Alcohol and Your Weight Loss Goals – Don’t Sabotage Your Dream
Oops - Alcohol and weight loss don't mix!
If you like to drink alcohol but you also want to lose weight then you’re in for an uphill battle. Losing weight and consuming alcohol on a regular basis is a bad mix.
In this post I’ll explore the impact alcohol has on a person’s goals to lose weight. By the way although now I don’t drink alcohol anymore, I’m not anti-alcohol.
A glass of wine with dinner or a cold beer on a hot summer day with friends is a great way to relax for many. I’m talking about consistent consumption of alcohol.
When you see someone who has what we commonly refer to as a “beer belly” most people believe that it’s because the excess calories from the alcohol have been stored as fat. In reality it’s more complicated than this and has to do with the way alcohol affects the metabolic system.
What the consumption of alcohol does is reduce the percentage of fat the body burns for energy. What this means is only a small amount of the alcohol consumed is turned into fat. What is left, which is the majority of the alcohol, is converted into acetate by the liver. The acetate created is then released into the bloodstream. Once there it replaces fat as a type of fuel for the body.
The “beer belly” comes about because the body is forced to store a tremendous amount of fat calories that remain unburned because alcohol contains a great deal of calories.
To use an example, a single shot of liquor (1.5 ounces) can contain in the range of 115 to 200 calories. A gin and tonic can equal approximately 280 calories. Mixed drinks have the most calories and the frozen creamy drinks can contain a very high calorie count – as much as 800 calories! oops – and they taste so nice!
Obesity is a terrible problem in our society. Being educated about weight loss and living a healthy lifestyle can go a long way in lessening the problem. Obesity is a serious risk factor for both early death as well as a number of chronic illnesses including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, some forms of cancer, respiratory problems and osteoarthritis.
Helpful Tips:
Eating healthy and exercising on a consistent basis can help further your weight loss goals even if you enjoy a drink once in a while. In order to further reduce your caloric intake, try these things:
• Alternate alcoholic beverages with water or low calorie non-alcoholic ones
• Request low calorie diet mixers instead of frothy fattening drinks
• Do not skip meals to make room for alcohol as this can lower your blood sugar level and make you hungrier
• Instead of wine try a spritzer because it is a longer drink
Alcohol can sabotage your weight loss goals if you do not know the facts. Get informed in order to be smart about the choices you make.
Becca Scott
Staff Writer
Free At Last Hypnosis
www.smoke-free-at-last.com
508 529 2490
Filed Under: Weight Loss
