Fat Loss 4 Idiots Secret

Monday, December 1, 2008

Weight Loss, Avoid Alcohol or it Will Make You Fail

By Ricardo d Argence

There has been a lot of information over the years about weight loss. New diets here and a new gadget over there. However, there has been little said about the effects of alcohol on weight loss efforts. That is what we will look at here today.

While alcohol is caloric, as are virtually all foods and beverages, it differs in important ways from other substances. The first problem is that the calories that you get from alcohol are worthless, and not one calorie from alcohol has any nutritional value.

The calories consumed from alcohol must be processed by the liver. Calories from alcohol are like bullies they must be burned first, that will leave all the other calories patiently stored and we all know what stored calories are, nothing else but fat.

Adding to the problem is the fact that alcohol provides twice as many calories as carbohydrates and proteins. What this means is alcohol provides seven calories per gram as opposed to carbohydrates, which contain four calories per gram. To put it in even simpler terms when you drink four 12-ounce beers you have consumed 600 calories! It is easy to see how prolonged use of alcohol could pack on the pounds.

A last note about alcohol's caloric effects involves mixers. Many popular alcoholic drinks are actually a mix of different substances. These additive ingredients can cause the calorie total to add up quickly. For example, one long island ice tea has an astounding 740 calories. You could get half of the calories recommended for one day in just one drink.

An important factor in losing weight is speeding up your metabolism. A definition of metabolism is the cumulative energy resulting from cellular electrical, physical, and biochemical activites and interactions. Or more simply put the rate at which your body processes calories into energy. It has been proven by a study from the New England Journal of Medicine that alcohol slows down the body's metabolism. It states that a person on a 1250 calorie diet, who has ingested 250 calories from alcohol could have reduced their metabolic process by as much as 36%. This indicates your body is handling calories almost forty percent less effectively.

Many people who consume alcohol regularly inform that at first they feel much better. On the other hand, you can suffer from depression if you drink to excess, since alcohol is actually a depressive substance. If you are feeling depressed it will feel a lot harder to diet, actually people are known to eat more as a way of comforting themselves. A vicious cycle if you stop and think about it. Depression can cause lack of motivation as well as making you less likely to want to continue any kind of exercise routine.

For basic health water is essential but it is also needed to build muscle. Muscles need adequate hydration levels in order to work properly; lacking it, they may grow weaker and less efficient. Your body becomes dehydrated when drinking alcohol because of the massive amounts of water used in the kidneys required to remove the toxin from your body.

Too much drinking causes damage to various organs, but one drink a day is actually good for most people's health. Besides the issues it may cause for weight reduction, there are also medical concerns to keep in mind. If you are over weight, and are trying to drop it, you will loose more weight if you do not drink alcohol. Until you get control of your weight, red wine is the best choice if you must drink. - 17274

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