How alcohol affects weight

There is a stereotype that alcohol is harmful. But contrary to this widespread opinion, alcoholic beverages have their positive sides. The product is included in diets for weight loss and speeds up the process, without causing significant harm to health, if certain rules are followed. About how alcohol affects weight and how it relates to leptin levels in the blood, you will learn from the article.

Contents:

1. General information.
2. Alcohol and weight loss.
3. Alcohol diet rules.
4. Hangover.
5. Is it possible to lose weight without counting calories.
6. The most diet drinks.
7. How to save your results.

General Information

There are a few basic things about dietetics. First of all, there is a close connection between a balanced diet for obese people and active exercise. Most people can’t imagine the process of losing weight without physical activity and exercise. Why? There are several reasons:

• a slim and trim body;
• ability to wear stylish clothes;
• attractiveness to the opposite sex.

Of course, in the same box should be put the increase in life expectancy and the prevention of many diseases. These are good reasons for getting rid of extra pounds, but not the kind of motivation that makes a person go out for a morning jog every day and make a healthy breakfast afterwards. The point of the effort is pride in one’s appearance, which is identified with success in life.

But regardless of the motivation that helps a person become perfect, a complete renunciation of pleasures is not expected a priori. And everyone knows that one of the sources of joy, good mood is alcoholic beverages. Pleasant sensations, a unique taste, looseness – these are just the main properties of alcohol that people love. Therefore, when obese patients learn about the possibility of losing extra pounds with the help of alcoholic beverages, they gladly include alcohol in their weight loss diet.

However, the truth is that it is impossible to lose excess weight with the help of alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages do not burn fat, being high in calories. But does this mean that alcohol is analogous to fast food, for example? Of course not. And the fast food itself in moderate amounts will not harm a person in any way. The essence of gaining extra pounds is overeating, which is caused by an imbalance of leptin synthesis in the body combined with adynamy. This is fully applicable to alcohol. Excessive consumption of alcohol is bound to lead to overeating, gaining extra pounds and a host of other problems. But a glass of good dry wine, characterized by small calories, which a person consumes not more than once a week, will have no effect on weight, and a note of joy in the diet.

Alcohol and weight loss

We bring to your attention a number of facts that show in favor of alcohol when it is included in the diet:

1. First of all, you have to understand that extra pounds disappear under the influence of minimizing the caloric content of your diet. If you eat more calories than your body needs, the feedback between the fat tissue hormone leptin and the hypothalamus is disrupted, the response to overeating becomes incorrect, and the patient’s weight increases. Moreover, the only cause of obesity is excessive caloric intake. It makes absolutely no difference what kind of high-calorie food you eat.
2. The composition of food is known: proteins, fats, carbohydrates. Each nutrient has calories. Alcohol does not fall into any of these categories, but it also contains calories, which is why it is often referred to as the fourth ingredient in food. Protein, fat, carbohydrates and alcohol are unique in the number of calories per 1 g of food: proteins and carbohydrates – 4 kcal each, fat – 9 kcal, alcohol – 7 kcal.
3. Another uniqueness of alcohol is that it is not easily deposited in the body as fat. That is, if the other nutrients are somehow direct sources of leptin, which controls the feeling of satiety, then alcohol acts especially. It’s all about the liver. It converts ethyl alcohol to acetate. This substance, when oxidized, is transformed into dioxide and water. The human body identifies alcohol as a poison and begins to free itself first from the alcohol it drinks and then from the calories that came with food. Therefore, alcohol does not turn into fat, but it temporarily blocks the process of burning fat deposits. As a result, the body rather transforms other foods it eats into fat, especially sweets.
4. The big problem is that with alcohol it is easy to overeat and not notice it. The reason is that the caloric content of drinks satiates a person to a minimum, solid food to a maximum.

It turns out that by counting calories, you can also lose weight with alcohol. The mindset is important. Most people consider sports and good nutrition their priorities, whether they want to lose extra pounds or not. A healthy lifestyle is a guarantee of active longevity. However, such behavioral habits require maximum time and effort, no wonder that a person is afraid to do something that could undermine the results achieved. But the constant refusal of all “harmful” foods provokes breakdowns, during which a person begins to eat everything in a row. So choosing a specific diet that suits a person’s psychotype, consistent adherence to the rules recommended by a nutritionist helps to avoid such mishaps.

Once you allow yourself during a dietary restriction to overindulge with friends, as a person is overtaken by feelings of guilt and remorse. At first there comes the realization that everything is in vain and it is not worth it to continue to limit oneself further, but then, willpower helps to restore the status quo, at the expense of even greater restrictions.

Since friendly get-togethers are not without light wine, it seems that alcohol was the cause of gaining excess weight. In general, moderation is able to break the vicious circle from breakdown to breakdown. This is exactly the secret that will allow you to drink your favorite wine and lose weight at the same time. Moderation is a successful balance between two extremes. On the one hand, those who forbid themselves everything you can, on the other – those who do not care about their diet at all and do not adhere to a healthy lifestyle. In between these two groups is a third: people who easily combine a proper regimen and the little pleasures of life. It is in the middle that moderation and success reign.

When it comes to alcohol, a person must define for himself or herself the golden mean. The success of the combination of alcohol and weight loss will depend on its accuracy. For example, a couple of times a week drinking three drinks of medium strength will make the weight loss process longer, but also more enjoyable. If you want to lose weight quickly, hot drinks should not be consumed more than three times a month and should be drunk in small portions.

