Alcohol may be contributing to your festive weight gain. Alcohol is a depressant, it slows the way we think, feel and behave.
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This is why alcohol, at first can make you feel relaxed and happy.
Unfortunately these “feel good” side effects are short lived and are often replaced with poor sleep, increased anxiety the next morning and a range of other negative impacts on our health, including weight gain.
ALCOHOL IS HIGH IN CALORIES
I often hear people taking about fat, sugar or carbohydrates as the reason for their recent weight gain, but everyone ignores the fact that alcohol may be to blame and can be a major source of extra calories for a number of people.
Alcohol is often referred to as empty calories because it doesn’t provide our body with any nutrients but instead zaps our body of important vitamins and minerals, such as B- Vitamins and zinc.
Here is a list of common alcoholic beverages and their calorie content:
- One slice of white bread = 90 calories
- One bottle of cider = 190 calories
- One bottle of low alcohol beer = 40 calories
- One bottle of low carbohydrate beer = 102 calories
- One bottle of standard beer = 130 calories
- One standard glass of red wine (100ml) = 70 calories
- One standard glass of low alcohol red wine (100ml) = 40 calories
- One standard glass of white wine (110ml) = 72 calories
- One can of pre-mixed spirits = 235 calories
- Gin and tonic =160 calories
- Vodka, fresh lime and soda = 61 calories
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DOES ALCOHOL CHANGE YOUR APPETITE?
Several studies suggest that consuming alcohol before or during a meal does not influence the amount of food eaten in that meal, despite increasing the energy density of the meal.
What this means, is that even though you are consuming more calories (via alcohol), which in theory should ‘fill you up’ or reduce the amount of food you eat, this doesn’t actually happen.
Instead, you are probably going to eat that plate of pasta regardless or if you have a glass of wine with it or not.
Alcohol often leads to poor food choices. A study in America showed that as alcohol consumption increase, quality of the participant’s diet decrease, specifically the amount of healthy, wholesome foods such as wholegrain, vegetables and milk dwindled.
Additionally, alcohol affects our sleep, and we all know when you have had a poor night sleep we are often drawn to high sugar or calorie dense foods and caffeine to get us through the following day, which long term can lead to weight gain.
- Figures based on standard drink sizes and values sourced from Food Standards Australia’s NUTTAB