Moderation. It's one of those loaded words that people throw
around and that we all still shake, stir, and muddle to make more
palatable. When it comes to alcohol, though, that word is etched in
glass: 14 (or fewer) drinks a week, and no more than four in a single
day, is "moderate."
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One drink means a 350ml beer, a 148ml glass of wine, or a 44ml shot of 80-proof spirits. No matter how that adds up, we bet you'd slip past moderation, and you will also see your weight creep up about 4.5 kilos. Blame it on a cocktail of deadlines, stress, inactivity, and also fun. Sounds familiar? A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently says that about one in four men exceed the moderation guidelines an average of five times a month.That kind of drinking can make your belly bulge. Because, within minutes of your sipping a drink, your fat metabolism can wane. "Alcohol is instant energy and calories, even if the calories are empty," says Padma Shri Dr Pradeep Chowbey, vice-chairman, Max Healthcare, director of minimal access, metabolic and bariatric surgery. "That can cause your body to stop burning its usual stored carbs and fat for energy and instead utilise the alcohol. The double whammy: any other calories you take in, whether they're carbs from your brew or protein from chicken tikka, end up as stored fat." The average man needs an hour to metabolise 18ml of alcohol, the amount in one drink, so even a couple of drinks can have a dramatic effect. In a UC Berkeley study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who downed 29ml of alcohol from two cocktails had a 73 per cent decrease in fat burning after two hours.
Beyond its caloric load and impact on your fat burners, alcohol can disrupt your sleep pattern, mess with your appetite, and foment a cascade of other weight-gaining processes. One reason to stop completely is to see how you feel physically and psychologically. If you can tough it out (or even feel better) while losing weight, then you can transition to more-moderate measures to maintain your weight. Waist size aside, two drinks a day may actually be healthier than none at all. If you graph drinking and mortality over a given time period, a J shape forms. Men at the bottom of the J have two drinks a day and are less likely to die during that period than teetotalers are. After two drinks, the number of deaths starts to rise. In fact, excessive alcohol use is the third-leading cause of preventable death, after smoking and obesity. A toast, then, to moderation-and to finding the truth about drinking and dieting.
Week One
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First up, strategise. The easiest way to change bad habits is to replace them with better ones. Identify specific danger drinks: the post-work decompressor, the social lubricator at a party or bar, the glass of wine that enhances dinner, and the nightcap that takes the edge off. Then figure out replacements. Some experts also advise keeping alcohol hidden so you're not reminded of what you're missing. If things start out well, you'd replace your post-work drink with a 15-minute exercise circuit, and stock bottles of mineral water and cans of seltzer to help simulate the sensation of drinking alcohol. The novelty of not boozing makes the first week flash by in a sobriety-fuelled binge of productivity.
Result
You drop about 1.5 kilos without sacrificing any of your favourite foods.
Alcohol wrecks your sleep
Scientists
know that alcohol sabotages sleep quality and that good sleep is
critical to weight loss. Sleep is not like a light switch. It's a brain
activity more like laughter, and it relies on a series of
neurotransmitters syncing up to enable the cascade of sleep. Alcohol
interferes with that, taking a wrecking ball to your sleep architecture.
Though
booze may help you drift off, it affects the first half of the sleep
cycle, which is when most men sleep deepest. Because alcohol is a
sedative, it suppresses dreaming. Then when it's metabolised, your brain
wakes up, causing fragmented sleep and nightmares. "During deep sleep,
your body carries out a series of restorative hormonal and metabolic
functions. Men who consume alcohol regularly almost never have the deep,
restful sleep that restores functions on a daily basis," says Dr
Chowbey. "Without quality sleep, your energy system can misfire: you
feel hungry when you don't need food, and you make poor diet choices,
not to mention feeling less productive the next day." In a French study,
people consumed 560 more calories during the day following just one
night of poor sleep than they did after sleeping eight hours.
The fix
Axe
the nightcap. Your body needs time to process alcohol before you go to
sleep. You could savour one drink when you return home from work, and
sip another with your meal, ideally several hours before you hit the
hay. Instead of self-medicating, talk with your doctor about why you're
having trouble falling asleep.
Week Two
Eat
more local food, and try diverse cuisines. Take your tastebuds on safari
so you're not bored. You could also find other indulgences, such as
dark chocolate and cheese.
Result
Boom you drop another 2 kilos!
Alcohol leads to wings
Beer
goggles work on food too. When you've had a few drinks, fatty foods
seem even more attractive. Alcohol triggers a release of the
neurotransmitter dopamine, which makes you feel good. At the same time,
your body also releases ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating hormone, and
galanin, a neuropeptide that may lead you to eat more fat. The result is
called hyperphagia-an abnormally increased appetite. You go for the
guilty-pleasure food, and the alcohol washes away the guilt. A 2013
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study found that men ate 433 more
calories (264 from alcohol, 169 from food and other beverages) and nine
per cent more fat on days they drank than on days they abstained.
The fix
Slow
the rate at which alcohol enters your bloodstream. A recent Northern
Kentucky University study points out that having food in your stomach
can help slow the absorption of alcohol by as much as 57 per cent. That
means your lard furnace may remain more active. The takeaway: drink only
after you've started eating a meal. When dinner's done, you're done.
That can also help you avoid the weight-loss witching hour. When you're
tired and drunk, you risk an appetite meltdown with no "off" switch. So
try the old trick of chasing each drink with a glass of water. The water
adds volume so your stomach feels full, and it helps slow the
absorption of alcohol so you're less likely to end up trashed and eating
garbage.
Week Three
You probably don't miss
alcohol after work or with meals. Your exercise circuit releases
feel-good endorphins, and your diverse diet keeps dinner lively. You are
also eating more cheese as dessert, pairing domestic and international
blues and aged cheddars with apples, pears and walnuts. Dark chocolates
too? Like red wine, dark chocolate triggers a hit of dopamine and
contains resveratrol, a heart-healthy antioxidant.
Now you know why exploring new foods is fun.
Result
Up a kilo-cheese and chocolate!
Alcohol is loaded with calories
Alcohol
packs seven calories per gram, second only to fat (nine calories); by
contrast, protein and carbohydrates contain four calories per gram. But
metabolising alcohol so it can be used as a fuel burns 20 per cent of
its calories. That means the actual energy yield from alcohol is closer
to five calories. Then you add in the mixers. There are no blurred lines
when it comes to excess: according to a Danish review, exceeding two
beers a day increases your risk of "abdominal adiposity"-beer belly. But
drinking moderately doesn't necessarily lead to weight gain. In a
five-year study also from Denmark, men who averaged one daily alcoholic
drink were 21 per cent less likely to stretch their belts than others.
The fix
Wine
is the best option if you're watching your belly, followed by spirits
and then beer. For beer drinkers, the keys are, again, moderation and
water. When you enter a bar, order a pint of H2O and drink it. That way
you won't pound your first beer. Keep alternating beer and water. (Ditto
for wine. Sip mindfully to stretch your drink.)
Week Four
If
people do ask why you are not indulging, blame your doctor: "My blood
sugar numbers put me close to prediabetic, so he told me to cut back.
Bummer, right?" You still crave a nightcap, but along with snacking on
dark chocolate, you are auditioning different closers, like practicing
yoga and reading fiction. You've been sleeping much better, having vivid
dreams, and waking up energised and clearheaded.
Result
After cutting back on cheese and chocolate, you drop about 1.5 kilos.
Your total weight loss is now four kilos!
The kicker:
many experts admit that they drink a glass or two of red wine most days
(but not every day). So get ready to reintroduce wine with meals. In
moderation, of course.