Cut Out Alcohol
Welcome back! Here is another one of my Top 100 weight loss tips which weighs in at article number 12 in the series put together to provide you with a huge collection of great tips to help you lose weight.
This post focuses on one of the sticking points many people have when it comes to losing weight and that's their reluctance to cut out alcohol. But we'll see how doing exactly this can make a huge difference to your strategy.
Alcohol and Weight Gain
Alcohol is nothing bad or evil as long as its taken in moderation and in fact many health experts have found to their surprise that people who take a daily glass of red wine are more likely to live longer and in better health than those who abstain completely. So how does alcohol fit in with the problem of weight gain?
Well, its not too hard to figure that one out. Drinking one glass of wine will lower your resistance to temptation when a really tasty piece of food is placed in front of you, which will lead to you busting your calorie intake limit for the day.
More than one glass of wine, or the equivalent of beer or spirits lowers your resistance further and you'll be more tempted to eat things that your diet says you shouldn't. The more you drink, the more you'll eat!
So it all comes down to how determined you are to lose weight.
Be Determined
If you are not all that determined, then you will not cut out alcohol and you will derail your chances of losing weight. Does that sound a little harsh? Well, its meant to be,because the harsh reality when it comes to drinking alcoholic drinks is that even the most benign of them will almost certainly lead to you eating more than you should.
Even worse is drinking spirits mixed with those fizzy, sugary mixers such as soda, coke, lemonade, tonic etc and even though you may ask for a low calorie version of your favorite mixer, you are still not helping yourself because the artificial sweeteners contained in them actually stimulate hunger and will cause you to eat more.
The only way to make sure you stay on track with your diet is to make a determined effort to cut out alcohol, or at least reduce your intake to only one or two glasses per week. And of that, make it red wine if you must have an alcoholic drink because of them all, this is the one that at least contains some health promoting benefits.
Take Weekends Off
You could stay dry all during the weekdays and allow yourself a treat of a glass of wine at the weekend as is permitted on the Sonoma Diet. So at least you'll be giving yourself a full five days to stick to your calorie limit and promote weight loss through exercise, while relaxing a little at the weekends.
Just remember that while moderation in all things is preferred, you have to be very strict when it comes to alcohol if you are truly determined and want to be positive about losing weight!
100 Weight Loss Tips number 11 follows in the next post!
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Posted on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 in Top 100 Weight Loss Tips | 2 Comments
2 thoughts on "Cut Out Alcohol"
Rudolf says:
This is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the enjoyment here! keep up the good work.
Paul says:
It really does come down to how determined you are to lose weight. I lost 70 plus lbs by ditching the alcohol. You sometimes lose some so called friends who were actually drinking buddies. They just don't come around anymore.