Do you have to give up alcohol in order to lose weight?
With the Bank Holiday coming up and the last of the Summer weather slowly fading away, what better way to let your hair down over the weekend than with a BBQ and a glass of your favourite tipple?
But for those who are dieting or simply want to watch their waistlines, losing weight whilst still indulging in alcohol from time to time can seem impossible, not to mention all the calories we want to consume after the big night out with greasy takeaways to soak it all up!
With the eat out to help out scheme running throughout the whole of August too, avoiding alcohol has been pretty much impossible with the tempting discounts available.
Whilst alcohol and dieting don’t exactly go hand in hand, and it’s not recommended if you’re trying to shed the pounds, the occasional drink or night out isn’t going to completely ruin all your hard work if you get back on track soon afterwards. But is there a way to lose weight without giving up alcohol? We find out…..
Don’t drink and eat
Ever wondered why, when we’re drunk, we tend to crave high-calorie, salty and processed foods? According to a study published by Nature in 2017, alcohol switches the brain to starvation mode and tells our body to eat more food and increases our appetite, according to scientists.
It’s like a switch that goes off in our brains that makes us want to eat anything and everything, usually junk and unfortunately not high protein low calorie salads!
These drunk munchies AKA the drunchies can be our downfall when it comes to dieting, so limit the amount of units you’re drinking to lower the risk of reaching for the bad stuff.
As Urban Dictionary defines them, the drunk munchies are “The craving to consume mass quantities of absorbents after a session of moderate to heavy drinking. The effects are twofold: slowing down the rate of alcohol being introduced into the bloodstream, and depleting the amount of easily/already prepared food in one’s kitchen.”
Plan ahead a night of drinking by eating at least 2 hours beforehand, not only to line your stomach but so your body can focus on digesting the food first before the alcohol arrives. If you’re at a social occasion like a BBQ or birthday party, eat first before drinking and stick to soft drinks while you tuck in to help your body ease the load.
Choose low calorie drinks
Bit of an obvious one, but making smarter choices at the bar can save you inches on your waistline. The biggest culprit when it comes to calories is lager, and there’s a reason why we use the term “beer belly” and not “gin belly”!
Sticking to low calorie sprits such as gin, slim-line tonics and diet soft drinks for mixers is the best way to let your hair down without worrying about your waistline. As a large glass of wine and a pint of lager is the equivalent of eating a doughnut and a packet of crisps, think of that every time you make a bee line for the bar.