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Have you noticed that most diets you find on the web prohibit the use of alcohol if you plan on living healthy and losing weight? Why is that? Obviously, alcoholic beverages are not really good for you, especially in huge amounts, but why would consuming alcohol hinder your weight loss efforts? Is there a direct connection between alcohol and weight loss? Well, according to numerous experts in the field, there are (at least) five ways alcohol destroys your weight losing efforts. Here is why you should leave that alcohol bottle for a while.
More Calories
First of all, alcoholic beverages are full of unnecessary calories. Regardless of what diet you’re on, one of the most important things you need to do is watch your calory intake. Alcohol has more calories than carbs and carbohydrates together, and just a little bit less than fats. When you consider the fact that all of these calories don’t supply you with any nutrients, it’s clear why you should avoid alcohol. Besides all that, you rarely drink pure alcohol (unless you’re crazy) as beer and wine, for example, also come with its fair share of carbohydrates.
Less Testosterone
This might sound surprising, but the studies have shown that alcohol actually decreases the levels of testosterone every single time you drink it. Why would that be important for weight loss? Well, testosterone actually helps the body burn fat more effectively. The more you drink, the less effective the process is, obviously. Testosterone also plays an important part in the formation of lean muscles, so you’re automatically prevented from exercising more because you lack muscles.
Increased Appetite
Everyone knows that sudden feeling of hunger that overcomes you after a couple of drinks and, no, it’s not in your head. Numerous research studies have come to a conclusion that alcohol actually increases the appetite immensely. The fact that people usually crave greasy food after alcohol only makes calory intake worse. Interestingly, in these studies, alcohol had a far greater effect on appetite than numerous carbohydrate drinks, showing it’s actually the worst.
Less Control
We don’t need to explain to you one of the main effects of alcohol on the body – intoxication. Most people drink to relax and have fun, which basically includes some degree of losing control. Although what really happens to our body when we’re drunk isn’t as harmless as it appears, it’s usually considered harmless. However, this loss of control is quite dangerous if you’re following a strict diet or want to stop yourself from munching after midnight. In fact, most people aren’t even aware of the effect alcohol has on them. They often underestimate its power and end up consuming way more than their body can take, ultimately poisoning the system.
Damage to Organs
We’ve already mentioned that the effect alcohol has on one’s organism is generally considered harmless because the body recovers shortly after drinking. While that is true to a point, there are actually some long term consequences as alcohol inevitably damages your internal organs. You could ask now – what does this have to do with weight loss and diet? Well, most of the organs that alcohol damages play an important part in digestion. Obviously, good digestion means better consumption of food, less buildup of fat and, generally, a healthier life. Needless to say, losing weight is really secondary to general health.
Do you follow any strict diet regime and why? No one likes to admit it, but have you really found a connection between alcohol and weight loss? Perhaps you’re one of those people who still think it is just a myth. Well, we would really like you to be right, but it’s unlikely.
