Is Alcohol Affecting Your Weight

Weight loss and alcohol cannot go together, but an occasional drink can be accommodated in a healthy lifestyle. Many experts believe that having a single drink in a day minimizes risk for high blood pressure.

However, if you exceed more than one drink a day, you may sabotage your weight loss program. Alcohol is metabolized in a different way as compared to other beverages and foods. Typically, our body gets energy from the calories in fats, proteins and carbohydrates that need to be gradually digested in our stomach, but not when alcohol is there.

Alcohol also causes dehydration and water loss. With the loss of water from our body we also lose some vital minerals, like potassium, zinc, calcium and magnesium. These minerals are very important as it balances chemical reaction, maintain relaxation and contraction of muscles, and also maintain fluid balance in our body.

Alcohol contains seven calories/gram and offers zero nutritional value. It adds empty calories to our body, so why not to spend our calories budget in something healthier.

Alcohol influences our body in certain negative ways. Alcohol may encourage false sleep, but the sleep we get under influence of alcohol is not very deep, as a result we get less rest.  Alcohol consumption also leads to increased production of acid in our stomach, causing stomach to become inflamed. Excessive consumption of alcohol also leads to severe health issues including, liver disease, heart troubles, and stomach ulcer.

Alcohol also stimulates our appetite. You may be full from same amount of calories from food, which several glasses of alcohol may not fill you up. Research also indicates that alcohol reduces willpower and inhibitions, if consumed during or before a meal. In this condition, you may end up eat more that your appetite, which can increase your waistline.

Many foods taken with alcohol such as chips, pretzel and peanuts are salty that makes you thirsty and may encourage you to drink more. In order to avoid over drink, have a sip of water between alcoholic drinks.

It’s a bad and useless idea to skip a meal in order to save calories for drinks later. If you are hungry and move to a bar to have a drink, you may end up munching more snacks and drinking excessive alcohol. If you have plans to drink later, first have a healthy meal. This will make you fill and probably you will eat fewer snacks and also less drinks. Instead of skipping meal, do a good 30-45 minutes of exercise to balance calories.