Do you question whether it’s really feasible to enjoy an alcoholic beverage while losing body fat, feeling as though every time you indulge in even a small amount of alcohol you undermine your weight reduction goals? You’re not the only one; in fact, the majority of people—including some of our newer clients—come to us thinking alcohol and weight reduction are unrelated.
Even though it can seem impossible to succeed in weight loss over time without giving up your favorite wines and drinks, it is possible. Our clientele can vouch for the fact that cutting alcohol out entirely is not necessary in order to reduce weight. Instead, achieving your weight loss objectives can be greatly aided by thoughtful drinking and astute planning.
We’ve been sharing our methods with clients for years as certified dietitians and personal trainers, and now we’re going to share six of these useful pointers with you so you may enjoy alcohol and still lose weight!
The good news is that you may maintain a healthy and full lifestyle and still lose weight by consuming your favorite beverages in moderation, not by deprivation.
Why does drinking alcohol complicate weight loss?
Although drinking alcohol does not automatically prevent you from losing weight, it might make it more difficult to lose weight. For this reason, it is crucial to use the tactics we will discuss. Additionally, it’s beneficial to understand what’s happening in your body, particularly if you’ve been berating yourself for not losing weight despite using alcohol.
Recall that you may enjoy your favorite beverages and lose weight at the same time! We’re going to provide you the tips and tricks you need to know today! But first, some further information on alcohol and what happens to your body when you drink it
Is drinking a slow down your metabolism?
Your body perceives alcohol as a toxin and wants to metabolize and get it out of your system before focusing on the digestion of other nutrients, so when you drink alcohol, your body prioritizes detoxification and ceases metabolizing other foods. This puts lipids and carbs on the back burner by preventing their breakdown. This indicates that your body is utilizing alcohol as its primary energy source, which impairs fat oxidation and leads to the accumulation of extra lipids from fat and glucose from carbohydrates.
Furthermore, as we’ve already discussed, alcohol irritates and strains the stomach and other digestive tract parts in addition to interfering with food’s ability to be properly digested. You consequently create less digestive fluids, which hinders proper food digestion and improper absorption of nutrients, depriving your body of the nutrients it needs to support metabolism. This is obviously terrible news for both your weight loss objectives and your quick, fat-burning metabolism.
Does consuming alcohol increase your desire to eat?
Although alcohol slows down your metabolism and makes it more difficult to lose weight, it also tends to activate brain neurons that increase hunger, which usually results in overindulgence and/or unwise eating choices. This can be especially problematic because drinking makes you more hungry and lowers your inhibitions, which makes you less concerned about losing weight.
Our consumers inform us that they usually overindulge in food as well as alcohol if they don’t employ our methods to stop themselves from doing so. Of course, feeling more hungry and overeating are bad things, especially if your body isn’t functioning well enough to properly digest the extra food.
Alcohol use and weight loss
In addition, drinking alcohol can lead to blood sugar fluctuations, which in turn can increase cravings for sweet foods because the brain uses sugar as a fast energy boost. When this occurs, most people go toward foods high in calories. For this reason, we work with our clients to avoid alcohol-induced blood sugar decreases, which also helps them avoid hangovers! (We provide advice on this below).
Here are a few additional things to think about in hopes of inspiring you to employ our methods to counteract some of these consequences while you reduce weight:
Drinking too much alcohol can cause insulin resistance, fat buildup, and liver damage.
Alcohol consumption is associated with poor sleep quality, which can lead to weight gain. Its hormonal effects may also intensify appetites.
Now that you are aware of some of the physical effects of alcohol and how it may impede weight reduction and overall health, let’s discuss strategies to mitigate these effects! Cheers to not having to give up the things you enjoy in order to lose weight!These six techniques can get you started!
Before you start drinking, decide how many drinks you will have.
This way, instead of just drinking at random and taking any drink that comes your way, you’ll have a plan with a fixed amount of drinks in mind as the beverages flow. We advise consuming no more than one or two drinks of alcohol per night. When compared to how many cocktails the average person drinks in a night, you’ll save hundreds of calories.