How to Get Rid of a Beer Belly
Avoid binge drinking., Decide how much is too much for you., Learn the rough calorie estimates of different alcoholic drinks., Switch to low-calorie beer and only have a few., Stay hydrated by drinking water when you're drinking beer., Take in fewer...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Avoid binge drinking.
Best way to avoid putting on weight from beer? Avoid drinking too much of it.
Aside from the long-term and short-term effects of consuming the alcohol in beer, the empty calories (between 150 and 200 calories per 12 oz bottle) will start to add up.
If you're regularly drinking several average-strength beers in a night, think of it as an extra Big Mac or two on top of everything else you ate in the day, leading to weight gain.
When you drink to excess, your liver goes into overdrive to process the alcohol from those delicious beers you consumed, filtering the alcohol, which acts as a toxin.
Because of this, the liver becomes less efficient, and is less able to process fat into energy, meaning more of it will stick around your midsection.
Combine this with a drop in metabolism as you age and you get a beer belly. -
Step 2: Decide how much is too much for you.
The answer will be different for everyone.
It's important to find your resting caloric intake number and start counting calories if you want to lose weight.
Include any beers you drink in that amount to determine how much beer will be too much.
For most people, between 1,700 and 2,000 calories a day is a normal intake.
To lose weight, that number can be safely dropped to around 1,500 calories for most people, if you eat a modest, healthy diet, or can hover around 1,700 with a sufficient amount of exercise.
A couple of beers that keep your daily total within that range should be fine.
Talk to a registered dietitian or your primary care physician to create a safe plan for losing weight and cutting calories while ensuring you get the necessary nutrients and enough calories to stay healthy. , If you want to lose the beer belly, it's important to start thinking about those beers as the calorie bombs that they are.
Alcohol is, in addition to all it's wonderful qualities as a social lubricant, a huge source of empty calories, especially when drinking to excess.
Learn to count the calories in those beers and bourbons and you'll be in better shape.
Beers can have anywhere between 100 – 300 calories per 12 oz. serving, depending on the style and brand.
Dark beers like stouts and porters, and beers with higher alcohol contents, have substantially more calories than lighter beers.
Newer light beers can have as few as 50 or 60 calories, but this also comes with a drop in alcohol content, meaning that some people might drink more in the long run, negating the calorie benefit.
Wines can have about the same amount of alcohol as a beer, between 160 and 200 per serving.
Spirits usually have around 100 calories per a
1.5 oz. serving.
Things like barrel-aged scotches will have a higher calorie count (closer to 200 for the same amount) because of the increase in fats and esters as a result of the more complicated aging process.
This has nothing to do with the color of the spirit, but rather the distillation.
Chill-filtered spirits have fewer calories, and less flavor.
Mixed drinks will vary from drink to drink, but including soda or energy drinks with spirits is usually the highest-calorie drink available at the bar. , If you love beer, you don't have to stop drinking it entirely to start losing that gut.
Exercising and changing your drinking and eating habits is the way to go, not abandoning drinking forever.
Light beers are usually between 80 and 100 calories per 12 oz. serving, making them easily amenable to most weight-loss regimens.
Keep track of the calories, not the number of bottles.
If you're a regular beer drinker, you may find that the low alcohol content in light beers means you can — and want — to drink more of them, which can negate the low calories.
Don't over drink just because you're drinking Bud Lite.
Alternatively, you can keep drinking your high-alcohol or high-calorie beer and make it an occasional special treat, limiting it to one.
It doesn't have to be a rule that you drink swill just because you want to lose weight.
It might be more satisfying to have an Oatmeal Stout or a Chocolate Bock every now and then if you want, as long as you're aware of the calorie count and keep it in balance. , One good way to drink fewer calories and promote healthier digestion and metabolism is to stay hydrated, drinking at least one glass of water per beer.
This will have the added benefit of filling you up, making it less likely that you'll want to drink more beers.
This can be a good tactic both for drinking less, and easing the impact of the beer you do drink. , If you want to shed some pounds, you need to change your eating habits and focus on counting calories to make your workouts more effective in burning away fat.
One of the easiest ways to do this is obviously to cut out the extra beers and the empty calories associated with them.
Men should mostly take in no fewer than 1,500 calories in a given day, and women should take in no fewer than 1,200 calories in a given day, for healthy weight loss.
Don't drop off your calorie intake too much, and keep the amount of calories you take in from alcohol very low.Develop a "calorie cap" on alcohol consumed in a specific week.
Stop drinking that week after you've reached your calorie cap on beer.
If you're dropping your daily total of calories to between 1,500 and 1,700 calories per day, no more than 100 or 200 of those calories should be coming from beer.
It might be appropriate to give yourself a 1,000 calories per week, or no more than five light beers, to lose weight in a steady fashion. -
Step 3: Learn the rough calorie estimates of different alcoholic drinks.
