When your eating habits are not up to par and you follow a steady diet that includes alcohol, your weight can suffer. As the new year approaches, drinking less and reducing calorie intake are two common goals. Both of these resolutions go hand in hand and they cannot be achieved without the other.
Significance
Excessive alcohol consumption comes with risks. You can become sick to your stomach and vomit, you can develop a headache, you can lose sleep and you can endanger the lives of innocent people. It can also cause weight gain because it increases appetite, lowers testosterone levels and it slows down the rate at which stored fat gets burned for energy. If you were to drink less and reduce your calorie intake simultaneosuly, this can have a significant impact on your weight loss goal. It can also improve your overall health.
Features
When you are trying to drink less alcohol, there are a few strategies that can be effective. You can drink light beer instead of regular, you can alternate every other drink with water or some other form of non-alcoholic beverage or you can dilute your beverages with seltzer water, diet soda or regular water. All of these strategies will lead to a reduced calorie intake. It will also prevent you from becoming dehydrated from excessive alcohol consumption.
Moderation
Moderation is a term used to describe a safe amount of alcohol consumption where it cannot cause bodily harm. According to the Mayo Clinic, this is characterized as two drinks a day if you're a man 65 and younger, or one drink a day if you're a woman or a man who's 66 or older. If you reduce your intake to these levels, not only will you be consuming fewer calories, but you can also lower your risk for heart disease, gallstones, strokes and heart attacks.
Size
Alcohol weighs in at 7 calories per gram. Even though it is in the form of liquid, these calories still add up. Calorie counts of alcohol differ depending on what kind of drink it is. If you drink three regular beers a day for example, and you chose to give them up, you would reduce your daily intake by nearly 500 calories. If you also gave up a 20-oz. bottle of soda a day along with your beer, you would save another 250 calories. After one week, you can lose over a pound from this caloric reduction.
Expert Insight
If you are going to cut down on your drinking and eat fewer calories, then you should replace foods that are high in fat, sodium and sugar with nutrient dense versions. Lean meats, low-fat dairy products, fruits, vegetables, beans, fish, whole grains, nuts and seeds are examples of these foods. If you are going to drink in moderation, drink at a slow pace and be cognizant of what you eat while you are drinking. Daily exercise can also help further promote weight loss.
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