.
That is why it’s hard to lose that 5kg excess weight.
Alcohol contributes to excess belly fats
Heard about “beer gut?”
Beers and other alcoholic drinks contain simple sugars that have high in calories. So, when this extra calorie gets into the body, it becomes stored as fat, thus, leading to weight gain.
You can’t tell your body how those extra calories should go or where they should end up. If only you could, but you couldn’t. The body will accumulate excess fats, usually in the abdominal area.
So much for weight loss!
Therefore, if you don’t like looking like you’re always pregnant due to a bulging stomach as a result of drinking beer, do not mix beer and weight loss.
Alcohol leads to obesity, fatty liver, and defective body organs
Other than calories, alcohol can also be a primary source of fuel. It means that when you drink alcoholic beverages like beer, the body burned it first before anything else.
So, when it happens, the lipids and glucose will end up as adipose tissue, and too much of it will become excess fats, leading to visceral fats that will accommodate all your body organs, such as the pancreas, intestines, and liver.
This build-up will lead to obesity, fatty liver, diabetes, and other health risks. Hence, it explains why you shouldn’t drink alcohol when you are trying to lose weight.
While the liver filters foreign substances entering your body, such as alcohol, it also plays a vital role in the proper metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Thus, excess alcohol intake will lead to fatty liver, leading to a damaged liver. When it happens, it is difficult to weight loss.
And when you are obese, more health complications emerge, such as diabetes.
More health complications will emerge when you are obese, and the most substantial one is diabetes. The changes brought by excessive drinking of alcohol will affect the proper body functioning, leading to defective organs, which is more of a problem than weight loss.
Kung flu-fighting will just be a rumor and humor instead of a reality. Combatting health issues, such as weight gain and flu, becomes harder when you take alcohol.
Alcohol affects food intake, nutrient uptake, and digestion
A recent study discovered that alcohol triggers and sends signals to the brain telling it that you are hungry, thus, urging you to consume more food than you should.
Previous studies also supported this claim as they presented a series of events in the research on how intoxication can urge someone to dig for more food, and the saddest part of it all is that most of the cravings a drunk person wants are unhealthy food.
That said, your digestive system will crash due to the stress of the non-stop intake of unhealthy food when you drink alcohol. Therefore, movements and secretions in the tract will decrease.
Proper movements and secretions in your digestive system support healthy digestion. This function breaks down consumed food into simple pieces of nutrients, which the body will absorb and use in return to maintain regular body functioning. That is why it is imperative in the digesting process.
Taking alcoholic drinks can impair digestion, and therefore, affect the process of absorbing nutrients in the body, which also harms the metabolism of organs that play a crucial role in managing your weight.
Alcohol ruins your sleeping patterns
Numerous studies suggested that alcohol ruins your sleeping habit. Drinking alcoholic beverages can increase hours of being awake during times of sleep.
When you drink lots of beers or glasses of alcohol before going to sleep, the tendency would be more washroom breaks, thus, depriving you of hours of sleep.
Deprivation of sleep, whether it’s lack of sleeping hours or difficulty of sleeping, can lead to hormonal imbalance, relating to energy storage, satiety or fullness, and hunger.
Hence, it is not a surprise to crave some food when you drink beer or any alcohol because your body will tell you that you are hungry as satiety, which is the suppression of hunger or fullness, gets messed up.
Even so, you were full earlier, but once you drink beer, you tend to get hungry again, and thus, you will crave more food, usually unhealthy, which will bring us back to number one to four.
By saying so, the top five (5) reasons mentioned above have been the relevant results in a handful of research and studies over time.
Now, you should have a sound idea of how impossible it is, and extremely hard to shed that 5kg from your excess weight or just to keep a good shape when you are an avid drinker of alcohol or beer.
You can’t just mix alcohol and lose weight.
Conclusion
Conclusively, the alcohol and weight loss combo isn’t a perfect duo when you want to live and maintain a healthy lifestyle. When you think about the empty calories that will build up in your body when you drink beer or other alcoholic beverages is unimaginably dangerous.
It will lead to undesirable body regulations that prevent you from losing and keeping up a healthy weight. So, Kung flu-fighting will not be possible, as you become more susceptible or prone to illnesses.
These build-up calories will become excess unused fats, which will start to accommodate or fill out other body organs, such as your liver, intestines, and pancreas, leading up to fatty liver, digestive problems, an increase in blood sugar levels, and skyrocketing high blood pressure, which will further cause more critical health and medical problems, such as liver cirrhosis, diabetes, heart attack, and stroke, among many others.
Therefore, don’t think of mixing up your weight loss journey with a bottle of beer, thinking that it will not affect the process. Remember, one can of 12 ounces of beer has a 155-calorie content.
So, just imagine drinking two cans of beer, and not to mention, all the food and other beverages, such as the mixers, fruit juices, and sodas, you’ve drunk in one day will soar your excess unused and harmful fats in your body, making everything complicated, including losing weight.
High-Calorie Content: Alcoholic beverages are often high in calories. They provide empty calories without offering significant nutritional value. For instance, a standard beer can contain around 150-200 calories, while a glass of wine may have 120-150 calories. These calories can quickly add up and hinder your weight loss progress if you consume alcohol frequently.
Increased Appetite: Alcohol consumption can stimulate your appetite and lead to overeating. It affects the areas of your brain that regulate hunger, making you more likely to indulge in unhealthy and calorie-dense foods. This can sabotage your weight loss efforts by increasing your overall calorie intake.
Impaired Fat Burning: When alcohol is consumed, your body prioritizes metabolizing it over burning fat. Since alcohol is seen as a toxin, your body focuses on metabolizing and eliminating it first. This process can temporarily halt the breakdown of fat, which can hinder your weight loss goals.
Lowered Inhibitions: Alcohol can impair your judgment and decision-making abilities. It can lead to making poor food choices or giving in to cravings that you would otherwise resist while sober. Additionally, alcohol can weaken your willpower, making it harder to stick to a healthy eating plan.
Disrupted Sleep Patterns: Alcohol consumption can disrupt your sleep patterns, leading to poor sleep quality. Lack of sleep has been associated with weight gain and difficulty losing weight. It can affect hunger hormones, increase appetite, and decrease satiety, making it more challenging to stick to a calorie-controlled diet.
It’s important to note that occasional and moderate alcohol consumption may not significantly impact weight loss efforts. However, excessive or frequent alcohol intake can hinder progress and make it more difficult to achieve your weight loss goals. If you choose to consume alcohol while trying to lose weight, it’s best to do so in moderation and be mindful of your overall calorie intake.
