Alcohol is primarily made up of sugar and carbs which translates to calories. In fact, having only a few drinks in one setting can increase your calorie count rather quickly. For example, a light beer averages around 110 calories; 5 ounces of champagne 95 calories; 1.5 ounces of vodka 96 calories. Those are just a few examples, combine these numbers with mixers such as grenadine, juice or soda and you could be adding anywhere from 50 to 700 additional calories. If those numbers don't get your attention try making your drink of choice a heavy hitter like a long island ice tea which is a whopping 780 calories per drink, just two drinks would equal more than half of your daily recommended calorie intake... yikes! Now base these numbers on the fact that most females with a weight loss goal tend to average about 1500 calories or less per day (not including exercise) and you can see how alcohol consumption can really add to your calorie intake.
If the calorie count doesn't have you convinced that alcohol is your enemy in terms of weight loss how about these apples: alcohol causes cellulite, alcohol slows your metabolism and alcohol lowers your inhibitions, which makes you more likely to eat bad food. Not only will you more than likely make a bad eating choice while imbibing but how often do you wake up after a night of drinking craving something to "feed" the alcohol? Bacon, egg and cheese bagel anyone? Also, alcohol contains a ton of sugar, you may as well sit down with a big bowl of sugar because alcohol plus the added mixers are loaded with the white stuff. Now, for arguments sake lets just say you were a good girl and got in a good burn by exercising before you begin drinking, well that's always good but you need to know that once you consume alcohol your body will focus all it's energy to burn the alcohol in your body first which can take about ten hours for your body to burn. In addition, consuming alcohol could stop your body from burning fat for 24 to 72 hours!
There are many of you who still think you can continue to drink and win the battle of the bulge but let me put it to you in a way that really made me sit back and smell the tequila! If you're finding it hard to cut the alcohol out of your daily life, you may need an AA meeting or 12 step program more than you need to worry about weight loss. Alcohol consumption has become a part of our social DNA and when you begin cutting it out your life you often realize how the lack of alcohol can put a damper on your social engagements. I personally discovered that my husband and I were consuming more than I imagined once I began trying to lose weight. A glass of wine or two with dinner on a Tuesday, a few drinks while listening to jazz on Thursdays and a full day of drinking and watching football on Saturday. It was so ingrained in some of our rituals that we hardly noticed! When I began replacing an alcoholic beverage with a water bottle not only did the weight seem to fall off a bit more easily but I was also one thousand times more likely to get up and workout the next day. In fact I begin to make exercising an absolute must after drinking because I refused to let drinking be the reason that I gave up on my goals. Now, I'll be the first to tell you that I had to really take a hard look at what we considered "fun" and make some serious changes in order to cut the alcohol. For example now that I've limited my alcohol intake on those instances when I do allow myself to let me hair down, it has on occasion taken a full two days to recover. Feeling like crap for a full day is enough motivation for me to be mindful when I'm drinking and drastically limits my intake in a major way. So here's a few more facts that will hopefully prompt you to limit your intake: alcohol can lead to addiction; alcohol is empty calories that provide no benefit to you in terms of nutrition; alcohol diminishes your capabilities; alcohol can increase the chances of liver disease and diabetes.
I'm in no way trying to ban alcohol from your life, it is part of so many customary traditions in our culture, such as toasting in the New Year after all. What I am asking is that you take a hard look at your relationship with alcohol, especially if your goal is to lose weight. I strongly encourage you to limit your alcohol consumption to special events or outings. Also reach for alcohol with low sugar and carb content which means avoiding beer and sipping on a dry red or dry white wine such as champagne. Also drinking straight alcohol such as vodka, scotch and gin minus the sugary mixers is also a better choice when your trying to limit the calories. I've began mixing Crystal Light into my drinks and it's a pretty tasty substitute for fruit juice. Finally, I've gotten into the habit of drinking plenty of water when I'm having and drink and my personal rule of thumb is to always workout the next day, no matter how bad the first twenty minutes might suck I always I feel better in the end!
Can you improve your weight loss by limiting the alcohol in your lifestyle?
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