The rules of the alcohol diet

1. If you have found your golden mean, there is no reason to worry. Alcohol in the amount of a couple of glasses a week is not capable of undermining the diet. This means that you do not need to count calories and limit yourself in your choice of brand of wine. However, if you like sweet drinks, approach the process a little more responsibly. Nutritionists have developed special rules for the alcohol diet, which are based on careful planning, here they are:
2. Consider the caloric content of your diet. For example, 4 servings of tequila is about 600 kcal. If you want a more caloric drink, you should minimize the portions. Remember that weight increases only when the normal caloric content of food is exceeded.
3. Include protein and fiber in your diet every day. The advantages are obvious: complete satiation and minimum probability of snacking in the evening, plus the presence of microelements, vitamins, and dietary fiber, which are necessary for normal life activity.
4. Avoid overeating under the influence of alcohol. It is obvious that alcohol stimulates the feeling of hunger, so in order not to overeat against the background of drinking alcohol, it is necessary to snack before drinking alcohol. This will allow you to maintain your usual caloric intake even with an extra glass of wine.
5. Alcoholic beverages should be selected from low-calorie products. Beer, sweet wines, liqueurs, cocktails are good only in an amount not exceeding one serving, because they contain sugar. The options are dry wines, light beers, or low-calorie drinks with low-calorie additives: rum with diet coca-cola or tequila with sparkling water.
6. Be afraid of overdoing it. Moderation is important: the more a person drinks, the greater the risk of failure of the weight loss plan. There is a risk of overeating and a hangover in the long run. Light drinks in small quantities are unlikely to affect a person’s behavior and well-being, but 5 glasses of strong alcohol will increase the risk of trouble by almost 100%. The next day is guaranteed headache and loss of capacity for work. Alcohol in such quantities will not dissolve without trace in the body, so moderation, moderation and moderation again.

Hangover

With too much alcohol, intoxication sets in. To minimize the negative effects, you should follow these simple recommendations:

1. Drink more water to cope with dehydration.
2. Listen to the feeling of satiation, that is, the level of leptin in the blood and adjust it with food. Some people need a hearty breakfast, while others, on the contrary, starve until the hangover symptoms are relieved.
3. Move, in spite of the excruciating pain, this will not allow you to think about your condition, and will gradually correct the state of your health.
4. You have to remember: the body will be engaged in the elimination of alcohol, no matter how bad the headache or stomach ache is. However, it is better to observe moderation and not to lead to such unpleasant feelings.

You have to remember: the body will be engaged in the elimination of alcohol, no matter how bad the headache or stomach ache is. However, it is better to observe moderation and not to lead to such unpleasant feelings.

Is it possible to lose weight without counting calories?

If we know that obesity is not caused by alcohol per se, but by the total caloric content of the food eaten, then one conclusion is inescapable: in order not to get fat, you must count the number of calories you have eaten. But such boring arithmetic is not to everyone’s liking. In addition, many people have no goal to lose weight in an extremely short period of time. The good news is that you do not need to count calories and still lose weight. Moreover, the same is true for alcohol. The main thing is to eat only low-fat protein meals and green vegetables with every meal. Sources of healthy protein are considered:

• white of a chicken egg;
• chicken breast or turkey breast;
• beef with no fat and no bones;
• nonfat yogurt;
• protein powder.

Useful vegetables include:

• broccoli;
• spinach;
• lettuce;
• cucumber;
• zucchini or zucchini;
• cauliflower;
• mushrooms;
• bell peppers;
• onions;
• bean pods;
• carrots.

Protein and vegetables guarantee a feeling of fullness for several hours ahead. They are low in calories, so they occasionally allow alcohol intake without the risk of ruining the diet.

The most dietary drinks

Each type of alcohol has its own caloric content. To drink alcohol and lose weight, you should choose drinks with the maximum alcohol content per 1 kcal. The most useful are dry wine and light beer. In second place is a sweet wine from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, but cocktails like Margaritas have nothing but extra pounds. The top drinks in terms of calories are as follows:

1. Budweiser beer with a strength of 55 kcal per 7 g of alcohol is the lowest-calorie lager in the world.
2. The best dry wines: red and white – no more than a glass. White – 94 kcal per 12.8 g of alcohol, red – 100 kcal per 16.8 g of ethanol.
3. Cabernet – 110 kcal per 14 g of alcohol.
4. 50g cocktails with low-calorie supplements.
5. Whiskey and Diet Coke: 98 kcal per 14 g of alcohol.
6. Vodka and Redbull sugar-free tonic drink: 105 kcal per 14 g of alcohol.
7. Tequila and sparkling water: 96 kcal, 14 g ethanol.

How to maintain the results achieved

It is well known that a couple of slices of pizza once a month will not give weight gain, but pizza every night will certainly lead to gaining extra pounds. This also applies to alcohol. It is dangerous only if abused. Two alcoholic drinks a couple of times a month will not change anything, it’s only 500-800 calories, which compared with the total monthly caloric intake is very little.

But with more frequent drinking, you will have to count calories. Then, in all likelihood, it will be possible to combine parties with friends and dieting. In parallel, you will have to limit your daily diet, which will make it possible to offset the effect of extra alcoholic calories. Do not forget that a healthy diet is intended to improve the quality of life. That is, you should not skip birthdays and holidays, or drink mineral water all evening. Moderation in everything and common sense will allow you to eat and tiramisu with amaretto, without giving yourself any trouble.

We must admit that alcohol is not the only “scourge” of successful weight loss. The ideal weight for a long time will help to maintain moderation in everything. Besides, sports and absence of stress have not been canceled yet. Find the optimal balance of behavior is the key to success. There are simple rules for this:

• consume slightly fewer calories with food than you consume during the day;
• engage in moderate physical activity to maintain muscle tone;
• be patient and consistent.

Following these rules will ensure that you will not be overweight for the rest of your life. Even with occasional alcohol consumption. So, alcoholic beverages are not the main cause of obesity. Alcohol is not an enemy of the diet, as long as consumption is moderate.