If you turn to shakes, read nutrition labels carefully and avoid those high in sugar, cholesterol, or saturated fat. This is why after weighing yourself on Monday, your weight may have skyrocketed up a handful of pounds but a couple of days later is back down to its normal weight once you get back on your diet. In addition, your body may not be able to absorb nutrients properly. Hunger and satiety hormones can also become thrown off, causing you to eat more. The heart-protective potential of red wine is believed to be partially due to its high concentration of plant compounds called polyphenols, especially resveratrol.

• Drinking actual alcohol leads to dehydration, as many of us already know (11).
• Although red wine is often celebrated for its heart-protective properties, drinking alcohol isn’t risk-free.
• Soft drinks are viewed by many as a major contributor to obesity and related health problems and have consequently been targeted as a means to help curtail the rising prevalence of obesity, particularly among children.
• But you don’t have to be male or drink beer in order to gain weight from alcohol.
• As discussed above, eating protein can help you lose weight, as it helps you feel fuller for longer and burns a higher amount of calories during digestion than fat or carbs.

Health Categories to Explore

Some low-quality winemakers add sugar to their end product before bottling to adjust the can drinking make you gain weight taste. A low-sugar bottle of wine is best if you’re watching your calories because high-sugar wines usually mean a higher calorie count. Popular red wine varietals have between 3.4-4 grams of carbs in a 5 oz serving.

Can drinking alcohol every day cause weight gain?

“Consuming plain black coffee will not lead to weight gain because it contains virtually no calories,” states Rasmussen. Although the flavor of black coffee may take some getting used to, 1 cup without any sugar, cream or syrups only contains 2 calories, per the USDA. Replacing high-calorie beverages with low-calorie beverages like black coffee can help to reduce your caloric intake. Eat more protein when consuming alcohol instead of carbs and sugars.

Ready to achieve your weight loss goals?

• This risk of weight gain may be even higher in people who are already overweight compared to normal-weight people who drink beer (18).
• The morning after a night of over-imbibing can cause some temporary effects on your brain.
• Alcohol can make you more susceptible to mental health issues like depression and anxiety, reducing your motivation to go out and be active.
• This finding alone suggests that it would be prudent to recommend population decreases in soft drink consumption.
• Regular alcohol consumption can lead to health conditions that cause weight gain, among other issues.

To our knowledge, there does not appear to be any experimental evidence specifically testing the effects of heavy/binge drinking, or of drinking spirits or a combination of alcohol sources on weight gain/obesity. A summary of the studies examined in this article, organized by the trend between alcohol and weight gain/obesity can be found in Table 1. Available data indicate a clear and consistent association between soft drink consumption and increased energy intake. Given the multiple sources of energy in a typical diet, it is noteworthy that a single source of energy can have such a substantial impact on total energy intake. This finding alone suggests that it would be prudent to recommend population decreases in soft drink consumption. Moreover, whether a dieter should be able to manage moderate alcohol consumption depends on its contribution to their daily calorie intake.

• Additionally, medications such as antidepressants commonly prescribed for depression can contribute to weight gain by increasing appetite.
• There are multiple short-term risks of excessive alcohol consumption.
• Alcohol has also been shown to influence a number of hormones linked to satiety.
• ABV refers to the amount of alcohol in a 3.4-oz (100-ml) drink, expressed as a percentage.
• Drinking alcohol can contribute to increased body weight, as both alcohol and obesity negatively impact an individual’s body mass index (BMI), leading to a higher-than-healthy BMI.
• More human research is needed to understand how alcohol affects hunger.

Does Alcohol Kill Probiotics?

Visceral fat is metabolically active, which means it can interfere with your body’s hormones. Beer also contains small amounts of micronutrients, including sodium, potassium and magnesium. However, it’s not a particularly good source of these nutrients, as you would need to drink massive amounts to satisfy your daily requirements. Some varieties of beer are also flavored with fruit or herbs and spices. Alcohol is known to lower inhibitions, impairing the logical decision-making sections of your brain like the prefrontal cortex. Still, an estimated 42% of Americans are obese, and 60% of Americans say they drink alcohol.

How alcohol could cause weight gain

• Force yourself to choose nutrient-dense food, lots of water, and get moving – even if it’s just a walk for fresh air.
• The association between alcohol intake and body weight is generally stronger in men than women 15, especially because of the amount and type of alcohol consumed by men.
• She also notes, “They are not the same. There’s no fiber in fruit juice, so, sugar-wise, it’s like drinking a soda. If you’re watching your weight, eat the fruit, don’t drink the juice.”
• If you’d like to prevent weight gain and still enjoy drinking, try choosing lower-calorie alcoholic beverages and manage how much alcohol you consume.
• On the other hand, sweet tea or hot tea with a ton of sugar may do more harm than good.
• Discover how drinking green tea may help you lose weight and the other benefits of consuming this beverage.

Consuming alcohol also makes you hungrier for high fat, high sodium food while impeding your judgment, which further contributes to poor food choices. Alcohol consumption can lead to weight gain and increases in belly fat (4). However, the most significant cause of weight gain in the stomach due to alcohol consumption is the empty calories your body has to burn off and then consume bad foods.