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.
Are we well informed about alcohol? We know what it feels like to have too much or to be drunk. We know that it can be very enjoyable, but do we really know what its effects are? For example, does alcohol make you put on weight? Should you drink alcohol when you?re trying to lose weight?
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 body has a problem with alcohol. It?s not a carbohydrate and so it can?t store the energy it gets from alcohol as fat or as glucose. What it does is that it changes the energy into acetate.
The energy the alcohol provides isn?t wasted, in fact the body uses it first. It actually uses it in preference to the energy that has already been stored away as glucose and fat. So to say that alcohol makes you fat is not correct. What it does do is to prevent you from losing weight because it uses ?acetate energy? in preference to your stored energy which is a very different thing.
You may well have noticed that when you drink alcohol you feel hungry. This is because alcohol stimulates you appetite. It encourages to lose your inhibitions and to say ?yes? to another helping of your favourite ice cream. It can seriously harm your weight loss efforts.
If you're trying to lose weight, alcohol has some very clear consequences. Whereas total abstinence may make life a little dull, It makes good sense to get into a new habit - a slim habit, if you like - which helps you to moderate how much alcohol you drink. All it requires is a little self-discipline to achieve the outcome you want. - 15255
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.
Are we well informed about alcohol? We know what it feels like to have too much or to be drunk. We know that it can be very enjoyable, but do we really know what its effects are? For example, does alcohol make you put on weight? Should you drink alcohol when you?re trying to lose weight?
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 body has a problem with alcohol. It?s not a carbohydrate and so it can?t store the energy it gets from alcohol as fat or as glucose. What it does is that it changes the energy into acetate.
The energy the alcohol provides isn?t wasted, in fact the body uses it first. It actually uses it in preference to the energy that has already been stored away as glucose and fat. So to say that alcohol makes you fat is not correct. What it does do is to prevent you from losing weight because it uses ?acetate energy? in preference to your stored energy which is a very different thing.
You may well have noticed that when you drink alcohol you feel hungry. This is because alcohol stimulates you appetite. It encourages to lose your inhibitions and to say ?yes? to another helping of your favourite ice cream. It can seriously harm your weight loss efforts.
If you're trying to lose weight, alcohol has some very clear consequences. Whereas total abstinence may make life a little dull, It makes good sense to get into a new habit - a slim habit, if you like - which helps you to moderate how much alcohol you drink. All it requires is a little self-discipline to achieve the outcome you want. - 15255
About the Author:
Henry John is a well known writer and speaker on diet and weight loss and has a particular interest in behavior change and its role in achieving permanent weight loss. Learn more about how to lose weight permanently. Click here
