Did you know that alcohol consumption can decrease testosterone in men by 23%? What about how alcohol directly affects your ability to lose fat?Alcohol is deeply entrenched in our culture as a way to have fun, let loose, and be social. Companies that market alcohol from vodka, to whiskey, to beer know the right buttons to push.

• Alcoholism And Weight Loss
• Weight Loss Slowing Down Calories In Vodka Recipe
• Weight Loss Slowing Down Calories In Vodka Drink

Our brains are seemingly wired to desire a cold refreshing alcoholic beverage after a tough day at work.But, the truth is that alcohol, when not consumed in moderation (1-2 drinks a few times per week) has very negative effects on weight loss. This article will delve into the physiology of how alcohol affects your ability to successfully and keep it off for good.What is a “Drink” of Alcohol?Research considers an alcoholic drink to be about 15 grams of ethanol alcohol. Fifteen grams of alcohol is found in 5 ounces of wine, 1 1/2 ounces of an 80 proof/40% drink such as vodka or whiskey, and 12 ounces of beer. Because these are general guidelines, clearly some drinks may be stronger than others. For example, light beer is slightly weaker than regular beer. Most restaurants and bars serve 16 oz beers (making it one and a third drink) while pouring more than 1 1/2 ounces in a mixed drink.Every gram of alcohol that you drink counts for 7.1 calories.

However, because you burn up some of those as your body processes them (thermic effect), the total calorie per gram is closer to 5.7.Let’s say you order a beer at dinner. With 20 grams of alcohol x 5.7 calories + the total amount of carbs, you end up with a drink that contains 150 calories. The range of caloric intake for beers ranges from 64-250+. Wine and shots also average about the same amount of calories. Watch out for mixed drinks, because besides the alcoholic calories they inherently have, depending on what’s mixed in, you could be drinking an excessive amount of calories in just one drink. Alcohol & Weight Loss After Your First Two DrinksAfter your first drink, your body starts to get rid of the alcohol quickly using the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) pathway. In this pathway, ADH converts the alcohol into acetaldehyde, which gets further broken down to acetate.

These by-products (acetaldehyde and acetate) are considered to be highly reactive and can increase oxidation throughout the body, but especially in the liver.Because your body sees these by-products as dangerous, it wants to use them as fuel. This means your body will significantly blunt fat-burning close to 75% after just one and a half drinks. And it will stop using carbs for energy. Therefore, although very little alcohol will be stored as fat (less than 5%), the fat and carbs you are eating have an increased risk of being stored as fat.Your liver can process these toxins through the increased use of certain vitamins, such as the water soluble vitamins B1, B3, B6, folate and C, while also possibly depleting some of the fat-soluble vitamins, A, E and K1. Over-time these decreases in vitamins can play a secondary role in loss of motivation, energy, and well-being.After your first couple of drinks, your brain also starts to increase its usage of GABA. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and is a large reason why alcohol is known as a “depressant.” Over time, the GABA receptors get used to the effects of alcohol, which is a reason why people may need more and more alcohol to feel the effects from alcohol consumption. GABA is also the neurotransmitter, principally responsible for allowing you to stay asleep.

Therefore when your brain uses more of it before you go to sleep, you have less while you’re actually sleeping, causing a disruption in restful sleep.Alcohol also affects the higher processing areas of the brain, the cerebral cortex, while leaving the lower areas of the brain somewhat unaffected. This leaves you more emotional than you would normally be.

If you’ve ever experienced “drunk logic” while doing or saying things you would never think to do sober, then you’ve experienced the inhibitory effects of having your cerebral cortex taken out of the equation.While your body has started to use the alcohol as energy, your body releases anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) to help your body rid itself of the alcohol. This basically means that your urine volume increases significantly (about 100 ml per 10 grams of alcohol). If you’ve ever “broken the seal,” you know that the more you continue to drink, the more frequently you use the restroom.Since your kidneys are working over-time, your body releases an increase in certain minerals and electrolytes especially calcium, magnesium, copper, selenium and manganese. All of these play important roles not only in blood volume, but in bone health, blood pressure and the anti-oxidant pathways.In addition to everything above, a small increase in cortisol typically occurs with moderate drinking while testosterone levels will drop about 6.8% in men (not so much in women). Aromatase will also increase. Aromatase is an enzyme that helps to convert testosterone to estrogen and is obviously not something that is welcomed by many guys.

Alcohol & Weight Loss After Six to Eight Plus DrinksIf you’re drinking a moderate amount of alcohol, those things listed above are the main effects, at least short-term. If you drink heavily and drink often, another system called the Microsomal Ethanol-Oxidizing System (MEOS) system kicks in at the point when the ADH pathway becomes overwhelmed.This system is interesting because it causes your body to generally burn off more energy as useless heat and probably saves your life from too high of a blood alcohol level. It is primarily controlled by a special enzyme that plays an important role in utilizing certain medications and the metabolism of fatty acids. This increased rate of medication breakdown can decrease their effectiveness, while the incomplete breakdown of fatty acids can cause an increase in oxidation. This increase in oxidation becomes exacerbated as the body’s main anti-oxidant (glutathione) is also impaired, decreasing your ability to fight the oxidation.As your drinking levels continue to increase, testosterone levels drop from 6.8% with 4 drinks to 23% with 8 drinks.

