Table of Contents
Introduction
Weight loss can be achieved in more than one way. One of them is watching your diet, while another is to pay attention to what you drink. Besides weight loss, there are more reasons to watch the level of alcohol your body is taking in. Drinking mindfully can essentially improve your health, strengthen the relationships around you and your family, as well as add to your day-to-day energy capacity. Not to mention that considering the many dangers of alcohol abuse, drinking less can contribute to making you healthier as well. Find about the various ways alcohol influences weight loss.
Cutting Calories
Alcohol Influences Weight Loss, calories gained from consuming alcohol can largely affect your weight and disrupt your weight loss plans. Although moderate drinking means you do not drink excessively, the calories obtained from such “moderate” activities can easily accumulate up to 1000 or more per week. This is often neglected among people who drink from time to time, as they think that the calories obtained will not be severely high.
Binge drinking is another common issue regarding alcohol that contributes to health issues manifesting. Defined as five and above drinks for males and four or more for females in a given period of time, binge drinking can easily accumulate up to 750 calories and even more, after drinking for a night. This proves that situations that require you to binge drink should be avoided if you are determined to quit drinking.
Curbing Cravings
Drinking too much can also result in you feeling hungry more often than not. This is due to calories being extremely easy to consume in excess when they are in liquid form since nonsolid foods will not give you the satisfaction as much as proper food will.
Unhealthy Choices
According to studies, when you drink an increased amount of alcohol, the more you will make unhealthy and unbalanced lifestyle choices. Therefore, people are more prone to eating snacks and food that is bad for our bodies. As a result, the individual gains more calories from the array of fats and sugars they will end up consuming.
There has also been another study that has proven how subjects are more likely to over-eat more after they have had a drink, as compared to those who have not had drinks. Such people also have appetites for more fat-heavy and salty foods. Although a healthy diet does not mean that you should entirely neglect calories, the rule of thumb is moderation. Many suffer from controlling the amount of food they eat when under alcohol influence.
Haywire Metabolism
Another unhealthy lifestyle decision typically made under the influence of alcohol is being too lazy to workout. Skipping exercise regimes means that you end up burning lesser calories, as your body is moving less and being more sedentary. This is coupled with the fact that drinking hinders the rate of alcohol is metabolized in your body, and the excess alcohol will end up being stored as body fat.
Restless Sleep
Sleep will be affected following days where you drink excessively, especially when it has been proven that alcohol does correlate to how restful your sleep is. It is also important to note that weight is not easily lost if your quality of sleep is poor and lousy. Therefore, having a good nights’ sleep, although it may seem trivial, is a vital aspect of losing weight.
Strategies to quit drinking
If you have decided to embark on a quit drinking resolution, here are a few good tips and strategies for you to try.
Mocktails
Changing your choice of poison to mocktails does help play a part in withdrawing from alcohol. To do so, you may want to start by getting yourself familiar with non-alcoholic drinks. This may include frequenting venues that offer non-alcoholic drinks in your social events or gatherings. Since there are so many mocktails to choose from, and you will find one that fits your taste buds perfectly after trying a few.
Another tip is to create your mocktail at home. This is simply done by blending a flavored base of your choice to sparkling water. Many brands offer mocktails and alcohol-free spirits which you can take your pick from.
However, it is important to note that not all drinks without alcohol in it are necessarily free of calories. Even such compromises may still contain a huge amount of sugar or calories, depending largely on what you choose to drink.
Prepare to Reject
It is normal to experience peer pressure to drink, especially in the company of many others who are engaging in the activity. Therefore, it is good to have a response kept in the back of your mind, whenever you encounter reasons or situations that you feel will lead you to drink while you are trying your hardest to abstain. It is also not a bad idea to explain why you do not plan to drink before you enter the party, to avoid facing pressure in an uncomfortable situation. The takeaway is, do not let you not being able to say ‘no’ disrupt your progress in the journey of weight loss.
Social Support
Having a community of people who are going through the same thing as you make it easier for you to work hard on your resolution in abstaining from drinking. In such communities, feeling like you have kindred spirits around you will motivate you to quit drinking, and even be encouraged while doing so.
Cultivate Healthy Eating Habits
If you wish to lose weight by quitting drinking, you have to keep in mind that alcohol influences weight loss and you should lower your alcohol intake with another unhealthy habit. Being mindful of what you consume and drink during the entire journey will only bring forth more satisfaction and pride in your results.
Conclusion
The decision to quit drinking or even just lowering your alcohol intake may be a hard decision to make but if you are aware of the positive benefits you will receive, it will be worth it in the end. Although it is not the main goal to succeed, receiving all-rounded support from your closest family and friends will play a big part in this journey you embark on.