Alcohol Abuse: Signs, Risks & How to Get Help

This blog post will discuss the truth about alcohol and weight gain. Eliminating or reducing alcohol consumption is a common dieting behavior. Less well known, and indeed potentially harmful to the health of the dieter, is eliminating food almost entirely in order to consume alcohol. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, some individuals may suffer both from anorexia and an alcohol use disorder. They often drink rather than eat, believing that alcohol consumption will suppress their appetite.

• This risk of weight gain may be even higher in people who are already overweight compared to normal-weight people who drink beer (18).
• Whether you are a heavy, moderate, or casual drinker, consuming alcohol can seriously impact your waistline.
• Well, the good news is you can still lose bodyweight from consuming alcoholic drinks if you’re doing it right.

However, the most significant cause of weight gain in the stomach due to alcohol consumption is the empty calories your body has to burn off and then consume bad foods. However, heavy drinking of any alcoholic beverage will put you at higher risk of gaining belly fat. Well, the good news is you can still lose bodyweight from consuming alcoholic drinks if you’re doing it right. However, there is a thin line that is easy to cross if you aren’t keeping your drinking and choices under control. Although there is evidence to suggest that frequent alcohol intake may predispose to weight gain or obesity over the long-term, this effect is not strongly reflected in the recent research. First, it has been found that alcohol intake increases energy expenditure, likely due in part to the fact that it has a high thermogenic effect [53].

Red vs black vs brown vs white rice: Which one is healthier?

You’ve doubled the recommended caloric intake of an entire day in the span of a few hours. Now that alcohol is in your body, it is being converted to acetate, which your body LOVE, LOVE, LOVES. Or maybe you’ve had a rough day and treated yourself to half a standard bottle of Rosé.

If you’re aggressively pursuing a weight loss goal, consider your schedule before popping open a post-work bottle of wine. Although it’s essential to treat yo-self, you might want to save that glass for, say, your BFF’s birthday dinner on Saturday night. To minimize your risk of gaining weight, make sure to keep your alcohol intake within the recommended limits and lead a healthy, active lifestyle. Another reason men may be at more risk of getting a beer belly is due to alcohol’s effect on the male sex hormone testosterone. Drinking alcoholic drinks like beer has been shown to lower levels of testosterone (27, 28, 29). The link between weight gain and drinking alcohol is stronger in men than women.

How to Drink Alcohol While Trying to Lose Weight

Drinking actual alcohol leads to dehydration, as many of us already know (11). As your body senses this dehydration, it’ll try to hold onto water. Your body’s job is to try and survive, so if it senses you’re losing valuable water, it’ll try to hold onto water reserves in return. This also goes for beer which is usually higher in carbs and starches.

Alcohol has been reported to account for 16% of adult drinkers’ total energy intake in the United States [68], with men consuming about three times the amount consumed by women [68]. Men are also more likely to drink beer, which is carbohydrate rich, and provides more energy than wine per standard drink [5]. Overall, the available experimental evidence reviewed in this article suggests that moderate intake of alcohol does not lead to weight gain.

Calculating Alcoholic Drink Equivalents

This article reviews the calories in wine, how it compares with other alcoholic drinks, and whether drinking too much of it can lead to weight gain. Some evidence suggests that eliminating alcohol among people who drink heavily helps control weight. In a study published in 2018, people who stopped drinking lost 1.6% more weight than those who did not change their alcohol intake. Still, the does liquor make you gain weight researchers noted that more research is needed to understand how eliminating or limiting alcohol intake affects weight loss. To maximise weight loss benefits with protein powder, incorporate it wisely into a balanced, calorie-controlled diet and exercise routine. Patil advises beginning your day with a protein-packed breakfast, such as a shake with protein powder, almond milk, and fruit.

If you suspect someone is experiencing alcohol poisoning, call 911 immediately. If you do not have access to a phone, contact Web Poison Control Services for online assistance. Alcohol is “kind of a stressor for your body, so it can cause your body to lose proper cortisol secretion,” Lashinger says. The more you drink, the more you wake up to increasingly unstable moods and stress, leading you to drink (and eat) more. Alcohol can make you more susceptible to mental health issues like depression and anxiety, reducing your motivation to go out and be active.