Alcohol and weight loss; what is the problem? Find out if alcohol can be used in weight loss as an active substance to speed up the metabolism. Every culture on earth has a tradition of drinking alcoholic beverages. With their help, people relax and try to eliminate the burden of problems and worries. Today, the alcoholic beverage industry is very profitable for companies. They have resorted to various marketing strategies to sell their products more effectively.
Can consume alcohol in safe doses without any health risks. For men, this weekly allowance is 200 milliliters of ethanol, and for women – 130 milliliters. If these limits are not exceeded, alcohol will be neutral and not cause danger. But if they are exceeded, then alcohol will complicate weight loss and negatively affect the work of all body systems.
If you want to lose weight, gain weight or keep your body in good shape, the best solution is to stop drinking alcohol. Today we will discuss the relationship between alcohol and weight loss.
Drink alcohol and weight loss
One serving of alcoholic beverages is estimated to contain about 20 grams of ethanol. Of course, this is a general meaning, and the alcohol content can vary from drink to drink. Let’s say that light beer contains less ethanol than regular beer. The calorie content of one gram of alcohol is equal to seven calories. However, due to the substantial Thermo genic effect, the actual value is lower than 5.5 calories.
So when you drink a glass of beer, your body gets over 100 calories from ethanol and about 60 from the carbohydrates the drink contains. A glass of beer provides about 160 calories for the body. The situation is even more difficult with mixed beverages (for example, liqueurs), which contain caloric ingredients in addition to ethanol. Only based on the energy value index of drinks containing ethanol can we talk about the negative effect of alcohol on weight loss.
Adverse effects of drinking alcohol and weight loss
- Dehydration. These are severe adverse effects of alcohol consumption. Everyone knows that muscle tissue contains about 75 percent water. If water leaves the tissues, the muscles begin to shrink. It would help if you also remembered that you must drink more water when exercising vigorously. If the body becomes dehydrated, all processes slow down, including reducing body fat. Nutritionists advise people who have not stopped drinking alcohol to drink each serving of alcohol with twice as much water. In addition, you should also drink at least one liter of water before going to bed.
- Fat gain. Regarding the relationship between alcohol and weight loss, it is necessary to remember the ability of alcoholic beverages to increase subcutaneous fat penetration. Although alcohol is a carbohydrate, it cannot be converted to glucose, as we know, whereas carbohydrates are converted to fat. It is this transformation that occurs with alcohol. At the same time, they will not forget that after drinking alcohol, the body does not actively burn fat. All alcoholic beverages contribute to the accumulation of subcutaneous and internal fat. Visceral fat must be present in the body, but a certain amount. As its strength increases, the performance of all internal organs decreases significantly. Therefore, the risk of developing various diseases increases.
- The rate of testosterone secretion decreases. If alcohol is present in the body, the production rate of the male hormone decreases significantly, and the concentration of estrogen increases. You know that testosterone is the primary hormone that controls the growth of muscle tissue. It also helps increase the body’s recovery rate and increases the anabolic background. Estrogen, on the other hand, promotes the accumulation of fat mass.
- Lack of nutrients. Drinking alcohol leads to increased consumption of vitamin C, A, and group B. The body’s concentration of essential minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, and zinc also decreases. All these substances directly affect the growth of muscles and protect them from breakdown. If you are sure you will consume alcohol, you should first consume one serving of the vitamin and mineral.
- Glucose concentration. Alcohol lowers blood sugar levels, which leads to hunger. It is very uncomfortable for overweight people, as they can lose control of themselves and eat a lot of food. It has long been proven that men who drink alcohol at dinner consume 50 percent more food. As you can see, alcohol and weight loss are closely related, and this connection always has a negative connotation.