Weight Loss, Avoid Alcohol or it Will Make You Fail

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Written by Ricardo d Argence

Tuesday, 25 November 2008 22:51

by RicardodArgence

So much information on weight loss has been put out there over the years. New diets here and a new gadget over there. There has not been a lot of information give to us on the effects of alcohol when you're trying to lose weight. That is what we will look at here today.

While alcohol is caloric, as are virtually all foods and beverages, it differs in important ways from other substances. The first problem is that the calories that you get from alcohol are worthless, and not one calorie from alcohol has any nutritional value.

The calories consumed from alcohol must be processed by the liver. Calories from alcohol are like bullies they must be burned first, that will leave all the other calories patiently stored and we all know what stored calories are, nothing else but fat.

Not only is alcohol a bad choice because it inhibits your judgement and harms your health, it is also bad for your diet. Alcohol contains twice as many calories as carbohydrates and proteins. What this means is alcohol provides seven calories per gram as opposed to carbohydrates, which contain four calories per gram. To summarize if you consume four 12-ounce beers you have ingested 600 calories! It is easy to see how prolonged use of alcohol could pack on the pounds.

One final point regarding the caloric outcome of alcohol is the mixers. Many popular alcoholic drinks are actually a mix of different substances. The preservatives and other chemicals make the calories add up. For example, one long island ice tea has an astounding 740 calories. You could get half of the day's recommended allowances just by drinking one!

Another key ingredient to weight loss is your metabolism. Your metabolism is the sum of physical and chemical reactions in your cells to produce energy. Or more simply put the rate at which your body processes calories into energy. Alcohol slows this entire process, in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a person on a 1250 calorie diet where 250 of the calories were from alcohol could see as much as a 36% reduction in their metabolism. This means that you are processing calories nearly forty percent less efficiently.

Many people who consume alcohol regularly inform that at first they feel much better. On the other hand, you can suffer from depression if you drink to excess, since alcohol is actually a depressive substance. If you are feeling depressed it will feel a lot harder to diet, actually people are known to eat more as a way of comforting themselves. A vicious cycle if you stop and think about it. Depression can cause lack of motivation as well as making you less likely to want to continue any kind of exercise routine.

Water plays a significant role as far as basic health is concerned, but it is also vital for muscle building. Muscles need a pretty big amount of hydration so that they can preform correctly, with having this, there is a chance they will become week and inefficient. When alcohol is consumed the kidneys need a great quantity of water to flush toxins from the system thus causing dehydration.

While a moderate amount of alcohol is good for the system regular drinking and drinking to excess is harmful. Along with all the problems it can cause with weight loss, you have the added medical issues to be concerned with. The bottom line is this if you are overweight and trying to lose it you may be better served by abstaining from the use of alcohol. At least until your weight is under control, if you must drink red wine is considered the safest alternative.

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