Does Alcohol Make You Gain Weight? 5 Ways It Sabotages Weight Loss

While light-to-moderate, responsible drinking can enrich social, culinary, and even some religious experiences, alcohol can also affect weight loss attempts. If you drank 765 calories worth of beer once a month for a year, you’d be adding an additional 9,180 calories for the year. One pound of fat is approximately equal to 3,500 calories, so if you have five beers with your buddies once a month for a year, that could result in an additional 2.6 pounds.

• Alcohol is also considered a risk factor for obesity, but not necessarily for all individuals.
• The Recovery Village has a proven record of helping those struggling with an alcohol addiction in Florida to achieve lasting sobriety.
• To prevent alcohol poisoning and possible death your liver focuses all its energy on metabolizing, or breaking down, the alcohol into non-toxic components.

This is equivalent to only 3.7 pints of beer or 3.1 large glasses of wine. You may or may not be surprised to hear that alcohol consumption can significantly affect your weight, but not necessarily in the way you might think. Still, the study suggests that cutting out alcohol isn’t a reliable way to lose weight in the short term, and, over the course of years, may only have a small effect at most. There are also other elements that can cause weight gain outside of calorie content.

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It is also the metabolic priority that your body places on alcohol (over carbohydrates and fats) that causes the damage. There are ways to boost your metabolism, such as consuming spicy foods. For those who don’t like the heat, a supplement of capsicum daily can help.

You don’t have to live with shame and guilt anymore, because you’re not alone. The body weight determines the amount of space through which the alcohol diffuses in an individual’s body. For example, a person who weighs 180 lbs will have a lower blood alcohol concentration than a person who weighs 140 lbs. It can shut down all of the other metabolic pathways to focus more on metabolizing the alcohol instead. Alcohol can shut down fat burning for up to 12 to 36 hours depending on the individual and the dose. Observational studies on the effect of alcohol intake on obesity date back almost 30 years [6].

Makes It Harder To Get Quality Sleep

Low testosterone levels may increase your risk of metabolic syndrome (a group of conditions that raise your cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels) and type 2 diabetes. Metabolic syndrome, in turn, increases your risk of cardiovascular disease (Rao, 2013). Research suggests alcohol increases appetite and enhances satisfaction with meals.

At home, use a jigger when mixing drinks, and serve them in smaller glasses. 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. Alcohol intake of all levels can lead to impaired digestion and absorption of these nutrients. This can greatly affect the metabolism of organs that play a role in weight management. “Beer belly” refers to that protruding stomach some men carry around. But you don’t have to be male or drink beer in order to gain weight from alcohol.

Why Does Fat Accumulate in the Belly?

Alcohol inhibits fat oxidation, suggesting that frequent alcohol consumption could lead to fat sparing, and thus higher body fat in the long term [62]. However, the results of the various cross-sectional and longitudinal studies examined in this review do not unequivocally support such a hypothesis. Finally, there is also evidence to suggest that traits that predispose individuals to binge drinking may also predispose to binge eating [66]. As for why the calories in alcohol don’t seem to quickly add up to a lot of extra weight, it’s a little bit of a mystery.

Mixers can add a lot of extra sugar and fat to the drink, increasing calorie intake. In general, clear liquors like vodka have the fewest calories. For example, one 12-ounce https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/can-you-gain-weight-because-of-alcohol/ pint of a stout beer provides about 220 calories, which is the same as eating a snack with three tablespoons of hummus, ten baby carrots, a stalk of celery, and an apple.

What Happens When You Stop Drinking [Timeline + Benefits]

While this may not add to your weight, it can add to your waistline and overall appearance. Don’t forget to have a healthy meal before or with your drinks to help you resist the temptation of high-calorie bar food. The short answer is yes; alcohol can make you more likely to gain weight. It’s not necessary to cut out alcohol if you want to drink it. You can also choose to skip it if you don’t want the extra calories. Watching your weight doesn’t have to mean cutting out alcohol completely.

It’s essential to be aware of both the direct and indirect effects of alcohol on your weight. If you’re determined to improve your health and lose some weight, one of the most effective things you can do is cut out binge drinking. There are several direct and indirect ways that heavy drinking can make you gain weight or, more specifically, gain body fat.

Alcohol is often “empty” calories

Reading this article is a complete eye opener to why I gained a ton of weight. I can’t thank you enough for writing this article and for putting down facts that will actually help people. Because of this article, tomorrow I start a new way of living. A lack of sleep, or poor quality of sleep, increases your appetite and cravings for junk food rich in refined carbohydrates and decreases your energy expenditure on the following day. This refers to the amount of alcohol it takes for your inhibitions to be significantly lowered such that your energy intake substantially increases over the following 48 hours.