It’s common for young people to consume alcoholic beverages. Every party and event involve drinking in some capacity. Most of the time, alcohol almost always comes in the form of binge drinking.
This is because over-drinking and excessive alcohol consumption can be fun and entertaining for people when they don’t have to worry about school, work or family in the morning. Young people are immune to the effects of alcohol in their bloodstream. They can drink all night, and wake up the next morning ready to do whatever is expected of them. However, there are also some health risks that come with it.
Gaining Weight from Bingeing Alcohol
People who drink are probably familiar with the term “beer belly,” which is the increase of fat around one’s stomach. To get this, you have to drink excessive amounts of alcohol over a short period. This is because alcohol contains calories.
Alcoholic beverages generally have no nutritional value, but they are calorie-dense. A single serving of beer can contain more than 150 calories; whereas a glass of wine contains about 100 calories and one shot of liquor (excluding mixed drinks) has about 100 calories.
People also eat snacks when they’re drinking. This further adds to the number of calories they’re taking in. The more food and alcoholic drinks consumed, the more weight gained.
All of these empty calories can easily turn into fat around your stomach if you’re not careful with your drinking habits. This is why it’s important to drink responsibly whenever possible to avoid weight gain.
Binge-Drinking Makes You Lose Control
Drinking quickly can also affect one’s mental state as it subdues their inhibition, which makes them consume more alcohol and food even more than what is normal. People who drink excessively may not realize how much they’re actually eating, or if what they’re eating is unhealthy.
The high consumption of alcohol also makes people crave junk food such as potato chips, french fries, pizza, tacos, and ice cream. Those who drink are not strangers to the intense desire to eat greasy and fatty foods. This is because it leads to low blood sugar levels. As a result, your body seeks carbohydrate-rich food to fuel itself for the rest of the night.
People also generally tend to forget how much they ate when drinking alcohol. They also spend less time worrying about what they’re eating because their inhibitions are down.
Binge-Drinking Affects Your Metabolism
Binge drinking doesn’t only affect the person drinking. It can also lead to malnutrition among teens and young adults.
Drinking may make you lose your appetite at first, but after a while, it will give way to intense cravings for food that’s high in carbs and fats. This is harmful because it can slow down your metabolism rate.
Alcohol can also prevent the body from using food efficiently. When you drink alcohol, your liver breaks it down and uses the energy from the alcohol to do so. This means that your liver isn’t able to use the energy from the food you’ve eaten, which can lead to weight gain.
Alcohol can also suppress the production of thyroid hormones. These hormones are responsible for controlling your metabolism rate. When they are suppressed, your metabolism slows down, which makes it easier to gain weight.
Additionally, binge-drinking causes dehydration, which impacts fat metabolism. It also causes other health problems such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. These health problems further increase the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease among those who regularly drink.
Binge-Drinking Makes Losing Weight More Challenging
People who drink are often short on sleep, which makes it more difficult for them to lose weight. This is because alcohol can affect their sleep cycle, which makes it hard for them to get a good night’s rest.
When people don’t have enough sleep, they tend to feel more stressed out and depressed, both of which also make it harder to lose weight.
Alcoholics are also prone to emotional eating. This means that they turn to food as a coping mechanism whenever they’re feeling stressed or sad. When this happens, the number on the scale can go up quickly without anyone noticing.
Women who want to lose weight will need to be sober. Living without alcohol consumption will allow the body to recover from the damages caused by binge-drinking.
Binge drinking can have a number of negative consequences for your health, including weight gain. It’s important to drink responsibly and avoid excessive drinking in order to maintain your health and avoid putting on extra pounds.