-
Step 4: Switch to low-calorie beer and only have a few.
-
Step 5: Stay hydrated by drinking water when you're drinking beer.
-
Step 6: Take in fewer calories throughout the day.
Detailed Guide
Best way to avoid putting on weight from beer? Avoid drinking too much of it.
Aside from the long-term and short-term effects of consuming the alcohol in beer, the empty calories (between 150 and 200 calories per 12 oz bottle) will start to add up.
If you're regularly drinking several average-strength beers in a night, think of it as an extra Big Mac or two on top of everything else you ate in the day, leading to weight gain.
When you drink to excess, your liver goes into overdrive to process the alcohol from those delicious beers you consumed, filtering the alcohol, which acts as a toxin.
Because of this, the liver becomes less efficient, and is less able to process fat into energy, meaning more of it will stick around your midsection.
Combine this with a drop in metabolism as you age and you get a beer belly.
The answer will be different for everyone.
It's important to find your resting caloric intake number and start counting calories if you want to lose weight.
Include any beers you drink in that amount to determine how much beer will be too much.
For most people, between 1,700 and 2,000 calories a day is a normal intake.
To lose weight, that number can be safely dropped to around 1,500 calories for most people, if you eat a modest, healthy diet, or can hover around 1,700 with a sufficient amount of exercise.
A couple of beers that keep your daily total within that range should be fine.
Talk to a registered dietitian or your primary care physician to create a safe plan for losing weight and cutting calories while ensuring you get the necessary nutrients and enough calories to stay healthy. , If you want to lose the beer belly, it's important to start thinking about those beers as the calorie bombs that they are.
Alcohol is, in addition to all it's wonderful qualities as a social lubricant, a huge source of empty calories, especially when drinking to excess.
Learn to count the calories in those beers and bourbons and you'll be in better shape.
Beers can have anywhere between 100 – 300 calories per 12 oz. serving, depending on the style and brand.
Dark beers like stouts and porters, and beers with higher alcohol contents, have substantially more calories than lighter beers.
Newer light beers can have as few as 50 or 60 calories, but this also comes with a drop in alcohol content, meaning that some people might drink more in the long run, negating the calorie benefit.
Wines can have about the same amount of alcohol as a beer, between 160 and 200 per serving.
Spirits usually have around 100 calories per a
1.5 oz. serving.
Things like barrel-aged scotches will have a higher calorie count (closer to 200 for the same amount) because of the increase in fats and esters as a result of the more complicated aging process.
This has nothing to do with the color of the spirit, but rather the distillation.
Chill-filtered spirits have fewer calories, and less flavor.
Mixed drinks will vary from drink to drink, but including soda or energy drinks with spirits is usually the highest-calorie drink available at the bar. , If you love beer, you don't have to stop drinking it entirely to start losing that gut.
Exercising and changing your drinking and eating habits is the way to go, not abandoning drinking forever.
Light beers are usually between 80 and 100 calories per 12 oz. serving, making them easily amenable to most weight-loss regimens.
Keep track of the calories, not the number of bottles.
If you're a regular beer drinker, you may find that the low alcohol content in light beers means you can — and want — to drink more of them, which can negate the low calories.
Don't over drink just because you're drinking Bud Lite.
Alternatively, you can keep drinking your high-alcohol or high-calorie beer and make it an occasional special treat, limiting it to one.
It doesn't have to be a rule that you drink swill just because you want to lose weight.
It might be more satisfying to have an Oatmeal Stout or a Chocolate Bock every now and then if you want, as long as you're aware of the calorie count and keep it in balance. , One good way to drink fewer calories and promote healthier digestion and metabolism is to stay hydrated, drinking at least one glass of water per beer.
This will have the added benefit of filling you up, making it less likely that you'll want to drink more beers.
This can be a good tactic both for drinking less, and easing the impact of the beer you do drink. , If you want to shed some pounds, you need to change your eating habits and focus on counting calories to make your workouts more effective in burning away fat.
One of the easiest ways to do this is obviously to cut out the extra beers and the empty calories associated with them.
Men should mostly take in no fewer than 1,500 calories in a given day, and women should take in no fewer than 1,200 calories in a given day, for healthy weight loss.
Don't drop off your calorie intake too much, and keep the amount of calories you take in from alcohol very low.Develop a "calorie cap" on alcohol consumed in a specific week.
Stop drinking that week after you've reached your calorie cap on beer.
If you're dropping your daily total of calories to between 1,500 and 1,700 calories per day, no more than 100 or 200 of those calories should be coming from beer.
It might be appropriate to give yourself a 1,000 calories per week, or no more than five light beers, to lose weight in a steady fashion.
About the Author
Brittany Reynolds
Creates helpful guides on cooking to inspire and educate readers.
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