Alcohol and Weight Loss

 They are just not what you would call close friends… We are of course talking about alcohol and weight loss. They are not good friends, never have been, never will be. However, with regard to alcohol and obesity, it goes the other way, these two are really good mates. They love to go out eating and drinking together, and they always stick together like glue on holidays.

When you drink alcohol, even a small amount, it often plays havoc with your ability to follow a diet. It gets in the way of your commitment and willpower to control your weight and level of obesity. One of the main reasons is because we tend to overlook the calories we consume as liquid.

Don’t Drink Your Calories

Everybody has heard the well-repeated mantra “Don’t drink your calories!” Why is that? Well, research has found that when we consume, solid foods, those calories are acknowledged and registered in the brain. This results in the release of the hunger hormone ghrelin being suppressed, so your desire to continue eating is reduced.

On the other hand, liquid calories don’t trigger the same response, which means that consuming calories in liquid form, whether alcoholic, or not, doesn’t reduce your appetite, or the quantity of food you will eat. In fact, it may well do the opposite!

Look out for the Piña Coladas!

When consuming alcohol on a night out, people generally tend not to restrict their intake of solid foods. In fact they often consume even more than normal, maybe without even being aware of it. This, of course, is guaranteed to result in weight gain. It’s often said that it’s much easier for us to ‘drink’ calories mindlessly, than to eat them in the form of food, and unfortunately, this is perfectly true!

For example, a typical piña colada cocktail often contains more calories than a Big Mac meal, yet you would happily help yourself to a second one. In comparison, you might consider eating two Big Mac meals in a row as being a bit over the top!

Alcohol is classified as being energy-dense, and nutrient-deficient, which basically means that it contains huge amounts of empty calories. Those calories provide pretty close to zero nutritional benefit to our body! And even worse than that, our body actually perceives it as toxin, or poison!

Alcohol and Sleep — Not friends

Research concludes that alcohol does NOT improve sleep quality. According to the findings, in low to moderate doses, alcohol initially promotes sleep. Alcohol allows healthy people to fall asleep quicker and sleep more deeply for a while. However, it significantly reduces rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is the restorative stage of sleep when we also dream. , which means that overall the quality of sleep after consuming alcohol is much lower.

This explains why you can sleep for a number of hours after a heavy drinking session, then in the morning you wake up and still feel exhausted. It is like you almost haven’t slept at all! When it comes to sleep, the old adage quality over quantity is the key.

All Inclusive Holidays — A nightmare

Holidays can be a nightmare for alcohol and associated weight gain. The increase in the ‘All Inclusive’ holidays including cruises, where you can drink unlimited alcohol for 18 plus hours a day, is often just a step too far for the many people trying to watch their level of calorie consumption.

Alcohol and weight Loss

A recent poll of around 3,000 British people carried out by Bonvoyage.co.uk indicated that an average cruise passenger’s daily alcohol consumption, including cocktails and wine could be as high as 2,000 calories per day. This equates to 28,000, over a two-week break. And that’s for alcohol alone… Honestly, they do not have a chance!

Drink less, maintain your weight

You may already be aware of current guidelines, which recommend that the average woman, of average weight and lifestyle needs to consume around 2,000 calories per day in order to maintain her weight. This figure increases to around 2,500 calories for a man.

Alcohol is the Enemy

Alcohol lowers a person’s resolve, self-control and willpower. It does this by altering the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain responsible for the control of thought processes, behaviour and emotion. Maybe it’s not surprising then, that more people break their diets following alcohol consumption than at any other time.

Alcohol makes you Hungry

Scientific research concludes that people who over-consume alcohol display poor eating habits while drinking, which I guess we all knew anyway! Alcohol increases our sensation of hunger. So no, it’s not your imagination that you always feel hungry after a few drinks; it’s actually almost impossible not to! Medical research has shown that when we consume alcohol, it stimulates the production of a hunger-increasing hormone.

Martin and Marion Shirran, the developers and joint Clinical Directors appeared on both the Good Morning America and the This Morning Breakfast Show.

Lose Weight in a Healthy Way

So, how do we start to lose weight in a healthy and permanent way? 

There are so many approaches to weight loss. If you type “diet”, or “weight loss”, into Google, for example, you will have over a million references, in a heartbeat. We would be naive to say that the My Weigh Less course guarantees 100% success. We will not insult your intelligence!

No Diets, Just Psychology

The My Weigh Less treatment is psychology-focused, built around the experience of treating over a thousand clients, and amassing in excess of 15,000 hours of 1:1 clinical treatment time. The fully downloadable treatment has been the subject of extensive real person trials. But, as with your considerations regarding any weight loss approach, do take a look at the verified case studies, and their before and after photos on the My Weigh Less Site. If Alcohol and Weight Loss is on your list, then take a look at myweighless.com. If you require additional comfort, which is fair enough, visit the Medical Endorsement page.

The Gold Standard in Non-Surgical Weight Loss

The My weigh Less treatment package consists of twelve one hour weight loss sessions, with Martin and Marion Shirran. Between them they have accumulated ten thousand hours of treatment time in the weight loss arena. In addition to the twelve sessions, clients receive a number of videos, animated presentations, visual aids and hypnosis sessions.

The My Weigh Less Course is new and refreshing, incorporating the latest, science-based, behavioural change techniques. Completely based on an approach that has changed the lives of over a thousand people. You too can experience the benefits, the changes in your life, and your thinking around food: maybe today… Martin, above, went on to lose 84 pounds.

Permanent Weight Loss is the Goal

If you want to lose weight Permanently, and have looked into different diets, and possibly even surgery, then take a step back, before you decide which approach to adopt. You don’t need to spend any money right now. Just take ten minutes to read the pages of the My Weigh Less website. After all, you have nothing to lose. Martin and Marion Shirran’s GMB site contains additional information.

Registered Stakeholder in NICE — National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Marion Shirran, is proud to be a registered Stakeholder in NICE — The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. In addition Marion is registered with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Obesity. She looks forward to being able to share her vast experience, gained from over 15,000 1:1 clinical hours working with overweight individuals for the benefit of a wider audience.