Alcohol and Weight Loss

Alcohol is the most social and common kind of 'drug' we can take, and it's a normal part of our society and socializing to have a few drinks. We've been drinking alcohol for centuries from simple fermented drinks to classy wines, champagnes, and exotic cocktails. There are obvious health and social problems associated with excessive or binge consumption of alcohol, but what about its effects on people aiming for weight loss?

Does Alcohol make me fat?

The idea that alcohol converts to fat is a myth. If you want to lose weight and be lean and fit for life, you need the facts about alcohol and weight loss. Alcohol does NOT convert to fat. According to conventional wisdom, the infamous "beer belly" is caused by excess alcohol calories being stored as fat. Yet, less than five percent of the alcohol calories you drink are turned into fat. Rather than getting stored as fat, the main fate of alcohol is conversion into a substance called acetate, a type of fuel that the body burns quickly. When acetate levels rises, your body simply burns more acetate, and less fat. In essence, acetate pushes fat to the back of the queue.

The bottom line, the idea that alcohol just automatically turns into fat or gives you a beer belly is mistaken. Alcohol actually stimulates your appetite, loosen your inhibitions and undermine your willpower, causing you to eat more than you planned, especially greasy or fried food which eventually add to your waistline. Plus, it is often mixed with other drinks like fruit juice or regular soda, adding even more empty calories. It is also true that alcohol suppresses fat oxidation, but mainly, alcohol adds calories into your diet, messes with your hormones and can stimulate appetite, leading to even more calories consumed. That's where the fat gain comes from.

Can I have alcohol and still lose weight?

If you drink in moderation, if you're aware of the calories in the alcohol, if you're aware of the calories from additional food intake consumed during or after drinking, and if you compensate for all of the above accordingly, you won't get fat. Here are some general tips to get you started:

• Drink in moderation: The moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with better health and longer life than is either abstaining from alcohol or abusing alcohol. However, the health benefits of drinking are associated with moderation. On the other hand, heavy drinking is associated with cirrhosis of the liver, breast cancer, and other health problems. The key word is moderation.
• Don't drink daily: Behaviors repeated multiple times daily become strong habits. Habitual drinking may lead to heavier drinking or full-blown addictions and can be hard to stop if you ever need to cut back.
• Count the calories. If you decide to have a bottle of beer or a glass of wine, be sure to account for the alcohol in your daily calorie budget.
• Watch your appetite: Don't let the "munchies" get control of you during or after you drink, also watch the fatty foods in particular.   
• Enjoy without guilt. If you choose to drink (moderately and sensibly), then don't feel guilty about it or beat yourself up afterwards, just enjoy!

Of course, drinking alcohol is at your discretion, it's not part of the diet, so use your own judgment based upon your personal health issues and habits, and if you choose to have an alcohol beverage, you now have some reasonable guidelines to go on.