How To Prevent Your Beer Belly

The thing I love about spring is the energy in the air.  It’s almost palpable!  People come out of hibernation and get outside for some much needed sun and fresh air. 

And as we come out from hiding, the other thing that almost inevitably seems to happen as the climate gets warmer, is our increased thirst for cold alcohol beverages.  It’s as if we’ve been deprived of drinking all winter!  Maybe it’s the heat, maybe it’s the patio or maybe it’s just part of spring fever.  Whatever the reason…there always seems to be an occasion where drinking a cold alcoholic beverage is appropriate.  A beer after a nice day out in the sun, a cosmopolitan for those swanky nights out or a fresh mimosa at your Sunday brunch with your family and friends.  Whatever the occasion, there’s always an alcoholic beverage that perfectly fits that event.

Now, my motto for almost everything, including alcohol, is moderation.  But let’s be honest, when it comes to alcohol, the word “moderation” gets used quite liberally.  Now I’m not suggesting that you stop drinking, but if you’re worried about your waistline and appearance as the warmer weather approaches and the amount of clothing covering your body starts to lessen, than you’d better reconsider how much you drink. 

But, if drinking is going to be a significant part of your summer plans, I’ll give you some effective tips to help negate some of the unwanted effects of alcohol consumption including weight gain. 

Now, before I tell you how to best prevent the negative effects of alcohol including the best way prevent gaining unwanted weight…I want to list out the common positive and negative effects alcohol consumption has on your body.

The pros about alcohol consumption are quite short but here it is:

• A very small percentage of alcohol actually gets converted to fat
• Small to moderate consumption of red wine has been associated with having some health benefits

Here are the cons about alcohol consumption:

• Alcohol is known to inhibit fat oxidation, which basically stops your body from burning existing fat.  Since fat is your number one energy source during rest, you’re basically storing more fat when you drink alcohol.
• Alcohol also converts testosterone into estrogen making you more susceptible to getting excess levels of estrogen which is what gives you that stubborn belly fat.  By the way, this applies for both men and women.
• According to some studies a mere 3 ounces of alcohol can reduce your body’s fat burning ability by 1/3.
• Alcohol gets metabolized by your liver into two toxic compounds, acetaldehyde and malondialdehyde.
• Acetaldehyde is the same chemical found in cigarette smoke, car exhaust, and is a known carcinogen and has been linked to many organ diseases.  It’s also the nasty chemical that supposedly causes your hangovers.
• Malondialdehyde is a potent free radical and causes excessive oxidative damage to you body.
• Alcohol is further metabolized in the liver into acetate, which gets burned before any other calories.  This means that any excess calories, like the calamari or fries you had along with your drink, doesn’t get utilized and hence gets stored as fat instead.
• Your body can only process 0.5 to 1 ounce of alcohol per hour.  And since it takes precedence over anything else, you liver takes up all of it’s time and energy trying to metabolize it.  Anything more overwhelms your liver and essentially halts your normal metabolic functions like burning fat.

So, if you drink a 12 oz can of beer which has about 0.6 oz of alcohol, it’ll take your liver about an hour to metabolize it, during which time your body stops burning fat. 

Now let’s say you have a six pack of beer while munching on some chips and dip as you’re watching a ball game.  You’re looking at 6 - 7 hours for your liver to metabolize all of the beer you drank.  And during that period, your body stops burning fat, and all the calories from the chips and dip you just chowed down gets stored straight to fat! 

Well, you get the picture.  Alcohol and weight loss don’t work together.  If you’re serious about losing weight, you really need to eliminate alcohol, or seriously moderate your intake. 

However, if you choose to drink on those special occasions…wink wink...there are a few things you can do to help negate some of the effects alcohol has on your body.

