Why alcohol calories are more important than you think...

[neutronnorman]

Why Alcohol Calories Are More Important Than You Think
by Christian Finn

Successful weight loss is all about oxidizing (or burning), more calories than you eat. When they go on a diet, many people choose low-calorie alcoholic drinks, mainly because they contain fewer alcohol calories than their regular counterparts.
However, drinking too much has a far more damaging effect than you can predict simply by looking at the number of alcohol calories in a drink. Not only does it reduce the number of fat calories you burn, alcohol can increase your appetite and lower your testosterone (yes, boys, a nice pair of male boobies look great under your tee-shirts) levels for up to 24 hours after you finish drinking.

Alcohol calories

According to conventional wisdom, the infamous "beer belly" is caused by excess alcohol calories being stored as fat. Yet, less than five percent of the alcohol calories you drink are turned into fat. Rather, the main effect of alcohol is to reduce the amount of fat your body burns for energy.
Some evidence for this comes from research carried in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition [4]. 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%.

You can find the full article here: Why Alcohol Calories are More Important Than You Think

[pinkfusion]

Conclusion: Don't drink with food.

I'm kidding lol

[Ohbehave007]

Wow Norman, you are full of information arn't you . Not that it's a bad thing or anything, I love learning new things.

[Emre Yigit]

Hmmm. There are also plenty of studies about the benefits of an occasional drink.

During the Atkins OWL, as soon as it was legal to include it, I added a large glass of wine to meals, maybe something like three times a week. I also - much more rarely - had a (no-carb) cocktail. It worked for me. Just FYI.

But of course alcohol changes energy metabolisation and is also high in calories, so there is a definite limit to the suggested consumption.

[sham]

Well done Norman another useful topic I hope it helps those who drink and gets the message across.

[Slidesdownmountains]

much as I love the occasional gin and slimline, or crisp, dry white - I find that not only does it play havoc with my blood sugar, it completely depletes me of any motivation to do anything useful!
And it does also increase my food intake, perhaps not so much my appetite, but definitely my urge to graze and snack...
Designated driver? Moi!

[not2late]

Originally Posted by Emre Yigit

Hmmm. There are also plenty of studies about the benefits of an occasional drink.

During the Atkins OWL, as soon as it was legal to include it, I added a large glass of wine to meals, maybe something like three times a week. I also - much more rarely - had a (no-carb) cocktail. It worked for me. Just FYI.

But of course alcohol changes energy metabolisation and is also high in calories, so there is a definite limit to the suggested consumption.

The purported health benefits are dose-dependent. Once you exceed that dose, you actually increase your risk for cardiovascular disease. Here's a link to the University of Michigan's page with more information:

UMIM: Healing Foods Pyramid - Accompaniments: Alcohol| University of Michigan Health System

[SunnySmile501]

Not only does too much alcohol put the brakes on fat loss, it's also one of the most effective ways to slash your testosterone levels. Just a single bout of heavy drinking raises levels of the muscle-wasting hormone cortisol and increases the breakdown of testosterone for up to 24 hours [6]. The damaging effects of alcohol on testosterone are made even worse when you exercise before drinking [1].

So what you're saying is that the man that thinks a few drinks makes him sexier, a Lothario or a Casanova, is delusional and quite the opposite is going on?

[imagood1]

My alcoholic ex-husband thought he was a cassanova when he was drunk .... boy was he wrong!

[Emre Yigit]

Originally Posted by not2late

The purported health benefits are dose-dependent. Once you exceed that dose, you actually increase your risk for cardiovascular disease. Here's a link to the University of Michigan's page with more information:

UMIM: Healing Foods Pyramid - Accompaniments: Alcohol| University of Michigan Health System

I absolutely agree.

Do please note that I said "one large glass of wine, maybe three times a week... a rare cocktail."

(Though I would challenge one recommendation by UMIM - that alcohol is not recommended under the age of 21.)