Tweet
ALCOHOL AND WEIGHT LOSS????
Alcohol and Losing Weight
Can alcohol make you fat?
Alcohol can be used as an energy source by the body. By itself it is high in energy content, it contains 7 calories of energy per gram; this is close to the caloric density of fat, at 9 calories per gram. If you also take into account that many alcoholic drinks also contain added sugars then most alcoholic drinks can add a substantial amount of extra calories to the diet. For this reason many experts recommend limiting consumption of alcohol when trying to lose weight.
But how does alcohol make you fat?
The energy from alcohol cannot be stored so it must be oxidised and converted into energy for immediate use by the cells. While our body uses up all the alcohol circulating in the blood, the oxidation of fats, carbohydrates and protein becomes suppressed; because of this more of these macronutrients are forced into storage than under normal conditions without alcohol. Alcohol can make you fat in an indirect manner.
Is it possible to lose weight with a diet that includes alcohol?
Like with everything in dieting, losing weight is mainly based on a calorie controlled intake, that is, providing you consume less energy than your body needs then weight can be lost. In other words, it would be possible to lose weight even if alcohol is consumed daily. The problem here is maintaining your target calorie intake; including alcohol regularly would inevitably require little food consumption to account for the high energy content of the alcohol, and thus a lower intake of essential nutrients could make it detrimental to health. Deficiency in vitamins would eventually result in low energy levels for activities which burn the fat from stores, plus lower protein consumption would eventually result in loss of even more lean muscle thus lowering your metabolism to a point where you simply cannot maintain a negative energy balance required to lose further weight.
My advice is stay away from alcohol as much as possible while attempting to lose weight. Eat more nutritious whole foods that have a high nutrient and low energy ratio.
I thought alcoholic drinks contain no fat?
It is true most alcoholic drinks contain no fat but alcohol contains a high calorie content. If the body uses energy from alcohol then less energy from other sources will be needed and therefore stored as body fat.
Take a look at the amount of energy in alcohol compared to other nutrients:
1 gram of alcohol = 7 calories
1 gram of protein = 4 calories
1 gram of fat = 9 calories
1 gram of carbohydrate = 3.75 calories
UNITS
To help cut down our intake there needs to be some limits. Units are used to limit intake of alcohol.
Women = up to 14 units per week
Men = up to 21 units per week
One unit is equal to half pint of ordinary lager, a small glass of wine or a single pub measure of spirits. On average it takes the body 1 hour to get rid of the alcohol in 1 unit. If 2 pints of beer were consumed it could take up to 4 hours to clear the alcohol from the body.
For weight control it may be wise to cut out alcohol altogether or at least until weight loss goals are reached. If you do drink regularly and wish to change your habits try these tips:
Choose low-alcohol or non-alcoholic drinks even if it is only occasionally. Strong lager can contain twice as many calories as low-alcoholic lager.
Try to drink more slowly and pace yourself.
If you drink to relax why not try something else like going for a walk, jogging, swimming or bowling.
STAY STRONG~~!!!
IPL
Can alcohol make you fat?
Alcohol can be used as an energy source by the body. By itself it is high in energy content, it contains 7 calories of energy per gram; this is close to the caloric density of fat, at 9 calories per gram. If you also take into account that many alcoholic drinks also contain added sugars then most alcoholic drinks can add a substantial amount of extra calories to the diet. For this reason many experts recommend limiting consumption of alcohol when trying to lose weight.
But how does alcohol make you fat?
The energy from alcohol cannot be stored so it must be oxidised and converted into energy for immediate use by the cells. While our body uses up all the alcohol circulating in the blood, the oxidation of fats, carbohydrates and protein becomes suppressed; because of this more of these macronutrients are forced into storage than under normal conditions without alcohol. Alcohol can make you fat in an indirect manner.
Is it possible to lose weight with a diet that includes alcohol?
Like with everything in dieting, losing weight is mainly based on a calorie controlled intake, that is, providing you consume less energy than your body needs then weight can be lost. In other words, it would be possible to lose weight even if alcohol is consumed daily. The problem here is maintaining your target calorie intake; including alcohol regularly would inevitably require little food consumption to account for the high energy content of the alcohol, and thus a lower intake of essential nutrients could make it detrimental to health. Deficiency in vitamins would eventually result in low energy levels for activities which burn the fat from stores, plus lower protein consumption would eventually result in loss of even more lean muscle thus lowering your metabolism to a point where you simply cannot maintain a negative energy balance required to lose further weight.
My advice is stay away from alcohol as much as possible while attempting to lose weight. Eat more nutritious whole foods that have a high nutrient and low energy ratio.
I thought alcoholic drinks contain no fat?
It is true most alcoholic drinks contain no fat but alcohol contains a high calorie content. If the body uses energy from alcohol then less energy from other sources will be needed and therefore stored as body fat.
Take a look at the amount of energy in alcohol compared to other nutrients:
1 gram of alcohol = 7 calories
1 gram of protein = 4 calories
1 gram of fat = 9 calories
1 gram of carbohydrate = 3.75 calories
UNITS
To help cut down our intake there needs to be some limits. Units are used to limit intake of alcohol.
Women = up to 14 units per week
Men = up to 21 units per week
One unit is equal to half pint of ordinary lager, a small glass of wine or a single pub measure of spirits. On average it takes the body 1 hour to get rid of the alcohol in 1 unit. If 2 pints of beer were consumed it could take up to 4 hours to clear the alcohol from the body.
For weight control it may be wise to cut out alcohol altogether or at least until weight loss goals are reached. If you do drink regularly and wish to change your habits try these tips:
Choose low-alcohol or non-alcoholic drinks even if it is only occasionally. Strong lager can contain twice as many calories as low-alcoholic lager.
Try to drink more slowly and pace yourself.
If you drink to relax why not try something else like going for a walk, jogging, swimming or bowling.
STAY STRONG~~!!!
IPL