Drinking alcohol (especially drinking more than 1 or 2 drinks per day) adds extra calories to the diet, increases food cravings and slows metabolism. Quitting (or reducing) alcohol consumption is an effective way to lose excess weight, especially when combined with other evidence-based weight loss methods. Losing weight is something that many people struggle with because it requires changing their habits. What, how and when you consume calories is a regular part of your life that you probably don't think much about anymore.
Eating and drinking, as well as exercising, become activities that we do without much thought. Most people who are overweight don't even realize how many calories they consume in a day. There's no doubt that if you stop drinking alcohol, you'll lose weight because your sugar intake is likely to be reduced. The amount of weight you lose because of that change will depend on the amount of alcohol you regularly consume and the percentage of your daily sugar intake that it represents.
There is no way to prevent the calories from alcohol from being added to your daily caloric intake, either on the same day or later. If you stop drinking alcohol and increase the amount of exercise, you'll lose even more weight. If you have trouble quitting alcohol all at once or if you have a particularly heavy drinking habit, do so calmly when you try to quit. In the New Scientist study, participants who stopped drinking for 30 days reported an 18 percent increase in concentration and a 17 percent increase in job performance.
Research shows that drinking alcohol can also increase your appetite for high-calorie foods, both immediately and the next day. Just as you can't get any nutrients, drinking alcohol doesn't contribute anything to a healthy diet. The recommendation to drink in moderation (1 serving of alcohol a day for women and 2 for men) to prevent weight gain is related to an overall healthy lifestyle. New research suggests that excessive alcohol consumption can cause changes in cells and make you want to consume alcohol even more.
To give you an idea of what happens when you stop drinking, we have compiled below the 15 benefits of not drinking alcohol that you can expect. Drinking alcohol in the liver can make it less effective at metabolizing hormones, which can convert androgens into estrogens, reducing sexual desire. Moderate alcohol consumption isn't clear and everyone is affected differently, so take that recommendation with a grain of salt and listen to your body. And while all alcohol affects the liver's ability to eliminate excess estrogen, beer contains phytoestrogens (plant-based estrogens) that reduce virility and fertility.
