No doubt, burning more calories than you consume is the key to lose weight, but reducing the amount you drink can help you lower your calorie intake. And it does not just help to cut out the calories to get you in shape, drinking in moderate amount will bring you numerous health benefits including better night sleep. You will feel refreshed and motivated to go for a morning walk or swim. It is important to lose weight if your BMI (Body Mass Index) is above the healthy range according to age, height, and gender. You can easily find out your BMI using the BMI calculator, or you can discuss with your health care provider.
Effect of Alcohol on Weight Loss
Maintaining a healthy body weight is the best thing you can do to yourself. It is not just important to be in shape to look good but being overweight you can put you at risk for hazardous health conditions that can shorten your life span. Cutting calories and getting more exercise are the common ways to maintain a healthy weight, but what about other lifestyle habits you have that that is simply destroying all your weight loss efforts. The less apparent lifestyle habit we are discussing is drinking. Is alcohol bad for you especially when you are trying to get rid of that extra flab? Is it possible to continue drinking while following a weight loss program? Read on to know more if alcohol affects weight loss.
Importance of Healthy Weight
Why maintaining healthy body weight is so important? Obesity is linked with so many deadly health conditions including diabetes, cancer, and heart problems. Maintaining a healthy weight can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke or a certain type of cancers. Moreover, it is believed that obesity is one of the major causes of diabetes, reducing extra pounds can also reduce the risk of developing non-insulin dependent diabetes and control the blood sugar levels if you have already suffered from the metabolic disorder. Additional benefits include the reduced risk of infertility, enhanced immune system and reduced risk of joint pain and osteoporosis. By maintaining a healthy body weight, you can help improve your quality of life. You will be better able to enjoy your life and reduce the risk of premature death.
Limiting alcohol and losing weight are closely associated with each other. Limited alcohol consumption is not only important for weight loss, but it also helps to reduce the risk of developing many of the severe conditions highlighted above.
Is Alcohol bad for reducing excessive weight?
While drinking, many of us tend to forget the risks that it carries with it; there are numerous side effects of alcohol. Of course, having an occasional glass of wine does not make any change, but drinking excessively is connected to some real health concerns includes obesity. It is important to know that alcohol has a lot of empty calories that have no nutritional values. While drinking regularly, you might be unaware of the fact that you may be consuming hundreds of extra calories each day. When alcohol is mixed with juices or other fluids, the calorie content often increases and loaded with more sugar and carbs. You may be following a healthy dietary regime, but you are not getting the desired results, it may be because of your excessive alcohol consumption.
Also Read: 10 Tips for Weight Loss That Actually Work!
Alcohol is believed to have more calories than healthy proteins and drinking too much can greatly affect your weight loss efforts.
Have a look at these other ways alcohol and weight are connected:
- When you drink, you might not feel well the next day which makes you less physically active and make you skip your daily workout.
- Alcohol can also change the way your body burns fat which can ruin your weight loss efforts. When you drink alcohol, your body’s entire focus is on breaking down alcohol rather than burning fat. Your body focus on to burn calories produced from alcohol hence takes more time to lose weight.
- Alcohol can also lower the levels of testosterone hormone in the body which plays a significant role in losing weight and gaining lean muscles.
- Drinking also changes your food choices and increase your appetite.
Conclusion It is important to think about alcohol and weight loss. If you want to get in shape, you might need to quit drinking altogether to achieve your goals. You may introduce alcohol in moderation once you achieve the ideal weight. While drinking continuously, shedding those extra pounds may become a more difficult task. Alcohol is loaded with empty calories that are of no use, and it can change the metabolic functions in your body. If you drink alcohol and wish to shed extra pounds, reintroduce it in moderation, try not to drink more than two drinks a day if you are a man and if you are a woman, make sure you are not consuming more than one drink a day.