• Drink water along with your beverage of choice.  This way you avoid getting dehydrated (which is another side effect of drinking alcohol) as well as helping you refrain from over consuming.
• Drink slowly, preferably one drink per hour, so your body has time to metabolize the alcohol and minimize putting too much stress on your liver.
• Don’t eat while you’re drinking.  All the calories being consumed while you’re drinking pretty much goes right to your beer belly and man boobs for men and for women a larger belly, wider hips and thicker thighs.
• While moderation is the key to any alcoholic consumption, if you’re going to drink wine is preferred over hard liquor and liquor is preferred over beer.  If you’re drinking liquor, it’s best not to mix it with anything sugary.  Stick to water, club soda or take it straight.  Those fancy named drinks that tastes more like dessert than alcohol, is the worst kind of all…it’s super high in empty calories, it’ll sky rocket your insulin levels and is sure to give you a wicked hangover.
• Here’s a list of supplements that you can take to minimize the free radical damage of alcohol. Vitamin C, Vitamin B1, Vitamin E, Selenium and Amino Acids: S-allyl-cysteine and Glutathione.

Now, I know it may be unrealistic to avoid alcohol altogether, and I also I know that socializing almost always involves alcohol.  So, while keeping in mind that minimal to moderate intake of alcohol is key to any healthy balanced living…here’s a few simple but effective tips that you can implement as part of your long term regimen to help maximize your body’s own immune and defense mechanism, so you can participate and enjoy socializing with friends and family without guilt.

• If you consume alcohol at all, make sure to consume it in moderation.
• Stay away from processed and refined foods, severely limit intake of sugars and stick to eating unrefined whole foods.
• Eat plenty of dark green vegetables and especially makes sure to consume cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, kale, chard and collard greens which help you maintain healthy testosterone levels.
• Eat enough fibers from fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains.
• Consume enough monounsaturated fats and good saturated fats, such as that found in avocados, olive oil, coconut oils, almonds and walnuts to maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
• Eat plenty of lean proteins from good reliable sources, such as fresh fish, organic poultry, organic meat and eggs enriched in omega 3’s.
• Exercises with enough intensity using weights.  This dramatically increases your body’s metabolism, enhances your body’s rate of fat burning, optimizes your hormonal function and maximizes lean muscle development to keep your strong, lean and fit.

Now I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but if you decide to drink, the real key to maintaing a healthy lifestyle while still enabling yourself to lose weight and get lean and fit is moderation.  And although moderation can be relative to each individual, you need to be true to yourself.  If you’re not seeing what you like in the mirror, perhaps it’s time rethink what you consider moderate. 

I’m all about having a good time, but for me being healthy, lean and fit is much more important.  I’ll take feeling strong, energetic and vibrant over a few cocktails any day…but that’s just me.  Moderation is simple when you know what’s at stake.

If you aren’t familiar with what kind of exercises or workouts to do, take a look at my MAX Workouts program.  It’s a fitness program designed specifically with workouts that consists of full body weightlifting exercises done in a heart pumping pace.  The exercises and workouts are all scheduled for you, so you don’t need to think about a thing, all you have to do is follow the program.  And if you’re unfamiliar with an exercise, you also get detailed pictures and instructions of each exercises so you’re not left trying to figure out what to do.  You also get a trial access to our monthly club, where you can see videos of all the exercises, workouts, and participate in forums where you can get support from other participants as well as ask any questions you may have about the program. 

Are you an occasional drinker, and if so do you notice a difference in your body when you drink?

Have you moderated your drinking and seen a difference in how you feel and how you look? 

What do you think about the article?  I’d love to know what you think, so please post your comments below!

About The Author

Shin Ohtake is a widely recognized strength coach and fitness & fat-loss expert. His unconventional, no-nonsense approach to getting fit has made him the go-to source for fitness enthusiasts and trainers alike. Shin is also the author of the world famous, MAX Workouts book, which has transformed and reshaped the bodies of thousands of people across the globe - without requiring hours in the gym. To learn more about how MAX Workouts can help you achieve your fitness goals, visit maxworkouts.com.

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