When you are trying to lose weight or maintain your current physique, every little thing counts. That is why we download workout apps, research nutrition information, look at nutritional labels, and talk to experts. Nowadays we try to understand and digest anything and everything that can get in the way of any health and fitness goals. One frequently mentioned detriment to any diet is drinking alcohol. Having a few drinks with some friends can make for an undeniably fun evening, but can it derail your diet? Does alcohol make you fat?

Alcohol is Very Caloric

One indisputable fact is that alcohol is very caloric. Just one alcoholic beverage can have somewhere between 100 and 200 calories, and that is not even including sugary mixers like soda or juice. On top of that, the calories found in alcohol are essentially “empty calories”, completely devoid of any kind of nutritional value. If you are on a strict calorie count, having just a few drinks in the evening is enough to stop any progress you are making.

Alcohol Makes You Hungry

No, you are not just imagining it, alcohol does in fact make you more hungry. All calories are not created equal, so while you ingest a plethora of calories while drinking alcohol, booze does not satiate us in the same way food does. On top of that, research has shown that alcohol can suppress the hormone in your brain that tells you to stop eating, and inhibitions are lowered when intoxicated, leading to overeating while drunk.

Alcohol Can Store More Food You Eat as Fat

When you drink, your body identifies the alcohol as a toxin that must be dealt with ASAP. That means that instead of breaking down the food you just ate, your body burns the alcohol as energy. Alcohol is essentially empty calories, and since alcohol is highly caloric you are likely to eat more calories than you burn. All of those excess calories and food you just ate will then be stored as fat instead of used as energy. So while alcohol will not make you fat, it does make it easier to put on weight and gain fat.

Alcohol Slows Down the Fat Burning Process

Research has shown that alcohol can slow down the fat burning process by 73%. So not only are you gaining more fat from excess calories, but you are also going to have a harder time burning fat while drinking.

Stop Drinking Alcohol and Lose Weight at The Pearson Center

If you are trying to lose weight but are unable to stop drinking, you may have an alcohol addiction problem. If that is the case, let the team at The Pearson Center for Alcoholism and Addiction Research in San Diego help. We are currently running an alcohol addiction clinical trial that provides free alcohol treatment for those who participate. If you are interested in getting sober, contact us today by calling (858) 784-7867.