Alcohol Can Sabotage Weight Loss

Happy new year! While the holidays are behind us, and we hope that the holiday treats . Some people may be on track to lose weight in January familiar. I thought to address the issue of alcohol, because often consumed throughout the year and certainly can interfere with weight loss. Alcohol can sabotage weight loss in several ways.
• High density calories. Alcohol 7 calories per gram , while carbohydrates and proteins have 4 calories per gram . Only fats have a density greater than 9 calories per gram .
• Major impact of insulin. The alcohol molecule is a short chain that generates high levels of insulin secretion. Insulin inhibits fat oxidation . This reduces the oxidation rate of fat 24 hours - an important factor in weight control - and promotes the storage of fat in the diet.
• Effect on appetite. Alcohol causes the release of beta - endorphin , which inhibits the satiety center of the brain . This can cause a strong desire and more frequent for food and tend to eat more at the next meal .
• Effect on food preferences. Release of beta-endorphin in alcohol can also affect food preferences and desires in the direction of sugars and fats . Eat more of these foods can lead to increased caloric intake, weight gain, and / or insulin resistance . Insulin resistance is not only the result of excess weight , but can also be a cause .
• Effect on mood. Neurochemical alterations and hormonal effects of alcohol can lead to negative mood states such as depression or anxiety, insomnia and sleep disorders . These can cause a variety of problems that can affect weight :
1) A negative mood can cause cravings, especially for sugar and other refined food intake and increase carbohydrate .
2) Serotonin is generally decreases with chronic use of alcohol . Low Serotonin affects mood and increases impulsivity. This combination may make it more likely that the student will get cravings and have trouble resisting them .
3 ) Increase the consumption of sugars and / or refined carbohydrates can lead to an increase in caloric intake and weight gain and depression worsened, other negative moods, and / or insomnia.
4 ) Alcohol disrupts sleep by preventing deep stages of sleep (delta and theta waves) that are more refreshing .
5 ) Lack of sleep can increase ghrelin levels . Ghrelin has been shown to increase appetite and food consumption while slowing metabolism. Uff .
6) Insomnia can make it difficult to exercise - or even shown to training in the morning - and can lead to depression or other negative moods.
7) the negative mood may reduce the motivation compared to the full year.
8) Due to its strong impact on insulin secretion , alcohol can cause hypoglycemia in susceptible individuals , which in turn lead to mood swings, cravings and unwanted increase in appetite .
As you can see , alcohol can get in the way of their attempts to lose weight and sabotage goes beyond calories " simple arithmetic " calories in / out . Worse, most of the factors above, with the exception of caloric density , valid in the consumption of sugar , too.