The effects of alcohol on your weight loss goals can be completely disastrous. While we would love to think that drinking a “light” beer with fewer calories will allow us to attain our weight loss goals, it is more complicated than you would think. Although the calories in alcohol will affect weight loss, there are other concerns to consider. Alcohol also affects weight loss goals by: stimulating appetite, decreasing the number of fat calories burned, and manipulating key hormones such as testosterone and cortisol in the body.

Indeed, alcohol and weight loss do not mix but not so much because it leads to a “beer belly”. Of all the calories in an alcoholic drink, less than 5% of them are converted into fat. While a “beer belly” may very well be the result of drinking, it is not created by the calories in the alcohol — at least not directly. Let me explain...

Do you ever wonder why restaurants serve alcohol with meals? Of course it boils down to money but not just the money made selling the alcoholic drinks. Simply having one drink before dinner will stimulate your appetite. This is exactly why a server will get your drink order first before coming back to ask if you want an appetizer. If you have a chance to consume your drink before ordering the main dish, the restaurant wins because you will be hungrier than if you had not had that drink. Just think about this the next time you eat out so that you don’t forget that alcohol and weight loss are incompatible — even if you "sacrifice" and order a light beer instead!

Another reason alcohol and weight loss do not mix is because the calories in a drink are mainly converted into something called acetate. This is a problem because instead of the body burning fat calories for its energy needs, it burns acetate instead.

A final reason alcohol and weight loss don’t mix is because of the reduction of the hormone, testosterone. Testosterone levels in the body are reduced for up to 24 hours after drinking. Recall from our discussion on hormones, testosterone is critical to muscle growth. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Exercising before drinking alcohol destroys weight loss goals even more because this further reduces the amount of testosterone in your body. Alcohol also affects weight loss goals by increasing the hormone, cortisol, in your body.  Cortisol actually breaks down muscles and destroys the gains you have made during workouts.

Now although alcohol and weight loss do not mix, this does not mean you have to forsake beer or drinking altogether. A couple of glasses of wine or beer isn't the end of the world. In fact, recent studies have shown that drinking a couple of glasses of red wine every day can actually be good for you! The key to the game is moderation. Cut yourself off after two (at most three) drinks because failing to do so will significantly hamper your weight loss success and leave you stuck with that “beer belly” forever!