3 Ways To Get Rid Of A Beer Belly

When you drink to excess, your liver goes into overdrive to process the alcohol from those delicious beers you consumed, filtering the alcohol, which acts as a toxin. Because of this, the liver becomes less efficient, and is less able to process fat into energy, meaning more of it will stick around your midsection. Combine this with a drop in metabolism as you age and you get a beer belly. [2] X Research source

For most people, between 1,700 and 2,000 calories a day is a normal intake. To lose weight, that number can be safely dropped to around 1,500 calories for most people, if you eat a modest, healthy diet, or can hover around 1,700 with a sufficient amount of exercise. A couple of beers that keep your daily total within that range should be fine. Talk to a registered dietitian or your primary care physician to create a safe plan for losing weight and cutting calories while ensuring you get the necessary nutrients and enough calories to stay healthy.

Beers can have anywhere between 100 – 300 calories per 12 oz. serving, depending on the style and brand. Dark beers like stouts and porters, and beers with higher alcohol contents, have substantially more calories than lighter beers. Newer light beers can have as few as 50 or 60 calories, but this also comes with a drop in alcohol content, meaning that some people might drink more in the long run, negating the calorie benefit. Wines can have about the same amount of calories as a beer, between 160 and 200 per serving. Spirits usually have around 100 calories per a 1. 5 oz. serving. Things like barrel-aged scotches will have a higher calorie count (closer to 200 for the same amount) because of the increase in fats and esters as a result of the more complicated aging process. This has nothing to do with the color of the spirit, but rather the distillation. Chill-filtered spirits have fewer calories, and less flavor. Mixed drinks will vary from drink to drink, but including soda or energy drinks with spirits is usually the highest-calorie drink available at the bar.

Keep track of the calories, not the number of bottles. If you’re a regular beer drinker, you may find that the low alcohol content in light beers means you can — and want — to drink more of them, which can negate the low calories. Don’t over drink just because you’re drinking Bud Lite. Alternatively, you can keep drinking your high-alcohol or high-calorie beer and make it an occasional special treat, limiting it to one. It doesn’t have to be a rule that you drink swill just because you want to lose weight. It might be more satisfying to have an Oatmeal Stout or a Chocolate Bock every now and then if you want, as long as you’re aware of the calorie count and keep it in balance.

Men should mostly take in no fewer than 1,500 calories in a given day, and women should take in no fewer than 1,200 calories in a given day, for healthy weight loss. Don’t drop off your calorie intake too much, and keep the amount of calories you take in from alcohol very low. [5] X Research source Develop a “calorie cap” on alcohol consumed in a specific week. Stop drinking that week after you’ve reached your calorie cap on beer. If you’re dropping your daily total of calories to between 1,500 and 1,700 calories per day, no more than 100 or 200 of those calories should be coming from beer. It might be appropriate to give yourself a 1,000 calories per week, or no more than five light beers, to lose weight in a steady fashion.

Never drink on an empty stomach. The toxic impact of alcohol is increased if there’s nothing else going through your digestive tract. Plus, the hangovers are way worse. Always eat something before you have beer. Eating healthy food before you have a couple drinks will also help you avoid the temptation of late night bad food cravings. The Drunk Munchies are a major cause of beer bellies, so if you want to avoid the gut, you also need to avoid the midnight fourth meal.

Try to eat at a regular time each day, starting the morning with a breakfast high in fiber, with whole grains, fresh fruits, and healthy protein like eggs or natural peanut butter. Try to avoid processed sugars and cereals, as well as starting the day with refined carbs.

When you’re drinking, it’s often tempting to have some snacks. Instead of reaching for the easily-available bar food, though, take some unsalted nuts, or fresh fruit with you to the bar, or keep carrot sticks available at home, to avoid the salty chips and fatty cheese sticks that you might normally gravitate toward.

The kidneys and liver work hard to process the alcohol from your system, and treating them right will help keep your metabolism up, helping you lose weight much more quickly. Eating these foods on a regular basis and cutting the alcohol from your diet will have that belly dropping inches much more quickly. [8] X Research source

Potato chips and snack crackers Candy Bacon, sausage, and burgers Muffins and pastries Egg yolks Fried foods

Break up your routine throughout the week. Come up with a 15 or 20 minute stretching routine that you can do every day, working in some core-strengthening planks and squats, then alternate strength training and cardio workouts each day to shake things up a bit.

Walking. Consider getting a pedometer to track your steps throughout the day, and Try to get as close as possible to 10,000 — which is easier than you think. Instead of driving a mile or two to the store, walk instead, or go on a few walks a day to break up the routine and get out of the house. Walk at a good clip, slightly faster than you would normally walk. Try to break a sweat. Stretching and calisthenics. Weight loss doesn’t’ have to mean complicated equipment at the gym. Start around the house with simple exercises that will get you moving, jumping rope, doing pull-ups, sit-ups, and push-ups, using your own body as resistance. Playing a sport you enjoy. It’s easier to get moving with friends. Get up with some of your beer-drinking buddies to lose a few pounds together, shooting hoops at the park, or playing pick-up soccer a few times a week for an hour. If it’s fun, you’ll be more likely to stick with it.

Work out your core at home with sit-ups and planks. Start slow, aiming for a three or four sets of 30 – 50 sit-ups, and five 30-second planks over the course of a half hour. Then, increase the speed of the activity to add a little cardio into the mix. You’ll be building your core and losing weight. Consider taking a yoga, pilates, or other core-building exercise program at a local gym or studio. These can be excellent ways to strengthen your core muscles and lose weight under the guidance of pros. Some people have the misconception that drinking lots of beer and eating lots of calories won’t matter as long as you work out your abs. Not true. Building core muscle will strengthen your abdominals, but it won’t eliminate your belly fat, and might even make your belly look bigger as you’re building the muscles. Eating fewer calories and losing a few pounds is the only way to get rid of that gut.

Try biking around. Bicycle lanes and bike shops are increasingly common all around the world, making cycling culture popular, healthy, and cool. Get yourself a good quality road bike and meet up with friends to cruise around after dinner. You’ll get your blood pumping and your waistline slimming. Get out in the woods and hike. Going on long, contemplative hikes is an excellent idea for the exercise-averse. Hoofing around on the power of your legs and getting up close and personal with nature is the best way for many to exercise. Try swimming. Getting in the water and paddling around is a great and fun way to exercise. It’s a calorie-burning workout that many people don’t even think of as a chore. You don’t even have to swim laps: treading water at a leisurely pace can burn as many as 200 calories in an hour.

Make sure you get enough healthy, restful sleep each night, between seven to eight hours. Being rested throughout the day is an important part of staying stress-free. Many people use drinking as a relaxation routine, but try switching to herbal tea or even just sitting in meditative reflection instead of drinking to relax. You might be surprised at how much more relaxing the alternatives can be.