We’ve all been there – the next day after a heavy night of drinking finding that last pizza slice, guzzling down potato chips, and essentially spending the entire day in bed. Why does a night of heavy drinking leave you with zero motivation to work out? How do those kilos add up when you start going out more frequently? Is it all the alcohol that makes you fat? And, most importantly, how do you meet your goals without becoming a recluse? Let’s take a closer look.
To begin with, it’s not entirely the alcohol that makes you fat. It is also the entire experience.
Alcohol impairs your judgement
When you are drunk, you are more likely to make bad decisions, especially about what to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat. In fact, alcohol actually makes you fat by triggering hunger signals and encouraging you to eat more food. This often leads you to eat food that is rich in calories but low in nutrition. This food is more likely to be fatty, oily, full of sugar and simple carbohydrates. There is one simple reason why – this is all comfort food. When your body’s inhibitions are clouded, you want to feel comfortable and so you reach out to food that makes you feel that way.
Classic Comfort Food
Plus, you want to blend in
This is especially true for social situations where people are already eating fatty foods. When you are drunk, you don’t want to stand out. It is far more comforting to blend in and eat whatever the others are eating. This often supersedes better knowledge and your own relation with food. You are far more likely to reach out for whatever is already on the table. In such a scenario, it is not alcohol that makes you fat but the social implications surrounding the experience.
Dinner During A Night Out
That said, alcohol often makes you fat.
Alcohol has empty calories
An average drink will have 150 – 200 calories, with 7 calories per gram (which is almost double that of carbohydrates at 4 calories per gram). These are referred to as empty calories as they provide little to no nutritional benefit, and in fact do more harm than good. On a typical night out, you are likely to consume two or more drinks. This adds up to multiple calories, especially considering the average recommended 2000 calories a day. Plus, this number goes even higher when you consider mixers, soda, etc. Because of this, alcohol makes you fat.
Empty Calories
The body cannot store alcohol
The body stores protein as muscle, and carbs and fats as energy and then body fat. However, with alcohol, your body wants to process it as quickly as possible. This creates a metabolic environment where the body’s priorities are exactly opposite to what it actually requires. This is perhaps one of the biggest reasons why you crave high carb foods when drunk. This, in turn, causes alcohol to make you fat.
So, what can you do?
To begin with, avoid mixers that make you fat
Mixers are full of sugar and simple carbohydrates which make you fat. Swap them with sugar-free mixers such as tonic water, fresh fruit juice, etc. and enjoy your drinks with far fewer calories.
Have Healthy Mixers
Also, keep an eye on your serving size
The typical serving size of a hard drink is 30 ml. For beer, it is 330 ml. For wine, it is 5 oz. Avoid serving more than that as one serving, and keep within one or two servings per outing.
Serving Sizes
But, most importantly, set priorities for drinking
If you are drinking to get drunk, consume alcohols (such as gin) that will get you drunk faster with fewer drinks and hence fewer calories. On the other hand, if you are slowly sipping through your drinks, reach out for alcohols (such as wine and beer) that contain fewer calories per ounce.
Set Priorities
