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Someone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read up on this a bit and it appears that alcohol may not directly cause weight gain because it is not a fat, protein or carb. My understanding is that alcohol causes weight gain because the body metabolizes alcohol first, before going to fats, carbs and proteins: this delayed "burning" of the basic building blocks of a diet (fats/proteins/carbs) that do cause weight gain, is what causes the pounds to be packed on. True of false?
Bud Light has like 6g carbs per 12 oz. I wouldn't call that packed.
Light (low carb) beers have less calories/carbs than do regular beers. But you still have to factor those calories into your overall caloric intake.
A calorie is a calorie is a calorie...
If you drink 5 light beers in an evening, you'll be consuming roughly 500 calories in beer and that doesn't include the chips, pretzels, peanuts that go along with those beers .
Light (low carb) beers have less calories/carbs than do regular beers. But you still have to factor those calories into your overall caloric intake.
A calorie is a calorie is a calorie...
If you drink 5 light beers in an evening, you'll be consuming roughly 500 calories in beer and that doesn't include the chips, pretzels, peanuts that go along with those beers .
Look, I'm trying to justify day drinking. Can you please just agree with me?
Look, I'm trying to justify day drinking. Can you please just agree with me?
There are a lot of calories in alcohol, people who tend to drink dont just drink one, they have two, or maybe three drinks or more. Heck one 200 ml of margarita will give you 453 calories. A bottle of Bass will give you 160 cals and most people (guys) will drink 203 bottles so you are looking at 320-480 cals right there.
Besides, if you are so interested in losing weight and/or getting healthy, why are you so desiring to be drinking all day?
There are a lot of calories in alcohol, people who tend to drink dont just drink one, they have two, or maybe three drinks or more. Heck one 200 ml of margarita will give you 453 calories. A bottle of Bass will give you 160 cals and most people (guys) will drink 203 bottles so you are looking at 320-480 cals right there.
Besides, if you are so interested in losing weight and/or getting healthy, why are you so desiring to be drinking all day?
LaoTzu, you seem pretty knowledgeable about health/fitness so hopefully you know the answer to this. Anyone else feel free to answer too if you know.
I was recently reading in an exercise book that alcohol was not good because it promotes estrogen production in both men and women, which in turn leads to increased cortisol production, which in turn leads to fat around the abdominal area (i.e. the "beer belly"), or conversely will make it harder to shed weight if that's what you're looking to do.
Does this sound accurate to you?? J/w because it's kind of turned me off to drinking . As a male the last thing I want or need is increased estrogen production.
alcohol is a form of carbohydrate. just read the label and count it as empty calories. some people say it causes an increase in estrogen. i dont know whether or not that is true but i dont see much point in drinking alcohol. anything can be worked into a diet in moderation though.
Someone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read up on this a bit and it appears that alcohol may not directly cause weight gain because it is not a fat, protein or carb. My understanding is that alcohol causes weight gain because the body metabolizes alcohol first, before going to fats, carbs and proteins: this delayed "burning" of the basic building blocks of a diet (fats/proteins/carbs) that do cause weight gain, is what causes the pounds to be packed on. True of false?
The common idea is that since alcohol(ethanol to be exact) will give the human body 7.5 kcal/g
However alcohol does have other properties that makes it effect the fat accumulation.
-To begin with as someone already pointed out; alcohol is seldom without the company of simple carbs in a drink. these simple carbs are basically always sugars.
- when metabolising alcohol the body will use the enzyme alcoholdehydrogenase to take a 2 hydrogenatoms from the ethanol molecule of which one connects to NAD+ forming NADH.
essentially:
Ethanol+NAD+ --> acetaldehyde+NADH.
["Biochemistry" Stryer et al, 2007]
The result of this is excess NADH.
the higher the concentration of NADH is, the harder will it be for the body to oxidize fatty acids(to burn fat). The body Uses the fat to give hydrogen to NAD+, but when this is already done by alcohol, the body will not see any need for doing this with which leads to reduced metalization of fat.
["Biochemistry" Stryer et al, 2007]
So to summerise the reasons for ethanols(alcohols) main negative effects on weightloss;
1. Alcohol holds almost twice the calories/g compared to sugar.
2. Alcohol is typically found together with different forms of sugar
3. Alcohol will chemically inhibit fat from being metabolized.
4. There are quite a few other lesser factors(like the disruption of vitamin metabolism, etc) that I haven't brought up; for more info I recommend the 27th chapter of "Biochemistry" by Stryer, Berg and Tymoczko, (page 777-779 in the sixth edition). Any library with self-respect should have it, happy reading.
And there you have it.
Last edited by sportsgeek20; 02-27-2011 at 08:46 AM..
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.
. As a male the last thing I want or need is increased estrogen production.
Beer...bleh
