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Vodka has almost no carbohydrates or sugars but contains calories that can add up quickly. In perspective, an ounce of vodka contains around 97 calories, while an ounce of beer contains only 55 calories. That said, if you drink moderately, chances are you won’t put on any extra weight due to vodka.
- Cortisol is the stress hormone in your body responsible for the “fight or flight” response.
- If you do plan to drink, there are ways to reduce your intake of calories and stay healthy.
- So to recap where we are currently, you’ve just consumed anywhere from 1,000-2,000 calories at the pub, and now you’re inhaling another 1,500-2,000 calories of high fat, high sodium food.
- It also impacts metabolism and hormone levels, making it more challenging to manage weight.
Do you need to give up alcohol to lose weight?
This disruption can result in an imbalance of nutrients, affecting the body’s ability to utilize and process other foods effectively. Plus, most alcoholic beverages have a lot of energy but little nutritional value, which is where the term ‘empty calories’ comes from. There are several direct and indirect ways that heavy drinking can make you gain weight or, more specifically, gain body fat.
Alcohol is also high in calories but lacks nutrients supporting good health. In contrast, light-to-moderate alcohol consumption does not cause weight gain. Elevated cortisol levels during perimenopause might contribute to weight gain. Cortisol also affects menopause symptoms like sleep, mood, metabolism, insulin resistance, and inflammation—all of which can lead to weight gain.
This can be particularly problematic for those trying to maintain or lose weight. You may already be aware of some of the more unsavory side effects of alcohol, especially when you overdo it. It can increase anxiety, heighten your blood pressure and even affect your brain. Opt for low-calorie options like light beer, and skip mixed drinks with a lot of liqueur, juice, and syrup. Ensure you Substance abuse eat a hearty meal before going out, and keep healthy snacks on hand if you get hungry.
Healthier Alternatives
Alcohol significantly slows down fat burning by prioritizing its breakdown over other metabolic processes, negatively affecting insulin production. This can hinder weight management and overall metabolic efficiency. The body converts alcohol into acetaldehyde to minimize its toxicity. This prioritization makes the body’s metabolism less effective at burning fat, slowing down overall fat metabolism. The time required to metabolize alcohol can extend fat burning for several hours.
HRT can balance your hormones, while lifestyle changes and therapy help you manage intense emotions. Stephanie Anderson Witmer is a freelance journalist and content creator based in Pennsylvania. She’s written health and lifestyle stories for Women’s Health, Redbook, Prevention, Good Housekeeping, USA Today, Better Homes & Gardens, Giddy, Parade, Yoga Journal, and more. In Australia, a three-year study found that menopausal women who consistently exercised had increased feelings of well-being (24).
How does alcohol cause weight gain?
- Most importantly, it contains calories but offers no nutrients for those calories.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone gets at least 150 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise every week.
- To make things even more complicated, women tend to lose muscle mass and bone density during this time because of a combination of hormonal shifts and aging, Dr. Snyder says.
- Buying the single glass bottle of wine is easiest for me until I reset my mind to only have this amount.
- Understanding the caloric content of beer is essential for anyone aiming to maintain or achieve a healthy weight.
Though it provides many benefits across the lifespan, creatine is also linked with the onset of weight gain in some people. But it’s not inevitable that you’ll gain weight and not be able to lose it. Making small changes before you hit perimenopause across your diet, exercise routine, and overall lifestyle can help to set you up for success in the future, Dr. Shepherd says. This rise in cortisol coincides with the disrupted sleep that many women experience during this time of life. Women also experience higher overnight cortisol levels during this stage, often linked to hormonal shifts and life stressors (11). Cortisol helps regulate metabolism, but when levels are chronically high during the stressful menopause years, it disrupts how the body processes and burns fat, carbs, and protein.
Alcohol can cause weight gain and have a negative impact on the body. Long-term effects of alcohol include weight gain from its high calories and low nutritional value. Alcohol may have various effects on your health that link to weight gain. Alcohol is high in empty calories and may affect hormones that signal appetite, hunger, and stress.
How Can Drinking Alcohol Make You Gain Weight?
You might not know this, but vodka is not necessarily bad for your cardiovascular health. Studies have shown that vodka can help reduce the risk of stroke and heart attacks. By Anna GiorgiGiorgi is a freelance writer with more than 25 years of experience writing health and wellness-related content. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone gets at least 150 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise every week. Protein is also filling, decreasing the risk you’ll get hungry between meals and snacks and overeat, Dr. Ali says.
What’s more, if you’re trying to watch your calorie intake, alcohol can make you less focused on how much you’re eating (this is called disinhibition), so you may overeat. Studies have found that alcohol may have some health benefits, like reducing the risk of heart disease. However, it’s important to balance these potential benefits with the risks of excessive alcohol consumption, like weight gain and liver disease. Overall, alcohol can make you gain weight, but consuming alcohol in moderation can be a part of a healthy lifestyle that promotes both health and wellness.
If you drink alcohol, it often triggers hunger, leading to the consumption of extra calories, such as an additional slice of pizza or a bag of chips. If you go overboard, you risk a hangover and the fatigue, headache and other characteristic symptoms. Fatigue is also a trigger for poor food choices and giving into cravings. Eating a greasy breakfast to cure a hangover is a myth, but many people do it anyway and end up consuming hundreds of extra calories. Then, after dragging yourself through the day, you’re going to feel a lot more like hitting the couch than hitting the gym. There’s a lack of evidence linking reduced alcohol consumption to weight loss.
Can Alcohol Cause Weight Gain?
Staying hydrated by alternating alcoholic drinks with water can help control your overall intake. These strategies empower you to enjoy alcohol without compromising your weight loss goals. Moderate consumption is defined as approximately 32 grams of alcohol per day, equivalent to 1-2 cans of beer or an 8-ounce glass of red wine. While drinking responsibly is crucial, understanding the potential benefits of moderate drinking can help you make informed choices. Studies have shown that moderate drinking can enhance metabolic function and encourage weight loss. For instance, subjects consuming moderate alcohol showed a 12.5% increase in total adiponectin levels, likely due to increased gene expression in adipose tissue.
Generally, glands in your body release the right amount of hormones at an exact time, which send messages to your tissues. Those messages aid in your body’s stress response and help control your energy and metabolism. Alcohol has a lot of calories but offers no nutrients and may affect hormones that control appetite, hunger, and stress. 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.” While recent research on humans is limited, past studies have suggested that different hunger-related hormones, like ghrelin and leptin, might be affected by alcohol consumption.