The Truth About Beer And Your Belly

Beer is one of the most popular and most highly consumed drinks around today. Easy to get your hands on, some people frequent bars and pubs, whereas there are others who prefer to enjoy them in the comfort of their own homes. While there are many who actually do savour the malty taste of beer, drinking beer in moderation does actually have certain health benefits. It might sound surprising to most but these benefits include a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, improved digestive system and known to combat stress. With that being said, it comes as no surprise that beer is the third most popular beverage in the world, behind only to tea and water. Dreading the beer belly Even so, over-consumption of beer is not without its consequences. The one thing that heavy beer drinkers fear the most is the infamous “beer belly”. It’s common to see people who drink a lot of beer sporting a rather large belly. This “beer belly” is dreaded by many because of its reputation for being notoriously hard to burn off. Even though most people would blame the beverage for their big bellies, it’s not exactly the beer per se that’s causing your belly to swell, but mainly the amount of calories in the beer. Excessive calorie intake, regardless whether it comes from beer or from an improper diet, can lead to an increase in abdominal fat. A standard single beer contains about 150 calories. For any heavy drinker, downing a whole six pack of beer in one sitting isn’t unusual, and that would already be 900 calories right there. Aside from the amount of calories in beer, another reason why drinking beer can increase belly fat, or also known as visceral fat, is because when we consume beer, our liver, which usually focuses on metabolising fat, will prioritize burning off the alcohol in our system. This allows more fat to be built up around our bellies. Now that we know how beer can lead to a protruding belly, let’s see what we can do to keep that beer belly under control. Work out Alas, the only sure fire way of getting rid of that belly fat on your own is to resort to exercise and hard, hard work. Although visceral fat surrounds your abdominal area, doing hundreds of crunches and sit ups every day isn’t going to help. Abdominal exercises can help you strengthen your core and tighten your abdominal muscles, but it doesn’t help burn belly fat. The only way to burn stubborn belly fat, is to convert that fat to fuel by performing cardiovascular exercise. By doing cardiovascular exercises, you will be forcing your body to burn up more calories by converting it to energy. High intensity cardio such as running, jumping rope and swimming has been proven to be most effective in burning fat. Control your diet In order to see faster results, your workout routine should go hand-in-hand with a proper, well balanced diet. You’ll need to burn more calories than you consume in order to lose belly fat, so you will need to readjust your diet to control your calorie intake. Replacing high-calorie food in your diet with “clean” and high protein food such as vegetables, nuts, seafood and lean meat, can help to cut about 500 calories from your daily calorie intake. Aside from that, when we consume beer, alcohol actually makes us hungry and unhealthy food such as french fries, fried chicken and chicken wings suddenly seem particularly appetizing. This is why people usually have a variety snacks and comfort food at their tables when they go out drinking. Cutting down on such snacking when you’re having a beer with friends can also do wonders to your waistline. Limit your alcohol intake No, we’re not asking you to stop drinking beer completely, because to many, that would be preposterous. Be that as it may, no matter how you look at it, alcohol is still one of the main culprits that‘s contributing to your bulging belly. With that being said, it’s advisable to cut down on your beer consumption, and in time, your waistline (and also your wallet), will thank you for it. Sad to say, most working-class adults are usually so caught up with work, that they simply don’t have that much time or energy to exercise on a regular basis. Also, it’s not easy to adhere to a strict diet when you’re spending 9 hours a day, 5 or more days a week in an office. At the end of a long and tiring day of work, sometimes all you want is just to have a nice, chilly beer with a couple of friends. Being gutsy about beer belly However, not all is lost; there are still alternative ways you can consider to aid you in getting rid of that flab. Nowadays, more and more people are looking to cosmetic procedures to help them deal with their belly fat. One such procedure would be liposuction, a surgical process where excess fat can be removed from your body, leaving you with a slimmer tummy. For those who just need to tone some excess flab off their tummies, there’s a non-surgical option that is less invasive, offered by Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre – Coolsculpting treatment, which uses a state-of-the-art cooling technology to freeze and destroy fat cells. Although adopting a healthy lifestyle is something everybody should strive for, unfortunately not all of us can achieve our goals due to our hectic lifestyles. If you’re struggling to lose that beer belly but are always facing time constraints, make an appointment today and let the professionals at Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre assist you. Your dream of a trimmed, toned tummy will be realised sooner than you think!