Introduction
Around two thirds of all men and over half of all women are overweight. Many people who are overweight have a desire to lose weight. Special diets, dietary changes and sport are essential to achieve success.
It is often recommended to avoid alcohol as part of a healthy diet and especially with a view to weight reduction. But how does this fit together? Is it absolutely necessary to abstain from alcohol if you want to lose weight? Which alcohol interferes with a diet, and what should be considered when consuming alcohol and wishing to lose weight?
Do you have to give up alcohol if you want to lose weight?
Most people consume alcohol to varying degrees. It is known that high alcohol consumption can have many negative effects on health, but what about weight? If you want to lose weight, do you have to give up alcohol?
There is no clear answer to this question. Alcoholic beverages contain different amounts of calories depending on the type of alcohol. Beer, mixed alcoholic drinks such as cocktails, but also rum, advocaat and other spirits are particularly high in calories.
However, it is not only the calorie content of alcohol that is important, which is why nutritionists often recommend abstaining from alcohol as part of weight reduction. Alcohol leads to a very rapid release of insulin. The high insulin level leads to a rapid drop in blood sugar, so that a few hours after consumption a ravenous appetite often does not go away. Although you do not have to give up drinking in order to lose weight, the above-mentioned reasons naturally speak in favour of abstaining from alcohol.
Does alcohol disturb the diet
Diets are a stress test for many people, as they usually require a lot of discipline and changing habits, often long established ones. The consumption of alcohol can have an unfavourable influence on the course of a diet. Alcohol restricts physical performance and in many cases encourages ill-considered food consumption.
A few hours after drinking alcohol, there are often attacks of ravenous appetite, which are then satisfied with unhealthy foods, sweets or readily available carbohydrates such as pasta, chips or similar. These attacks of ravenous appetite are based on the effect of alcohol on insulin metabolism. Alcohol leads to a rapid increase in blood sugar immediately after consumption, so that more insulin is released.
Insulin then leads to an equally rapid drop in blood sugar a few hours after consumption, and thus to ravenous appetite. To lose weight, however, most overweight people have to reduce their food intake, which leads to ravenous appetite in many cases anyway. Alcohol further increases this feeling of ravenous appetite and makes it difficult to consistently follow a diet. In addition, most alcoholic beverages contain many calories and industrial sugars, which can lead to additional weight gain.
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