Many of us enjoy a beer don’t we, but it’s fair to say we don’t exactly enjoy the little paunch around our torso that comes with it.
Yes, we’re talking about the beer belly. The major sign that someone spends a little too much time in the pub or cracking open cans. But why does it happen? After all, it’s only liquid!
It’s enough to make you want to give up the substance, and indeed many people do give alcohol up as a result of weight gain, as well as wanting to look after their overall health.
We delve into the reasoning behind why many of us suffer with beer bellies…
Calories and alcohol: Not a good combination
The first thing to note is that many people don’t really note the calorific content of beer. It contains a lot of calories that so few of us really consider within our daily intake. Which, naturally, will make you put on weight when you consider you’ll have eaten meals across the day too.
What’s more, alcohol essentially provides you with empty calories. It doesn’t offer the essential nutrients you need, so you’re effectively going to need to consume further food in order to get that feeling of fullness and the daily nutrients you need. This does lead to weight gain though, without any increased physical exercise, and especially in the belly area.
Your metabolism is affected by alcohol
Alcohol can significantly affect how the body’s metabolism operates and the way in which it stores fat. As you drink, the body focuses on fighting against the toxins in alcohol rather than other energy sources like carbohydrates and fats, with the excess energy from the booze then being stored as fat, which loves to jiggle around our abdomen.
This is also further influenced by the fact that alcohol has a damaging impact on our liver, which will slow down the metabolism process, so not only is it focusing on the wrong areas, but also working at a slower rate too.
Kebabs, burgers and takeaways
Let’s face it, none of us go home after an evening in the pub and really crave a salad. Yes, alcohol gives us that real craving for highly fatty, highly calorific salty foods. Which, obviously, is going to have an impact on your weight. But you already knew that…
An hormonal balance tilt
The effect of alcohol will tend to form an imbalance in cortisol, a stress hormone that will promote fat storage. This can lead to changes in not only how the body stores fat, but also your appetite.
Alongside this, alcohol also impairs insulin sensitivity, which again increases the chance of picking up a little extra weight in the region.
It’s a lot to offset, all from the humble pint. It’s why moderation is key and if that isn’t feasible, then seeking affordable drug rehab cost almost certainly is!