This drop, combined with a slowdown in protein synthesis, can cause havoc when trying to recover from a workout.In addition to that, fluid loss will generally become more significant, causing dehydration that might affect you for days afterwards. Finally, with heavy drinking, the breakdown of alcohol can occur for up to 48 hours after your last drink. This means less glucose is reaching your brain and working muscles, making you both more tired and quicker to fatigue if you do exercise. If You’re Going to Drink Alcohol, Drink in Moderation and Not Too OftenYou would think after listing all that happens in your body after consuming alcohol, the no-brainer suggestion would be to not drink.

What is missing though are some of the benefits from consuming moderate amounts of alcohol.Alcohol is shown to increase insulin sensitivity, which basically means that your body needs less insulin to do its job. In addition to that, research has shown that women who drink a moderate amount will have the same or slightly lower BMI, as those who don’t drink. The same effect is not seen in men. Those who moderately drink are also at less risk of dying from heart disease and cancer while decreasing one’s risk of Alzheimer’s and even slightly improving your immune system.In other words, complete abstinence may not be needed while trying to lose fat as long as it’s done in moderation and not very often (think one time per week). If you don’t drink, obviously don’t start, but if you want to have a couple of drinks on the weekend, there is nothing necessarily wrong with having one or two. In future articles, I will list some of the best and worst drinks to have when going out and 5 strategies you can implement to decrease the deleterious effects of having a night of heavy drinking.

Alcohol & Weight Loss Wrapping It UpIn any fat loss plan, there are three main components that should be priority: Diet, Exercise, and Sleep.As stated throughout the article, a moderate amount of alcohol can increase total calories, decrease your motivation for exercise, and negatively affect your sleep. Despite this, many people can enjoy a drink or two, without throwing those three components completely out of whack.On the other hand, drinking heavily can significantly derail energy levels, has a larger influence on dehydration, negatively impacts hormonal levels, and can significantly disrupt your sleep. Therefore, limit your overall levels of alcohol and put yourself in the best position to reap some of the benefits of alcohol consumption, while not derailing your overall progress.What do you think of the article?

Anything new that you learned? Have any questions? Maria Nov 30, 2012 - 13:21Thank you for the article, John. Not sure if there’s an answer for this, but I am wondering whether having two drinks (3 oz total whiskey) in one night, once or twice a week but not every week, cause negative or positive results since I’m a woman.

Your article lists the negative effects that happen after two drinks, but the recommendation for woman is typically one drink a night. I didn’t find an answer to this in the references cited. I am mainly wondering if I should always stick to just one drink or would having two on occasion not sabotage my fat loss goals? I have lost 20 lbs (with the help of this site, thank you Marc!) but I’m trying to lose 10 more, while maintaining muscle and building strength. Do you have either of you have different recommendations on alcohol limits for women in terms of fat loss goals? Thanks again. Dec 01, 2012 - 13:50@Maria – The recommendation for women is 1 drink per night, but within the research women having 2 drinks didn’t show any difference in terms of weight loss.

With that said, three things:1 – Although there wasn’t any difference in total weight loss between the women consuming alcohol and those not consuming any, there was a difference in the waist-to-hip ratio indicating that the women who drank stored more fat in their stomachs.2 – I advise my clients to drink as little as possible when trying to lose fat. Once you have achieved your goal weight and body fat, then you can add in more alcohol while maintaining and factoring in cutting calories elsewhere.3 – If you are going to drink more, there would be other suggestions I would make, that you can find in this article:Although it’s title is about not gaining for Thanksgiving, it’s really an article about what to do if you’re going to imbibe in too much alcoholic shenanigans.Hope that helps and overall in the grand scheme of things, having 1 extra drink every once in a while shouldn’t be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. As long as you’re taking care of the larger things (working out consistently, eating correctly, watching calories, etc), you should be fine. Russella Nov 30, 2012 - 13:57I am continually impressed with the wealth of information that this website produces. Your staff and team are gold standard, Marc Perry.

Accolades to you, John, for a well-researched and well-written article explaining in detail the specific physiological systems impacted by the consumption of alcohol and also including information on the benefits of consuming.moderate. amounts of alcohol.This is valuable information and a public health service for consumers everywhere, in my opinion, because this economic downfall period has seen rising amounts of alcohol consumption, and the consequences of this are important from a health perspective as well as contributing to chronic disease and further obesity.

Rahul Nov 30, 2012 - 14:42Hi John,Very well written and detailed article, great job! I just have one confusion/doubt regarding lumping Wine into the same category. Red wine to be more specific.Red wine has decent levels of a anti-oxidant compound called Resveratrol which has anti-aging, anti-cholestrol, hearth-healthy properties besides a few more.

I got highest levels of recommendation from a prolific scientist recommending moderate usage of red wine. Please note, its red and NOT any other wine.I would be very interested to know what you may have to say on that.

