Beer Belly Blues: Losing Pounds By Quitting Beer

Quitting drinking can lead to weight loss, but the amount varies from person to person. Alcoholic drinks are often high in calories, so cutting them out can help create a calorie deficit, which is key to weight loss. A typical light beer has around 100 calories, while craft beers can contain 350-400 calories. A daily drinker could expect to lose at least one pound per week by eliminating alcohol from their diet.

For example, if you have a beer with dinner every day, even if it's a light beer, that's approximately 100 extra calories per day, or 700 calories per week. Over a month, that's over 3000 calories. Someone who drinks 3-4 beers a day could cut out 9000-12000 calories per month.

However, weight loss is not the only benefit of quitting drinking. Alcohol is a diuretic, which can cause dehydration and impact your skin. It also disrupts your sleep, which can contribute to weight gain.

Alcoholic drinks are high in calories

A typical light beer has 100 calories, while craft beers can be 350-400 calories per 12oz. Most mixed drinks with spirits have anywhere between 90-150 calories per drink before mixers are added. Calories in both red and white wines generally fall between 125-175 calories per 5 oz pour.

Alcoholic drinks are made from natural starch and sugar. Fermentation (and distillation for certain drinks) is used to produce the alcohol content. This is why alcohol contains lots of calories—7 calories per gram, which is almost as many as a gram of fat. Plus, additional calories can be found in added mixer drinks, such as cola or tonic water.

Cocktails mixed with soda, juice, cream, or ice cream can have especially high-calorie counts. A White Russian can add 400 calories or more to your day, and a piña colada can be more than 500 calories.

Alcoholic drinks can be detrimental to diets and often cause weight gain. When consumed over the recommended limit, they can add empty calories, and drinks with high amounts of sugar, caffeine, and added sweeteners can be particularly harmful.

If you are trying to lose weight, you need to think about what you are drinking as well as what you are eating. Watching how much you drink can help you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.

Alcoholic drinks are often accompanied by fatty foods

However, it is not just the calories from alcohol that contribute to weight gain. Alcohol can lower inhibitions and impair judgement, leading to poor food choices. A study in Current Obesity Reports found that when alcohol consumption increases, the ability to make nutritious dietary choices decreases. This means it is easier to opt for high-fat, high-sugar foods while drinking.

In addition, drinking alcohol can make you dehydrated, which can translate to food cravings. Dehydration can also worsen hangover symptoms, making greasy food seem like an appealing hangover cure. However, greasy food is not the best option when hungover, as it can increase nausea.

To avoid the trap of drinking and eating fatty foods, it is recommended to eat before drinking. This slows the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream. Fatty foods, such as a greasy burger, stay in the stomach lining for longer, delaying the effects of alcohol. In the Mediterranean, it is even common to swallow a spoonful of olive oil before drinking.

So, while alcoholic drinks are often accompanied by fatty foods, it is better to eat these foods before drinking, rather than during or after. This can help to reduce overall calorie intake and prevent weight gain.

Alcohol can cause bloating

In addition, alcohol can negatively affect the digestive system, including the stomach, liver, small intestine, and large intestine. When alcohol is introduced to the body, it is quickly converted to acetaldehyde, a probable carcinogen, which can damage the sensitive soft tissues of the mouth and throat. Alcohol can also damage the mucous cells designed to protect the stomach wall, leaving it more prone to inflammation or lesions.

Furthermore, alcohol can cause gastritis, an inflammatory condition of the stomach lining, which can lead to bloating. Alcohol increases the risk of gastritis by raising acid levels in the stomach. This can cause inflammation, stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting. If left untreated, gastritis can lead to the development of stomach ulcers.

The duration of alcohol-related bloating can vary, depending on the cause and the individual. Acute gastritis, for example, may cause bloating that lasts only a few days. On the other hand, chronic gastritis may result in bloating that persists for weeks or even months.

To reduce alcohol-related bloating, it is recommended to cut back on alcohol consumption, drink water before, during, and after drinking alcohol, avoid carbonated drinks and beer, and increase physical activity.

Alcohol is a diuretic

Vasopressin tells your kidneys to reabsorb water if it’s needed by your body, rather than flush it out through the bladder. But the way alcohol interferes with this natural signal, switching it off, means the bladder is free to fill up with urine, which results in the need to pee more often.

The consequence is that we lose more liquid through our pee than we take in. That’s why we need to go to the toilet more often when we drink alcohol and also why we’re at danger of becoming dehydrated unless we replace the excess lost fluid by drinking more water.

Getting up to go to the toilet at night can disrupt your sleep too. And that’s on top of the effect alcohol has in disrupting the restorative REM stage of sleep, so cutting back on alcohol – especially before bed – can mean you wake up feeling fresher.

Alcohol's diuretic effect is also why you might retain water when you quit drinking. Your body could be holding on to more water than typical, and that's why it seems as though you're gaining weight since you quit drinking. This water weight will go away over time.

Alcohol negatively impacts sleep

Alcohol has a negative impact on sleep quality, even in moderate amounts. It can disrupt your sleep cycle and cause you to wake up frequently throughout the night, resulting in poor sleep quality and tiredness the next day.

How Alcohol Affects Sleep

When you drink alcohol, it is absorbed into your bloodstream and then slowly metabolised by enzymes in your liver. This process can be slow, leaving alcohol in your system for several hours. As a result, alcohol can alter your sleep architecture, which refers to the way your body cycles through the four stages of sleep.

Typically, a sleep cycle begins with three stages of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, followed by a period of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. NREM sleep is further divided into four stages, with the third and fourth stages being the deepest and most restorative phases of sleep. REM sleep, on the other hand, is associated with memory consolidation and vivid dreaming.

When you consume alcohol before bed, you are likely to experience more deep sleep and less REM sleep during the first half of the night. However, as your body metabolises the alcohol, you may experience more frequent awakenings and fragmented sleep during the second half of the night. This disruption to your sleep architecture can leave you feeling tired and unrested the next day.

Alcohol and Sleep Disorders

In addition to disrupting your sleep architecture, alcohol can also worsen certain sleep disorders, such as insomnia and sleep apnea.

Alcohol and Insomnia

Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterised by difficulty falling or staying asleep. When you drink alcohol before bed, you may fall asleep faster due to its sedative effects. However, as alcohol levels drop during the night, you may experience disrupted sleep and frequent awakenings. This can lead to a cycle of insomnia, where you rely on alcohol to fall asleep and then struggle with excessive sleepiness during the day.

Alcohol and Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that causes repeated pauses in breathing during sleep due to a collapse of the airway. Alcohol can worsen sleep apnea by relaxing the muscles in your throat and increasing airway resistance, making it more likely for your airway to collapse. Drinking alcohol before bed can increase the risk of sleep apnea by 25% and further disrupt your sleep quality.

Tips for Improving Sleep

If you are struggling with sleep due to alcohol consumption, there are some strategies you can try:

• Avoid alcohol close to bedtime: It is recommended to avoid alcohol at least three hours before bed to minimise its disruptive effects on sleep.
• Limit alcohol intake: Reducing your alcohol consumption or opting for lower-calorie drink options can help improve your sleep quality.
• Prioritise sleep hygiene: Establish a consistent sleep schedule, create a relaxing bedtime routine, and optimise your bedroom environment for sleep.
• Manage stress: Stress can disrupt your sleep and increase your risk of developing sleep disorders. Practising stress management techniques, such as meditation or deep breathing, can help improve your sleep quality.

Frequently asked questions