by Henry John
Most of us are pretty reluctant to give up something we like
- or have got used to. We enjoy a beer or a glass of wine.
Alcohol puts us in a good mood (in the beginning) and all
our troubles seem less of a problem. It puts a gloss over
the trivia of daily living and the world seems a better
place. We feel we can cope with life. If we drink too much,
the depressing effect that alcohol has, brings us down to
earth with a bump, and we live in the land of regret for a
while until the clouds pass over and reality stares us
rudely in the face again. Whether we drink a lot or a little
the choice is always ours - until the spectre of addiction
appears, but that's another issue.
How do we make decisions? We consider the choices available
to us and take a decision based on the information we have.
The problem is that most of us take decisions on very little
information. In fact we take decisions based on 5% of the
available information, and that's a big worry.
When it comes to alcohol we think we are pretty well
informed. Many of the 'facts' we've picked up about alcohol
are not facts at all, but rumours and hearsay that have been
embellished in the telling. This is certainly the case when
it comes to the relationship between alcohol and weight
gain. 'If you're on a diet, it's okay to drink'. 'Alcohol
makes you fat'. These are two conflicting statements
neither of which is completely true.
The first thing to understand about alcohol is that it is
stuffed full of calories. All nutrients have different
calorific values. Proteins and carbohydrates have 4 calories
per gram. At has 9 calories per gram and alcohol has 7
calories per gram, nearly as much as fat!
The problem with alcohol is that the energy it supplies
cannot be stored by the body. The reason is that it contains
no carbohydrate. Unable to store the energy, the body
converts the alcohol into something called acetate.
The body uses acetate as a source of energy as it would the
stored glucose and fat in your body - but here's the rub. It
uses the 'acetate energy' before and in preference to your
stored glucose and fat. The truth is that alcohol doesn't
make you put on weight, it prevents you from losing it.
Another fact to remember about alcohol is that it stimulates
your appetite. This is not something that you welcome when
you are trying your very best to lose weight. You will also
have noticed that it also reduces your resolve. Can you stop
yourself from having another slice of apple pie and cream?
Alcohol makes it more difficult to say 'no'.
If you can get into the habit of not drinking alcohol you
will be doing your weight loss efforts a lot of good. If you
want a positive outcome to your weight loss program, it's
worth the effort to either stop drinking alcohol or to
reduce the amount you drink. You can be slim. All you have
to do is make sure all your habits are good ones.
Henry John is a well known writer and commentator on diet
and weight loss and has a particular interest in behavior
change and its role in achieving (http://www.slimhabit.com/)
permanent weight loss. Get more about how to lose weight
permanently. (http://www.slimhabit.com/) Click here.
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