Dec 01, 2012 - 14:01@Rahul – A lot of the research on alcoholic consumption and fat loss has been done with other alcohols, such as white wine for increased insulin sensitivity, beer and testosterone levels, etc. With that said Resveratrol is a potentially exciting part of red wine. Most of the current research in regards to resveratrol though are currently in super-mega doses and done on mice. For example, some of the anti-aging research was done on giving the animal an equivalent of 30 cases of red wine worth of resveratrol.

In addition to that, grape juice has about the same amount of resveratrol as does red wine, so it’s hard for me to write on the benefits specifically of red wine. With that said, of all the alcohols I do recommend, red wine is usually one at the top of the list. Hope that helps.

Alcoholism And Weight Loss

Caleb Nov 22, 2016 - 15:43I know I’m a little late on this one but Ive been recently struggling with alcohol and weight loss, weight training and trying to eat 2000 calories a day and not drink throughout the week. I’ve been doing terrible at it thus causing me to binge eat when I drink. It’s hard, and depressing. Im at 275 and need to get down to at least 215, but I want to lose all fat and not muscle and I don’t know how much of that is fat. Anyway, if you see this. Throw some prayers my way for me to stay strong and lose this terrible habit.

Thanks man, and great article by the way.

When you’re trying to lose weight, the standard advice of “eat fewer calories than you burn” still largely applies, but not all calories are created equal when it comes to the effect on your body. For example, 300 calories of broccoli will have a different effect on your blood sugar and metabolism response than 300 calories of cake.But what about 300 calories from beer, wine or a cocktail? As it turns out, alcohol also has a specific, unique effect on your body’s systems — and some of those effects may make it harder to lose weight, maintain weight and stay active.If the rest of your nutrition and exercise is on track and you’re still feeling challenged in your weight-loss journey, it might be time to take a look at what — and how much — you imbibe. How Alcohol Affects the BodyAs delicious as a mojito or craft beer might be — and often welcomed as a stress reliever and social occasion go-to — alcohol doesn’t do your body any favors. Even red wine’s supposed heart-healthy benefits are now being.“Alcohol has multiple deleterious effects on different systems of the body,” says Dr. Joshua Scott, primary care sports medicine physician at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. In the short run, it can affect muscle performance because alcohol inhibits calcium from being absorbed in muscle cells, he notes, which can lead to cramping.No matter what type of drink you have, alcohol itself is a vasodilator, which means that it temporarily opens up the blood vessels more — which is why most people tend to feel warmer when they drink.

Ironically, Dr. Scott says, your core body temperature lowers, even if you’re feeling toasty. Also, alcohol’s diuretic effects can, a situation that impacts all of your organs and systems, including digestion. Potential Ripple EffectIn addition to the specific physical mechanisms caused by alcohol, there can be secondary effects as well. Anyone who’s gone through a fast-food drive-thru after the bar closes knows this already — because drinking lowers your inhibitions, it can change how you normally control your eating, says Dr.

Darria Long Gillespie, clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Tennessee.Alcohol may also change your, particularly the amount of deep, restorative sleep you get. That can be especially pronounced if you have a drink within a few hours of bed, notes Dr. Gillespie.It’s as many as 20% of Americans have an alcoholic drink to help them fall asleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).

Weight Loss Slowing Down Calories In Vodka Recipe

But while the booze-and-snooze effect can prompt sleepiness, it tends to sabotage the quality of your overall sleep overall, the organization notes. That’s because it can interrupt your, block restorative REM sleep and aggravate breathing problems.When your sleep is cruddy, that may have an — and even whether you work out at all, Dr. Gillespie notes.

Weight Loss Slowing Down Calories In Vodka Drink

Those who feel groggy, even if they’re not hungover, may. But, if the evening brings another drinking round, complete with less-than-great food choices and more poor-quality sleep, you could be caught in a cycle that’s keeping you from hitting the goals you’ve set. Creating a BalanceDespite the negative effects that drinking can have, neither Dr. Scott nor Dr. Gillespie, along with most health experts, are suggesting you need to go sober to lose weight. Moderation is still key, and that’s defined as one drink per day for women and two for men.But they suggest if your weight loss is stalled — or you have other health issues that might be related to alcohol consumption, like low energy or poor sleep — it may be worth trying a “dry week” or even a “dry month” to see how not drinking any alcohol might affect you. For some, it could restart weight loss and help set healthier habits around food and exercise.“You don’t have to cut it out for life if you don’t want to,” Dr.

Gillespie says. “But taking a break is often more helpful than simply switching to a low-sugar or low-calorie option, or cutting back. And when you do decide to start back up again, pay attention to how it affects you.”. Look Deeper at Your HabitsOne important note is that if you’ve been trying to reduce your alcohol consumption and find it impossible, you may have a deeper issue than weight management. In that case, consider turning to resources that can help you examine your relationship to alcohol.A good starting point is the, as well as the.Even if you’re confident that alcohol is not a problem, taking time to create more awareness about how much you’re drinking can be helpful for keeping you on a healthy track, and it may aid in your weight loss and maintenance efforts, too.