The alcohol calories (like the cost of the cocktails) would be added to the total calories from the meal. Still, even if abusive drinkers do get a few rounds on the house, calorically speaking, it doesn’t add up to a knockout figure. does alcohol make u gain weight Habitual excessive alcohol consumption has long been linked to an increased waist-to-hip ratio (a fancy term for a beer belly). Research shows, however, that even infrequent binge drinking can thicken your midsection.
How alcohol could cause weight gain
There are several direct and indirect ways that heavy drinking can make you gain weight or, more specifically, gain body fat. Moderate alcohol consumption shouldn’t cause any significant weight gain as long as you do everything else right. But if you aren’t able to eat right when drinking, it’ll significantly affect how you accumulate fat. “The good news is that earlier stages of steatotic liver disease are usually completely reversible in about four to six weeks if you abstain from drinking alcohol,” Dr. Sengupta assures.
Alcohol Affects Your Sleep
In fact, one study found that men who drank more than three drinks per day were 80% more likely to have a lot of belly fat than men who didn’t drink as much (15). As well as the result of passing your tipping point, research shows that poor sleep quality following binge drinking significantly affects weight. To flush out this water weight, cut the carbs down to 50g the day after drinking. Also use intermittent fasting combined with C8-MCTs to promote additional fat-burning. Your body will prioritize burning the calories from alcohol first over other calories you consume from food. This means you will most likely store those additional calories as fat while your body is trying to clear the byproducts of alcohol calories (3).
Ways That Beer May Cause Fat Gain
Drinking alcohol with diabetes medicine, especially on an empty stomach, may cause low blood sugar. Drinking alcohol can impair the functions of your glands that release hormones, which may cause weight gain. The fat stored around your belly is thought to be the most dangerous type of fat for your health. This is because your body prioritizes the breakdown of alcohol over other sources of fuel, including stored fat. Beer is high in carbs and alcohol but low in almost all other nutrients. The calorie content of beer depends on its strength — the more alcohol it contains, the more calories it contains.
The more you drink, the more you wake up to increasingly unstable moods and stress, leading you to drink (and eat) more. Alcohol can make you more susceptible to mental health issues like depression and anxiety, reducing your motivation to go out and be active. So you’ve had a rough night out, and the only remedy is to stress eat donuts, burgers, and crisps all afternoon while lying on the couch under a blanket of shame. You’re stressed, so you’ll likely crave junk food to feel better again. Let’s say you wake up with terrible anxiety or a mind full of regrets from last night’s behavior. You’ve doubled the recommended caloric intake of an entire day in the span of a few hours.
- However, heavy drinking of any alcoholic beverage will put you at higher risk of gaining belly fat.
- Eliminating or reducing alcohol consumption is a common dieting behavior.
- The association between alcohol intake and body weight is generally stronger in men than women [15], especially because of the amount and type of alcohol consumed by men.
- Alcohol can affect many areas of your health, such as digestion and your ability to think clearly.
Avoid Eating Greasy and High-Calorie Foods
What’s more, calories from alcohol are typically considered empty calories, since most alcoholic drinks do not provide substantial amounts of vitamins, minerals, or other nutrients. Drinking too much wine can cause you to consume more calories than you burn, which can lead to weight gain. In comparison, one 12-ounce (355-mL) serving of light beer has around 100 calories, while the same amount of regular beer has closer to 150 calories — and even more if it’s a heavy beer. Meanwhile, a 1.5-ounce (44-mL) shot of vodka has 97 calories (7, 8, 9).
Can Beer Give You a Big Belly?
- Heavy drinking may activate hormones that signal appetite, hunger, and stress.
- Still, research has linked excess alcohol use to poor sleep duration and quality.
- This is one of the reasons sales of spiked seltzers, with their relatively low calorie counts, have increased so dramatically in recent years.
- The calories from alcohol won’t make you feel full leading you to eat more and more.