Alcohol and weight is a subject relevant to millions of people who like to drink alcoholic beverages and who also either want to maintain or to lose body weight. It is uncertain whether alcohol leads to increase in body weight or if it does not. Some studies find an increase in body weight, some studies do not, and some find a small decrease among women who begin consuming alcohol. There has been a good amount of research over the last few years about the benefits of red wine and safe limits for alcohol consumption, but what about alcohol when you’re trying to diet? The truth may be surprising to you.Drinking alcohol, whether in the form of wine, liquor, or beer, can negatively affect weight loss. People who try to find the best diet but also drink alcohol have a harder time losing weight than those who do not drink at all. Here are some facts:Pure alcohol contains about 7 calories per gram, which makes it nearly twice as fattening as carbohydrates or protein (both contain about 4 calories per gram) and only just under the caloric value for fat (9 calories per gram). This means that if you want to lose weight and reduce excess body fat, alcohol is not a good choice.But how does alcohol make you fat?The energy from alcohol cannot be stored so it must be oxidised and converted into energy for immediate use by the cells. While our body uses up all the alcohol circulating in the blood, the oxidation of fats, carbohydrates and protein becomes suppressed; because of this more of these macronutrients are forced into storage than under normal conditions without alcohol. Alcohol can make you fat in an indirect manner.An Occasional DrinkIf you want to add an occasional alcohol beverage to your weight loss or weight gain plan, you can add it your plan and consider that these are extra calories. Again, for weight loss, it will add up to extra calories that may slow your progress. You will need to increase your physical activity to make up for it!Some evidence for this comes from research carried in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Eight men were given two drinks of vodka and sugar-free lemonade separated by 30 minutes. Each drink contained just under 90 calories. Fat metabolism was measured before and after consumption of the drink. For several hours after drinking the vodka, whole body lipid oxidation (a measure of how much fat your body is burning) dropped by a massive 73%.Don’t drink on a fat loss program. Although you could certainly drink and “get away with it" if you diligently maintained your calorie deficit as noted above, it certainly does not help your fat loss cause or your nutritional status. Although wine contains fewer calories than beer, this can also lead to extra calories. Having a glass of wine provides 100 calories, but this is dependent on the glass size. A serving size of wine is 5-ounces. The larger wine glasses hold about 10 ounces turning your one glass of wine into two glasses. To put this into perspective, drinking two glasses of wine each night with dinner will add an extra 200 calories each day. If these calories are not burned through exercise and daily activity it can lead to a 20 pound weight gain in a year.
First, there were diets that had a commandment: "thou shall not eat?"
That didn't last for long with most people- either they gave up or just didn't get to stick around to enjoy life. Then came water diets where you get the feeling of fullness but not actually get any calories. That didn't last long either. The all- you- can- meat fest type of diets may seem sound but based on the long- term results, people who tried this didn't lose much weight compared to those who didn't go for protein- enriched diets.
When things failed, quick fixes have cropped out of nowhere with products ranging from herbals to synthetically made goods. Pills and tonics. Surgery and liposuction. Ever heard of just having an I.V. for your nutritional requirements? It can get pretty expensive but if people want to lose weight fast, they'll try anything.
The thing is, losing weight is a pretty complicated procedure especially for those who are in need of losing weight for the sake of their health. Flab is unsightly but what goes beneath the skin is even scarier. Try picturing fat called plaque sticking to the arterial walls and clogging them up until one day? you provide a traumatizing event. Age and gender, along with what kind of life a person leads contribute to the chances of obesity. In order to lose weight properly, factors have to be addressed the same way.
The best way to stay within the ideal weight is to live life as naturally as possible. If you are overweight, you will lose weight and vice versa. Live as if the era you live in is a time where food additives and artificial flavorings have not been invented. What is natural for a normal human being? Adequate food, fresh water, exercise, sleep? read on to get what this means.
The body is one of the fastest things to adapt. Diets that offer quick results will not offer those results on a long- term basis. Water weight is the first to go during a diet since it's the body's major component. After the body gets used to lower calories, it will use theses calories as efficiently as it can then voila! Weight will not go down. Besides surgery and pills are not parts of the natural way of life.
Everyone says that drinking 8 glasses of water a day is the recommended amount. For some it holds true, for some 6 glasses a day can do since some foods have high water content. Water with an intake of fiber is a good detoxification routine. However, water will not compensate for the body's other nutritional needs.
Technology has made mankind a bit too lazy. Instead of hunting for food, people can just get cans off supermarket shelves or just have groceries delivered to the doorstep. Even cooking has become too easy- open a can and be done with it. Exercise is good because it helps keep weight gain at bay and promotes good blood circulation. Aerobic exercise, usually those that make your heart pump, with anaerobic exercise will help the body achieve the ideal weight by burning unnecessary calories or building up muscle instead of fat.
As with everything, exercising should not be forced on the body. Start with simple stretches for 5 minutes then work your way up until the routine becomes at least 30 minutes long. Exercise should not make a person feel tired. Over- exertion will not solve anything.
Back to the canned food. Canned food is full of additives and preservatives. But hey, if it tastes good and is easy to eat, why not? Wrong. If you want to lose weight naturally, you have to stick to a natural diet.
The cons of an "instant- food" lifestyle include weight gain from saturated fats and food additives. Cancer is also a looming threat. Natural eating should include a balance of vegetables, fruits, carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Humans are omnivores so all- meat or all- vegetable diets have drawbacks when it comes to the daily nutrient requirement.
After eating and exercising, what do people in the old days do? Sleep, of course! Sleep is the body's natural recharging system. Getting eight hours of uninterrupted sleep will give a lot of benefits. Stress contributes to weight gain so when you remove stress by snoozing, you may lose weight. Not sleeping will also remove weight but for the price of your health.
The natural life includes removing sources of stress. Sleeping is one thing but there are problems forty winks can't cure. You may either enroll in a class that will help you with your psychological troubles or avoid the sources of the troubles altogether. Mental and psychological health is as important as food, drink and sleep.
Nature knows best, are you willing to heed her wisdom?
Both Ricky Hussey & Nathfiset are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.