For those people attempting to shed weight, one of the first questions I ask them is how much alcohol they are ingesting. In medical school we were taught to place a multiplier on the answer, i.e. if someone states “I have 2-3 beers a week” more than likely reality is such that the consumption is more likely to be 4-6 beers a week. Similarly, the “1-2 glasses of wine a night” is more likely to be 2-3 times that amount. For some reason, alcohol users tend to minimize in their minds the true consumption, less they be identified as an “alcoholic”.
On the surface, one bottle of light beer or a glass of white wine does not seem to be damaging to weight control as the calorie counts are not that high. However, alcohol in any form derails weight control for the following reasons:
- High-Calorie Density: Alcohol contains nearly as many calories per gram as fat with many drinks having high sugar content (e.g., beers, cocktails).
- Prioritized Metabolism: Your body prioritizes processing alcohol, which temporarily halts the body’s ability to burn fat and metabolize carbohydrates.
- Decreased Inhibitions/Increased Intake: Alcohol lowers inhibitions, leading to poor food choices, excessive calorie intake, and often, high-fat, salty, or fried “munchies”.
- Reduced Fat Burning: By prioritizing alcohol breakdown, the body stores the excess glucose and lipids from foods consumed alongside the drink as belly fat, leading to increased total body fat, often called a “beer belly”.
- Disrupted Sleep: Alcohol reduces sleep quality, which can impair metabolism and increase hunger hormones (ghrelin) while decreasing satiety hormones (leptin).
- Lack of Nutritional Value: Alcohol provides no essential nutrients, making the calories truly “empty” while hindering the body’s ability to process other food nutrients.
This does not mean that a person seeking to lose weight should not drink alcohol at all. But what it does imply is that the weight-conscious patient that is regularly drinking alcohol needs to reduce the consumption. The less the better!
“Cracklin Rose” is a Neil Diamond song written about a bottle of wine…here goes:
