Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but, if your goal is looking svelte on the beach this month, you need to know that drinking alcohol is quite literally a “Diet Killer” and likely to be sabotaging your stella’ (pun intended) efforts of shifting a few extra pounds. Here’s why…
You’ve probably heard of the term “Empty Calories”. It means that despite the fact a food or drink may be a source of (sometimes considerable) energy, it contains little to no nutritional value, and that’s exactly what alcohol is…all calories with minimal nutrients.
What’s more, your body can’t store the energy gained by drinking alcohol, so it has to use that before it burns up the energy you take in from food or your stored energy, aka your body fat. Put simply, burning alcohol comes before burning food or body fat and that’s one sure way alcohol slows weight loss. Mix to that, the sugar added to make this popular poison palatable and it’s a double whammy.
Do you tend to crave a takeaway on the way home from a night out? Well, that’s probably because alcohol acts as an appetite stimulant. Hunger and satiety are controlled by the hormones Leptin and Ghrelin. Leptin tells us we are full, and Ghrelin tells us we are hungry. Studies show that alcohol ingestion decreases the secretion of Leptin in healthy individuals. Another study showed that drinking before eating led to an increase in the amount of food consumed.
So, alcohol stops fat burning, leads to greater food consumption and we all know what types of foods we are likely to desire. Here’s a clue…it’s not salad. That’s because alcohol clouds our judgement and leads to poor choices including those involving food, making us far more likely to seek out junk foods. And with the help of a few popular Apps, you don’t even need to move far from your couch before you can devour your favourite home delivery.
Have you ever woken up with a sore head and craved a carrot juice? No, me neither. That’s because throughout the night the alcohol in your system, even if you only drank 1 or 2, has disrupted your sleep pattern, reducing the amount of deeper, more restorative sleep you had. These sleep disturbances also interfere with your hunger and satiety hormones causing you to feel even more hungry the following day.
To top it off...you’re likely to find yourself thundering along on the blood sugar rollercoaster, leaving you desiring fatty, salty and carbohydrate heavy meals…cue your favourite home-delivery App. And as for that Couch to 5K Challenge? “What challenge?” I hear you say. Working out with a hangover is absolutely unthinkable and on a more serious note, ill-advised.
We all know which organ is responsible for detoxifying alcohol, don’t we? Yes, the liver. Have you heard of Fatty Liver Disease? Drinking large amounts of alcohol, even for just a few days, can lead to a build-up of fats in the liver which affects your liver’s ability to metabolise carbohydrates and fats, making it very difficult to lose weight.
You’ve probably read headlines purporting the health benefits of drinking alcohol and yes moderate consumption may hold no health risks. But if you’re serious about weight loss it might be time to review your intake.
Just a few more shots before you go…
- Heavy drinking (4 units per day, or 8 a week) in women means you’re far more likely to be overweight.
- One bottle of wine is the equivalent of over 2 Mars bars or a Big Mac.
- Alcohol will shut down fat burning for anything between 12-36 hours depending on the individual and the amount consumed.
References
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11894976/
