Studies consistently show that alcohol ruins even the best intended diets. In fact, an innocent night of celebrating with a few cocktails can set you back 1,000 calories—just during a few hours on the town!
When you think of all the empty calories that cosmopolitan martini—not to mention the insatiable hunger that comes with a night of boozing—you may consider these eight bits of imbibing wisdom before you allow alcohol to ruin yet another attempt to shed some unwanted pounds…
1. Alcohol and Appetite
Drinking alcohol has a negative impact on brain chemicals so it shouldn’t surprise you that drinking will mess with those healthy messages you’ve been trying to get your brain (and belly) to understand. Realistically, if you drink, you’ll not only lose your inhibitions, but also seek out carbohydrate, sugar, and fat-laden comfort as a late night snack.
2. Alcohol Slows Metabolism
Another diet-sabotaging truth when it comes to alcohol is that drinking actually decreases your ability to burn fat, slowing your metabolism by approximately 70-percent. For example, when you drink, your body will focus on eliminating the toxins in alcohol and ignore those 4 pieces of double-cheese pizza you scared down along with your beers.
3. Drinking On Empty
Many of us “bank up” our calories up for a night of drinking by skipping dinner. However, this disservice will only leave your stomach empty, allowing the alcohol to be absorbed much more quickly—thus, making you intoxicated faster. To save yourself a night of hugging the toilet, be sure to consume a balanced diet of lean protein, slow burning carbohydrates, and healthy fats ahead of imbibing, which will help you break down alcohol more efficiently.
4. The Price of Multiple Drinks
You might not have realized that an innocent glass of white wine can contain almost 150 calories per glass. And let’s face it; can you really just have one? While 3 glasses of vino will set you back almost 450 calories—imagine what 3 cocktails will do at 300 calories (on average) each?
5. Hidden Cocktail Calories
Wine or a martini might seem like a high caloric price to pay at 250 to 300 calories per drink, however, there are much worse offenders with hidden calories. Consider boozy eggnog at almost 400 calories per cup or a basic lime margarita at almost 600 calories each!
6. Sneaky Calories in Mixes
It’s easy to forget—particularly when alcohol is involved—that you can easily drink an excessive amount of calories…almost as much as a meal! And it’s not always the liquor alone, sugary mixes, like juice or soda, can add 250 extra calories per serving.
7. Alcohol Increases Indulgence
So while most alcoholic beverages contain a ton of hidden calories, drinking will also test your self-control. How often have you been able to turn down a piece of cake or jalapano poppers after a few pitchers of beer? In the end, drinking requires energy, leaving us prone to indulge our worst cravings.
8. Hangover Temptation
The guilt of drinking never ends when the celebrating ceases. In fact, it can stretch on almost 24-hours later if you suffer a hangover. Spending a day hung-over inevitably leads to dehydration, no exercise, and a day of starchy comfort foods to calm a stormy stomach.
