While water retention, bloating, and digestive issues are the primary culprits of (seemingly) overnight weight gain, there are other factors that exacerbate those hangover pounds. Remember, these effects are usually temporary, and the additional weight is often not from increased body fat, but from fluid and digestive changes. Unlike beer, spirits like whisky don’t come in low-calorie versions.
It Can Impair Your Judgment and Food Choices
He’s worked as a Strength and Conditioning Coach at the high school and college levels. He has over 15 years of experience Oxford House as a personal trainer and nutrition coach. He strives to bring inspiration and results for people to live healthier lives through smart diet and exercise. Pick a dry red wine or white wine and stay away from late harvest wine varietals that can contain a high amount of hidden sugars. First, alcohol contains a higher amount of calories per gram than both protein and carbohydrates. But alcohol contains 7 cal per gram, almost double the amount (1).
Practical tips to reduce alcohol intake
If you’re trying to slim your waistline and count your calories, you should be aware that alcohol will contribute more calories than other macronutrients. There is no doubt calories play some role in weight loss and weight gain, so the amount of alcohol you consume will impact it. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, about 20 percent of the total calories people consume come from beverages. While cutting out alcohol can reduce your calorie intake and potentially lead to weight loss, it largely depends on your overall eating habits and activity level. This means that while your body is busy processing the alcohol, the nutrients and calories from solid foods are stored as fat.
Alcohol spikes cortisol levels in your body.
There is enough and more evidence to prove that alcohol consumption is injurious to your health. It can permeate through every single one of your internal organs and cause damages to your tissues that could lead to your organs dysfunctioning. It also attacks your endocrine system, one of the most important systems in your body that is responsible for communicating between the various organs, glands, and the central nervous system.
It messes with your hormones
The more you drink, the more you wake up to increasingly unstable moods and stress, https://ecosoberhouse.com/ leading you to drink (and eat) more. Too much cortisol, however, encourages fat storage in the body (particularly in your mid-section) and is the hormone responsible for lowering testosterone levels. Cortisol plays an important role in helping to regulate blood sugar and fight inflammation in the body.
- If you’re trying to slim your waistline and count your calories, you should be aware that alcohol will contribute more calories than other macronutrients.
- Changes in the NADH/NAD+ ratio resulting from ethanol metabolism might likewise influence gene expression.
- A controlled quantity of red wine may positively impact the body by maintaining healthy cholesterol levels.
- “Beer belly” refers to that protruding stomach some men carry around.
Then your body will know that food is available to “flush out” what it’s been holding on to. If you are going to drink beer, find a light beer with low carbs. Switching to a low-carb alcoholic seltzer is also better if weight maintenance or loss is your goal. Many mixed drinks contain a high amount of sugar that’s quickly dumped into your fat stores while your body is busy burning off the alcohol. All of these can lead to long-term weight gain and contribute to the bloating and digestive issues that cause weight gain after a night of drinking.
In contrast, light-to-moderate alcohol consumption does not cause weight gain. Today, much is known about ethanol metabolism, particularly its oxidation by ADH and ALDH in the liver. However, gaps remain in researchers’ understanding of certain aspects of ethanol metabolism.
- According to two studies published in 2021, a high intake of alcohol may increase food cravings.
- This oxidation process involves an intermediate carrier of electrons, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), which is reduced by two electrons to form NADH.
- Speaking with a dietitian can be helpful to lower your body mass index and drop weight.
- “If you’ve ever let one last long enough to see it melt completely, it tends to look like syrup in a styrofoam cup. Avoid the excess calories (and the brain freeze) by passing on these drinks.”
A recent research survey reported that the average tipping point – the point at which people go on to make poor choices with food and alcohol – is 9.3 units of alcohol. This is equivalent to only 3.7 pints of beer or 3.1 large glasses of wine. When people discuss alcohol’s effect on weight, they typically refer to the calories in alcohol as the leading cause of weight gain. At Second Nature, you’re provided with a registered nutritionist or dietitian who can support you manage your alcohol intake to suit your lifestyle and preferences. There are several direct and indirect ways that heavy drinking can make you gain weight or, more specifically, gain body fat.
The best PCOS diet
Your body will use its energy to burn the alcohol before anything else, including fat and sugar. Discover how protein influences weight loss and muscle growth, and explore practical tips for maintaining a healthy protein intake. While wine isn’t considered to be particularly high in calories, it’s easy to consume it in excess. “Across the board, for people who are trying to lose some weight, cutting out empty calories is a good place to start,” emphasizes Dr. Heinberg.
Alcohol is high in empty calories and may affect hormones that signal appetite, hunger, and stress. That idea that moderate drinking has health benefits came from imperfect studies comparing groups of people by how much they drink. And none of the studies randomly assigned does drinking liquor make you gain weight people to drink or not drink, so they couldn’t prove cause and effect.