Weight Loss, How Alcohol Will Make You Fatter
Over the years, there has been a lot of information spread around about weight loss. New diets here and a new gadget over there. There has however been little said on the effects of alcohol and weight loss. That is what we will look at here today.
Alcohol like most everything else contains calories, however, there are a few major differences. The first problem is that all the calories from alcohol are worthless, this means is that not one single calorie from alcohol has any nutritional value, they are empty calories.
Like other calories, the ones you get from alcohol are processed in the liver. Alcohol calories are kind of like bullies, they must be burned first, this leaves all other calories patiently stored and we all know what stored calories are, they are fat.
Not only is alcohol a bad choice because it inhibits your judgement and harms your health, it is also bad for your diet. Alcohol contains twice as many calories as carbohydrates and proteins. What this means is alcohol provides seven calories per gram as opposed to carbohydrates, which contain four calories per gram. To summarize if you consume four 12-ounce beers you have ingested 600 calories! It is easy to see how prolonged use of alcohol could pack on the pounds.
A last note about alcohol’s caloric effects involves mixers. Many popular alcoholic drinks are actually a mix of different substances. These additive ingredients can cause the calorie total to add up quickly. For example, one long island ice tea has an astounding 740 calories. You could get half of the calories recommended for one day in just one drink.
An important factor in losing weight is speeding up your metabolism. A definition of metabolism is the cumulative energy resulting from cellular electrical, physical, and biochemical activites and interactions. Or more simply put the rate at which your body processes calories into energy. It has been proven by a study from the New England Journal of Medicine that alcohol slows down the body’s metabolism. It states that a person on a 1250 calorie diet, who has ingested 250 calories from alcohol could have reduced their metabolic process by as much as 36%. This indicates your body is handling calories almost forty percent less effectively.
Many who drink alcohol on a regular basis report that initially they feel much better. However, alcohol is a depressant and as such can lead to actual depression. It is definitely harder to diet when you are depressed, in fact most will eat more in an effort to comfort themselves. A vicious cycle if you stop and think about it. This depression can affect motivation as well making you less likely to continue on any kind of exercise program.
Water is an important factor in basic health but it is also important in muscle building. Muscles require a sufficient amount of hydration to function properly, without it, they can become weak and inefficient. Alcohol dehydrates the body because of the massive amounts of water the kidneys require to process the toxin from the body.
Too much drinking causes damage to various organs, but one drink a day is actually good for most people’s health. Besides the issues it may cause for weight reduction, there are also medical concerns to keep in mind. If you are over weight, and are trying to drop it, you will loose more weight if you do not drink alcohol. Until you get control of your weight, red wine is the best choice if you must drink.
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