Talk with your doctor if you are unsure about your ideal amount. This article reviews the calories in wine, how it compares with other alcoholic drinks, and whether drinking too much of it can lead to weight gain. This can create a vicious cycle where alcohol consumption leads to hormone imbalances, which in turn lead to increased caloric intake and weight gain. Alcohol can affect other hormones such as cortisol, the stress hormone. Elevated cortisol levels can lead to increased appetite and cravings for high-calorie, sugary foods. If you’re talking about straight vodka, then no, it won’t make you fat on its own.
- Studies have found that drinking more than four drinks at one time can increase your risk of belly fat, no matter what drink you choose (19, 37, 38, 39).
- If you consume too much of it, you can develop alcohol poisoning or even die.
- Many of the benefits attributed to red wine have to do with a specific polyphenol called resveratrol.
- Most studies show that beer consumption is linked with both an increase in waist circumference and body weight.
- For example, some popular and tasty cocktail recipes combine vodka with high-sugar or sugary beverages like orange juice, cranberry juice, or pineapple juice.
Does Drinking Alcohol Make You Gain Weight?
Consuming alcohol also makes you hungrier for high fat, high sodium food while impeding your judgment, which further contributes to poor food choices. Moreover, whether a dieter should be able to manage moderate alcohol consumption depends on its contribution to their daily calorie intake. It is hard to stay on even a moderately low-calorie diet and eat enough protein, carbohydrates, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products to meet one’s daily nutrient needs.
Calorie Content of Vodka
Again, you can drink and still lose weight—just keep it within moderate levels and you should be fine. Click here to read more about the effects of alcohol on health on MDLinx. https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/5-alcoholic-types-in-alcoholism/ The best way to get rid of a beer belly is through diet and exercise. The fat stored around your belly is thought to be the most dangerous type of fat for your health.
Eat Potassium-Rich Foods
Poor sleep can lead to higher levels of ghrelin (which increases appetite) and lower levels of leptin (which signals fullness), causing you to eat more and gain weight. In addition to estrogen and cortisol, alcohol can interfere with the balance of insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. Disrupted insulin function can lead to insulin resistance, making it more difficult for your body to process glucose efficiently. Watching what you eat and drink can be an effective way to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. Drink responsibly, make healthier drink choices, and start on a path to a healthier you. A typical pint of lager contains 180 calories, the equivalent to a slice of pizza.
- But if your weight has gradually increased alongside changes to your diet and exercise habits, you may have gained body fat.
- This risk of weight gain may be even higher in people who are already overweight compared to normal-weight people who drink beer (18).
- Instead, quench your thirst in water, and enjoy fruits whole rather than juiced.
- And be sure to drink plenty of water or another non-alcoholic beverage—perhaps alternating these with alcoholic drinks—to help you stay hydrated.
Is vodka better than other spirits when it comes to calories?
- As a result, alcohol may lead to a higher risk of gaining weight.
- A recent animal study found that mice given ethanol over a period of three days demonstrated a significant increase in food intake.
- While not all processed foods are unhealthy, many are high in calories, added sugar, fat, and sodium.
- Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue, even at rest, so a decrease in muscle mass lowers your basal metabolic rate.
- Watching what you eat and drink can be an effective way to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle.
Giving up or greatly reducing your intake of diet drinks can be challenging, but it’s the best choice for your overall health. Meanwhile, the chances of developing many chronic diseases increase as people get older, and alcohol consumption can amplify some of these risks. Research has found that having as little as one alcoholic beverage per day increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer, especially for estrogen-receptor positive tumors. It doesn’t help that many flavored vodkas have a sweet flavor profile (like vanilla, raspberry, peach) that can easily lead you to drink more than you intended, leading to weight gain. Vodka has around the same amount of calories as any other type of alcohol (around 100 calories per shot). So, if you’re drinking too much at one time, those calories will start adding up, and your waistline will feel the effects over time.
- It’s also important for women who are trying to get pregnant, or who are pregnant or breastfeeding, to reduce or cut out alcohol altogether.
- For example, 1 large chocolate chip cookie can contain more than 220 calories, while a single glazed doughnut packs over 300 calories (20, 21).
- This study suggests that alcohol can actually trigger hunger signals in the brain, leading to an increased urge to eat more food.
- And as if this all isn’t enough on its own, regular alcohol consumption can lead to hormonal imbalances that further disrupt metabolic processes.
Sugary breakfast cereals
While water retention, bloating, and digestive issues are the primary culprits of (seemingly) overnight weight gain, there are other factors that exacerbate those hangover pounds. Remember, these effects are usually temporary, and the additional weight is often not from increased does liquor make u gain weight body fat, but from fluid and digestive changes. When that happens, your body may try to hold on to as much water as possible. This causes water retention and bloating, which can result in a temporary increase in weight when you step on the scale the following day.
Bottom Line on Alcohol and Weight Gain
Plus, people who regularly consume diet drinks are more likely to have poor diet quality and eat fewer fruits and vegetables than those who don’t drink them (3). Try cutting out wine (or any type of alcohol) for a month, and see if it changes anything. This should also be paired with a generally healthy, well-balanced diet; if you’re still eating a lot of sugar it may be hard to tell the difference. In summary, the public discussion around wine has made it seem more harmless than it really is. In reality, drinking wine can affect your health as much as any other type of alcohol, including your weight. But beware—once you start mixing vodka with anything other than club soda, you’re probably consuming more sugar than in a single serving of wine or beer.
Do Diet Drinks Hinder Weight Loss and Contribute to Belly Fat?
