5 Frustrating Ways Alcohol Causes Weight Gain

It turns out that giving up alcohol is one of the BEST things you can do if you’re attempting to lose weight.

The majority of heavy drinkers will get a big wine tummy or beer gut. But even if you don’t drink a lot, you could still be putting yourself at risk for significant weight gain.

This is why.

1. There are LOTS of calories in alcohol.

Let’s begin with the most obvious. You may be consuming more liquid calories than you know if you like a nice beer or glass of wine.

A fantastic, sobering tool from Drinkaware allows you to determine exactly how many calories you consume when you have drinks.

Consider going out to eat and ordering two glasses of wine to go with your meal. These are standard glasses; they are not gigantic pours.

You just consumed 318 more calories, assuming you didn’t drink a wine that was particularly sweet.

Or perhaps you’ve had a difficult day and decided to reward yourself with half a typical bottle of Rosé.

Congratulations! You just gave your body 674 calories that are nutritionally worthless. That is the same as 2.3 hamburgers.

It was nothing for me to consume five pints of hard cider at happy hour over the course of two to three hours back when I used to drink heavily. How many calories is that haul? 1,436.

Calorie content, however, is only the first step on your path to alcohol-induced weight gain. If you think that consuming “skinny” margaritas or clear liquor mixed with soda water will solve this issue, reconsider.

2. Drinking alters your metabolism.

Since alcohol is already inside of you, it is being changed into acetate, which your body adores.

In terms of metabolism, alcohol takes the lead. Alcohol will be burned by your body before other things, such as fat and sugar, are.

What happens to the fat and sugar that are currently stored in your body?

As long as you’re drinking, not much. It remains stationary.

Yes, some people will eventually suffer losses. But it won’t happen until your body has processed the alcohol, and if you drink a lot, your body only has so much metabolic room.

Additionally slowing down your body’s capacity to burn fat while at rest, alcohol consumption lowers testosterone levels, which contributes to weight gain.

3. Alcohol increases hunger.

You were aware of that, though.

Because of this, the taco truck that is parked outside the pub is DOMINANT. And it is the reason why last weekend, your inebriated ass devoured two McDonald’s value dinners without batting an eye.

Because alcohol triggers the brain’s famine mode, you can find yourself eating an entire bag of Doritos as if your life depended on it after a long night out.

And… You will instinctively want to consume foods with the highest fat content you can find since alcohol impairs decision-making and your body feels starved.

I mean, you’re starving!

In order to recap where we are at this moment, let’s say you just consumed 1,000–2,000 calories at the bar and are currently consuming another 1,500–2,000 calories of high-fat, high-sodium cuisine.

Within a short period of time, you’ve consumed twice as many calories as is advised for a full day.

How many calories are you carrying around in your drunken body at this time, assuming you also ate something earlier in the day?

But we’re not finished yet!

4. Drinking alcohol causes your cortisol levels to rise.

Your body’s stress hormone, cortisol, is what triggers the “fight or flight” reaction. It also plays a significant role in the development of abdominal fat.

Why?

The body’s ability to control blood sugar and combat inflammation is greatly aided by cortisol.

However, too much cortisol promotes body fat storage (especially in the midsection) and is the hormone that lowers testosterone levels.

Lower testosterone levels, as I said earlier, result in a decreased capacity to burn fat. I would like to end there, but there is more as always.

Hunger is a cortisol side effect.

From the perspective of evolution, this makes sense. If cortisol sets off our flight or fight reaction, it makes sense that the body would be prompted to store up on the energy we obtain from food.

We become hungry when we are anxious because of this. We won’t stop feeling hungry until our bodies stop being under stress.

That brings me to the following stop on our trip of alcohol weight gain.

5. The After-Party

For many reasons, the day following consuming alcohol encourages weight growth. Galanin is a neuropeptide that comes first.

what does galanin do, then? Well, it encourages you to consume all fatty and oily foods. What does alcohol do?

That is correct! Our brains produce more galanin as a result.

The issue of cortisol spikes must then be addressed once more. Imagine if you wake up feeling extremely anxious or with a lot of remorse about how you behaved the night before.

You’re under stress, so you’ll probably want junk food to make you feel better.

Of course, drinking also affects how quickly your metabolism works. Keep in mind that the body burns alcohol first. That requires effort.

Your body will need energy replenishment once it has finished metabolising the alcohol.

What is the greatest approach to refill the body’s energy stores? sugar and carbohydrates. You joyfully stuff cold pizza pieces in your face the day after drinking because of this.

Additionally, you’re dehydrated, which makes your body long for salt. Bring on the fries!

That direction is clear.

Conclusion regarding Alcohol and Weight Gain

Alcohol consumption can have a significant negative impact on your waistline whether you are a heavy, moderate, or occasional drinker. That will have unfavourable consequences for various aspects of your life.

Most people are aware that drinking alcohol adds extra calories. We frequently underappreciate how much further it goes.

The same way eating a donut causes weight gain, alcohol does not. It affects how we make decisions, slows down our metabolism, increases stress levels, and keeps us stuck in a bad cycle of binge eating and couch potatoing.

One of the BEST things you can do for yourself is to stop drinking if you want a happier, more stable life.