1. It Is Almost As Energy Dense As Fat
People can easily see the correlation between eating too much fat leading to fat gain. They also know that fat has more than twice as many calories as protein or carbohydrates. Now consider this; alcohol has almost as many calories as fat! Fat has 9 calories per gram and alcohol 7 calories per gram. So next time you are downing a few delicious drinks, remember that you are literally drinking fat, energy wise.
2. It Seldom Comes Alone
Most people are too weak to drink pure spirits and thus they mix them with either fruit juice, soft drinks or lemonade. So we have the alcohol that is almost as energy dense as fat plus friends! And that’s not it. What about the crunchy potato chips and cheese doodles that you were snacking on at the same time, or the pizzas and hamburgers that just goes so well with a few drinks. No wonder you stack on the pounds with a regular routine like that.
3. It Crashes Your Fat Loss Capabilities
If you’re having a bender each weekend you could literally be having two days off weight loss, along with the additional “benefits” previously mentioned. You see, fat conversion goes through our liver and it’s through fat conversion that we take the fat that we stored and use it for energy instead. But our liver is also responsible for ridding our bodies of alcohol, and it can’t multitask. Thus, whenever there is alcohol in your system, you can’t burn fat. So, if you have a two or three day weekly bender, there are several reasons why you are gaining weight or at the very least not losing fat.
4. It Makes You Look Puffy
Okay, this one is purely visual, but since alcohol dehydrates you, you body is forced to release water from its different tissues and structures and doing that, can give you a puffy and bloated look.
5. Adding 1 Drink Per Day Can See You Gain 2kg/month
Yes, because of reasons already stated, adding a single drink a day to your diet can see you gain up to 2 kilos per month, and if that’s not reason enough to cut down, I don’t know what is.
Anders N W Lindgreen is a Swedish/Australian Fitness Specialist. Visit his website for free articles and e-books featuring the unbiased truth on Personal Fitness Training and Corporate Health and Fitness.