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For some people, alcoholic beverages contribute a significant number of calories to the total amount that they consume each day. While light-to-moderate, responsible drinking can enrich social, culinary, and even some religious experiences, alcohol can also affect weight loss attempts. Several studies suggest that people who consume the highest amount of protein are the least likely to have excess belly fat (54, 55, 56). Alcohol bloating can happen when a high alcohol intake causes stomach acid levels to rise. This can lead to inflammation and irritation of the stomach lining, knowns as acute gastritis. In the longer term, alcohol consumption can contribute to chronic gastritis, where persistently high levels of stomach acid cause stomach ulcers to develop.
A drink is defined as 14 grams of alcohol, which equates to 12 ounces (355 mL) of beer, 5 ounces (148 mL) of wine, or 1.5 ounces (44 mL) of hard liquor (15). Of course, the calories in does alcohol cause you to gain weight wine vary and the exact number depends on the type. Dry wines tend to have less sugar and therefore fewer calories than sweet wines, while sparkling wines are the lowest in calories.
‘Think of it as turning off fat burning’: 5 ways drinking alcohol sabotages weight loss goals
If you’re drinking with friends or family, plan ahead and give yourself an excuse to decline another round or a late night out. Have your drink or two at least 2-3 hours before you go to bed. This gives your body more time to process the alcohol, lessening its impact on your night’s sleep.
It is hard to stay on even a moderately low-calorie diet and eat enough protein, carbohydrates, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products to meet one’s daily nutrient needs. And if the dieter wishes to add some high-fat foods like cheese, salad dressing, butter, or olive oil to their daily food intake, the calorie count goes up rapidly. If additional calories from alcohol are ingested, then daily calorie intake may be just high enough to slow weight loss, especially if the dieter is sedentary. However, according to some of the studies referenced in the Traversy and Chaput article, lifestyle, rather than alcohol per se, may promote weight gain. Replacing a brisk walk with watching a game, drinking beer, and eating nachos drenched in melted cheese may promote weight gain, but the alcohol may be only one of the factors responsible. Studies have shown that alcohol can stimulate the appetite and contribute to increased caloric intake.
Alcohol can affect your organs
While optimizing our sleep, we realized that alcohol reduced the quality of our rest. The book Why We Sleep confirmed that even moderate drinking is terrible for sleep. The book, The Blue Zones Solution, is the result of in-depth research on the world’s five longest living and healthiest populations. I expected these people to be sober, but most of the centenarians are daily wine drinkers.
You will also want to keep an eye on how drinking affects your eating habits. While the calories in one glass of wine don’t seem like a lot, a few glasses pack over 300 calories and a bottle has upwards of 600 calories. Depending on how much you drink, wine can contribute a significant number of extra calories to your daily intake (6). It’s common to enjoy a glass of wine as you catch up with friends or unwind after a long day, but you may wonder whether drinking too much wine can cause you to gain weight. Overall, Simon says, that the best protection against weight gain is “sticking to that average of four or less drinks a week for women, and less than two drinks a day for men.” Even once you sober up, other physical effects of alcohol can stand in the way of a healthy diet and exercise regimen.
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