Jul 10
13
Drinking makes you FAT!
Written Date July 13, 2010
By Jason ‘The Genie’ Mathews, Edmonton Personal Trainer
But let’s just do this, and I can get back to killing you with beer.” ~Homer Simpson~
If you want to make your body 73% more effective at gaining weight …. then snuggle up to your favorite alcoholic beverage. Studies are confirming just how much alcohol can sidetrack your weight loss ambitions. Successful long term weight loss is all about burning more calories than you take in; however you can derail that in as little as one step and you can turn your body in one fat packing machine instead. This does not mean that you need to become a social leper…. you just need a workable plan to make your healthy weight loss dreams and your social life mesh. Here is the plan to make your dream still come true and the simplified info on why drinking is making you fat.
The alarming 73 % figure is result of a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition displaying what happened to eight people who drank alcoholic beverage of less than 90 calories in a clinical trial and how it altered their bodies innate human ability to convert fat into energy. Normally your body uses and switches between a bunch of different fuel sources to power itself such as carbohydrate, fat, and protein. Which source is used for fuel from moment to moment is dictated by your physical activity and the type of fuel nutrients most abundantly supplied through the foods you’ve consumed. Explained simply your body adapts to whatever you do with it and how you decide to feed it.
It’s often thought the “beer belly” is caused by those extra alcohol calories being stored as fat … this is not exactly true. The portion of the calories turned into fat is just 5%. What actually happens is far more interesting …. a radical switch in energy sources goes on in the body. When an alcoholic drink is consumed your body reduces the amount of fat it burns for energy and instead uses a byproduct of the consumed alcohol called acetate. This effectively stops fat from being burned for fuel and instead it gets … stored… easily. The bottom line is that alcohol is working against you in your quest to have a leaner and healthier body.
Now that we’ve established that alcohol and weight loss don’t work well together. You need to decide if losing weight is enough a priority that you are willing to modify your lifestyle for a small period of time so that you can get to your weight loss goal.
Here is the 4 Step plan once you’ve come to a decision that you are definitely ready to lose weight:
Step #1 - Set a target for what you’ve decided your ideal weight should be.
As a guide you can use something like the Body Mass Index or a body composition test.
Step #2 – Figure out how many weeks it will take to get to your ideal weight.
Provided you are nourishing yourself properly, successful and long lasting healthy weight loss can average 1 – 2 pounds per week. Ensure you are properly nourishing your body for maximum healthy weight loss by starting a daily food journal. If you don’t seem to be averaging 1 – 2 pounds of weight loss per week then take the food journal to a credible nutrition counselor for suggestions.
Step #3 – Learn how to accelerate your weight loss through exercise.
A good exercise program should help your strength, mobility, improve that physique you’ll see once you’ve lost that weight, and burn extra calories to get you to your goal in record time.
Step #4 – Reintegrate alcohol back in.
As long as you maintain your target weight you can start modestly reintroducing alcohol back into your life.
Add some healthy recipes to your menu by sending me at email at freehealthyrecipes@jasonmathews.com and start receiving some tasty ideas to get yourself fit right away!
Have a healthy and happy day!
By Jason ‘The Genie Mathews, Edmonton Personal Trainer
www.jasonmathews.com
References
Siler, S.Q., Neese, R.A., & Hellerstein, M.K. (1999). De novo lipogenesis, lipid kinetics, and whole-body lipid balances in humans after acute alcohol consumption. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 70, 928-936
