Men and women both are increasingly drinking alcohol with a higher ratio on a daily basis. Alcohol is considered to be one of the main factors that contribute to unusual weight gain. People who drink more than the recommended limit cause unwanted weight gain. Ultimately, they can lose weight automatically when they stop or lessen the use of alcohol. However, it’s difficult to understand the relationship between weight and alcohol consumption.
However, quitting alcohol doesn’t just help a person lose weight but also offers several health benefits, including lesser cancer risk, lower blood pressure, better sleep, and a stronger immune system.
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ToggleCan Abandoning Alcohol Help With Weight Loss?
Being overweight is one of the main causes that make you concerned about avoiding alcohol. When you drink more, it leads you to crave unhealthy foods, has a slower metabolism, and wrecks the digestion and sleep cycle. On the one hand, if you are worried about your overweight and on the other side, you don’t stop drinking, then it will not help you anymore. You must stop drinking alcohol if you really want to lose weight.
People struggling to lose weight should stop drinking alcohol; it will be an effective way to help you get over this. However, there are various other health activities you have to perform and various health strategies you have to follow. While abandoning alcohol will be the best one to get rid of overweighting issues. A person who has a habit of drinking alcohol regularly or 1-2 drinks per day will see clear results sooner.
How Much Weight Can You Lose By Quitting Alcohol?
Various factors determine how much weight you can lose by stopping drinking alcohol.
- How much is your weight?
- Do you have any other medical problems?
- How much alcohol do you drink?
- What are your eating habits?
Besides these, there are some other things you have to consider if you want to know or reduce a specific amount of weight.
Let’s take an example to clarify it more!
For instance, a person drinks 4 beers per day, and a beer contains 150 calories. So, if the person quits drinking, he will refrain from 600 calories per day. Simultaneously, 4200 per week calories will be left off. Moreover, you’ll also get better sleep, cherished moods, less unhealthy cravings, and more energized activities to perform as a result of avoiding alcohol. In short, you’ll experience a lot of health benefits only by leaving alcohol.
What are the Factors that Cause Weight Gain due to Alcohol Consumption?
Overall, alcohol disrupts badly on a person’s health, whether it’s a man or woman. Here are some of the main reasons that lead to weight gain when you drink alcohol more than usual.
1. Adds Up Extra Calories
One of the main reasons for weight gain due to alcohol consumption is the addition of extra calories. As people don’t drink alcohol due to hunger or to meet any other nutritional needs, they only take it for fun or to celebrate anything.
However, the calories included in the alcohol contain empty calories that are not beneficial for the health of a person. The calories included in the alcohol are referred to as energy and when the body gets more energy than the requirement, the energy is stored in the body as fat. And it’s caused by overdrinking or overeating leading to weight gain.
2. Slower Down the Metabolism
Food processing and its conversion into energy is called metabolism. This energy is used to perform the body’s functions (such as breathing and thinking) and activities and exercises. But when a person drinks alcohol the metabolism of the body concentrates on processing and eliminating it.
That’s why alcohol is toxic to the body, not just for functioning but also for activities. Because when the body is focusing on metabolizing alcohol, it can’t properly focus on metabolizing food, which leads to a slower metabolism.
3. Makes You Crave Unhealthy Food
When you indulge in drinking alcohol regularly, it will affect your decision-making process and make it hard for you to choose healthy food. Even it won’t make you make healthy choices when you are feeling your best because your brain is under the influence of alcohol. It will lead you to eat unhealthy food and cause weakness in your body.
Benefits of Avoiding Alcohol
Avoiding alcohol doesn’t just help lose weight but also offers other benefits that are discussed below. Let’s have a look!
1. Offers Better Sleep At Night
As alcohol disturbs your sleep cycle and makes you dizzy throughout the day, it ultimately affects your overall health. But quitting alcohol can benefit you and offers you a good night’s sleep that also makes you active throughout the day. Thus, a higher quality of sleep helps reduce overweight. Whereas drinking alcohol in the evening makes you sleep as it decreases REM (random eye movements) and helps you feel refreshed or wake up properly.
Getting it before going to bed increases alpha wave patterns that affect your healthy and restorative sleep. As distressed sleep leads you to gain more weight, promotes stress hormones, and makes it harder to burn fat. Hence you must refrain from alcohol if you aim to have a better night’s sleep and lower weight.
2. Reduces Sugar Consumption and Weight Loss
Various cocktails, drinks, and mixers are stuffed with sugar in a high quantity. However, champagne and wine already contain sugar in them (due to being included in grapes). The use of less sugar in your daily routine promotes a lower weight because there’s research proving a positive correlation between body weight and sugar intake. In simple words, a higher intake of sugar leads to more body weight.
The Bottom Line
Alcohol consumption is overall not good for a healthy life. There are various negative effects of drinking alcohol, especially in excessive amounts, as it adds up extra calories, promotes unhealthy food cravings, and slows down the metabolism.
However, there are various benefits of abandoning alcohol consumption, such as impressive weight loss, better sleep, and a healthy life. Avoiding alcohol makes you feel relaxed mentally and physically as well. It also helps enhance your mood, healthy activities, and energy level. So, you must cut down alcohol consumption from your life to live a dream life full of healthy and cherished activities.
I am a passionate beer connoisseur with a deep appreciation for the art and science of brewing. With years of experience tasting and evaluating various beers, I love to share my opinions and insights with others and I am always eager to engage in lively discussions about my favorite beverage.