Skip to main content

Confused why you're gaining weight? Alcohol might be the culprit

By
tequila_640.jpg
We've all experienced the drunk munchies before, right? The bad news: Booze can cause us to eat more, worse and store more calories as fat. The good news: No need to give up a great evening—we've got the plan to keep you drinking happily with your weight in check.
Alcohol triggers cravings—mainly for junk food...Your first drink starts a rush of feel-good endorphins in your brain, says a study inScience Translational Medicine. At the same time, it can also spark disco-fry cravings. 
"The neurocircuitry for the pleasure you get from alcohol and food overlaps," said study author Jennifer Mitchell, assistant professor of neurology at the University of California at San Francisco.
Then it makes you impulsive...So you're battling disco-fry cravings, but now, shortly after that first sip, the alcohol in your brain slows activity in your rational prefrontal cortex. Your logic and willpower plummet, and you can't say no to snacks. Worse, if you sip more than one drink per hour, your liver can't metabolize the alcohol fast enough to keep up, leaving more booze—and junk food cravings—to wallop your brain.
And leads you to misread your body's signals...
Just when you're too irrational to resist those apps, your body starts telling you it's hungry. Truth: It probably isn't. Alcohol lowers the level of hormones that help you retain water, making you dehydrated. 
"The thirst you feel can actually register as hunger," said Sharon Akabas, associate director of Columbia University's Institute of Human Nutrition.
Meanwhile, you burn off food more slowly...
Odds are good you cave in and order the fries. Double trouble: The extra calories are one thing, but you're also more likely to store them as fat. 
"Metabolizing alcohol takes precedence over digesting food, so you burn alcohol faster than the food-based calories," said Jennifer A. Reinhold, Pharm.D., assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.
And you end up hungry again
As your night of fun winds down, the weighty side effects keep adding up. 
"Drinking causes a spike in blood sugar that prompts your pancreas to pump out extra insulin," Reinhold said. "And insulin makes you store more fat." 
The insulin lowers your blood-sugar levels, causing more hunger (and maybe a hankering for a big hangover brunch the next day). It's no wonder you feel bloated.
This article originally appeared on Self.com. 

Labels

Labels:
Location: Clearwater, FL, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dorian Yates Workout Routine, Diet Plan and Training Philosophy

By
Dorian Andrew Mientjez Yates is a former English professional bodybuilder who has a record of winning Mr. Olympia for six consecutive years from 1992 to 1997. Named along legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lee Haney, Yates, has under his belt 15 major contest wins. Yates’s competing career was cut short by injuries. Known by the nickname, ‘The Shadow,’ because of his uncanny ability to stay out of public gaze before a competition, Yates adopted the HIT or High-Intensity Training method that emphasizes on fewer reps and maximum effort. Dorian Yates Workouts Dorian Yates HIT Workout Routine Dorian Yates was greatly influenced by Mike Mentzer’s HIT training method and started following it from his early days in bodybuilding. His training philosophy involves doing different exercises for each body part with maximum intensity for only one set to failure, excluding warm up sets. Yates follows a working split of four days and advises that moderate cardio should be done 2-...
Post a Comment
Read more

Iron Is A Girl's Best Friend

By
When I first picked up weights a few years ago, maximal lifting wasn't even on my radar. I ran around in circles with my 10-pound dumbbells, completely unaware that I was missing out on an entire world of fitness. In the world of 1RM strength, you set specific goals and work for weeks or months to inch closer to them. You push your body to its limits to achieve a triumph that only lasts a couple of seconds. But you also get rewarded with a rush unlike anything else. It's a great world to be a part of, and it's changed the entire way I view health and fitness. I wouldn't say I'm an expert on heavy lifting—yet. But I've still learned some important lessons along the way, and I'm confident you'll find them just as helpful as I did. If you're looking to find your numbers or move them up into uncharted territory, here are five rules you need to take to heart. 1  TRAIN SYSTEMATICALLY WHY BOTHER WITH MAXIMAL LIFTS? Heavy weight is instructive....
Post a Comment
Read more

9 AB Training Mistakes You Need To Stop Making

By
The rise of the core has led to a profusion of misinformation and confusion. Eliminate the training flubs that keep your abs in the shadows! "The first rule to get abs is: you do not do sit-ups. The second rule to get abs is: you DO NOT do sit-ups." - Tyler Durden,  Fight Club . OK, Tyler didn't really say that. But as women everywhere reminded their dates in the post-movie recap, he did have some serious abs. Or maybe it was the guy who played him—you know, ol' what's-his-obliques. But whomever they belonged to, they were the kind of muscles that weren't just made in the kitchen. They were carved by hard training, and revealed by smart diet choices. But here's the thing about ab training: What you  do  is only one half of the equation. What you don't do is the other—and I'm not just talking about the usual pre-photo shoot fitness model tricks like avoiding sodium, carbs, happiness, or air. I'm referring to the piles of abominable abdomi...
Post a Comment
Read more