Alcohol & Weight Loss

Negative Effects

One drink may be protective, but not everyone has the same response to alcohol. Those who have the genetic make-up that predisposes to alcohol abuse, those who don't metabolize alcohol well, those who have certain diseases, have existing liver problems, or are taking medications that cause side effects when alcohol is consumed, and those who are pregnant should avoid drinking alcohol. And although alcohol may raise HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol), there are better ways to do this - how about reducing body fat and exercising to raise HDL levels? In addition, drinking alcohol can raise triglyceride levels, which is another risk factor for heart disease, so the effects of alcohol vary from one person to another.

Alcohol and Weight Gain

For those who want to gain body weight, you need to increase calorie intake, but there are much better choices than alcohol to do this. Alcohol is very high in calories, but because alcohol is converted to fatty acids when it is metabolized, the extra calories are more likely to be stored as body fat. Healthy gains in weight come from a carefully planned diet, balanced in nutrition, not by the addition of low-nutrition calories like alcohol, sugar and low-nutrients snacks and desserts. Enjoy these foods occasionally, but don't use them for gaining weight!

Alcohol and Weight Loss

For those trying to lose body fat, drinking alcohol is going to slow down your weight loss progress, and again, because it converts to body fat more readily than most other nutrients, it's not the best choice for improving body fat percentage.

An Occasional Drink

If you want to add an occasional alcohol beverage to your weight loss or weight gain plan, you can add it your plan and consider that these are extra calories. Again, for weight loss, it will add up to extra calories that may slow your progress. You will need to increase your physical activity to make up for it!