Contrary to popular wisdom drinking wine isn’t all bad; in fact there have been many health benefits linked to drinking both red and white wine. But of course, most people want to know does wine make you fat?
The answer unfortunately is yes and no. So keep reading to find out if wine makes you fat, and how you can avoid that fate.
Calories in Wine-
Before we can answer the question, does wine make you fat, we must first talk about the calories in wine. One serving of wine should be 4 fluid ounces, if you’re counting calories.
Whether you enjoy a glass of red wine or white wine, having the calorie count can go a long way in avoiding wine-related weight gain!
Drinking Too Much Wine-
One sure-fire way to guarantee that wine can make you fat is by drinking too much of it, and not burning enough calories. One glass of red wine has 117 calories, which doesn’t seem like that many calories…until that glass turns into a bottle and in excess of 500 calories.
Excessive drinking not only helps pack on the calories, but it also takes away any health benefits derived from drinking wine. So, next time you ask does wine make you fat, the more appropriate question is how much wine will make you fat. Moderate wine consumption will not make you fat, especially if you take steps to burn a few hundred calories each day.
Booze-y Behavior-
When you enjoy a few glasses of wine, inevitably you start to crave something greasy or sugary or just plain bad for you. You justify it because you’re a little tipsy, but greasy restaurant food only compiles the calories you’re drinking. Consider 3 glasses of wine (351 calories) and a plate of French fries (380 calories)…and that doesn’t include anything else you’ve eaten or plan to eat before the night is over!
So, yes wine can make you fat, especially when combined with a fatty diet. However if you eat properly and exercise regularly then one night (ok, even a few nights) of drinking wine and eating nachos will not make you fat.
Lack of Sleep-
When people ask me, does wine make you fat, my next question is, how much sleep do you get? Seems like a strange question, to be sure, but too much wine consumption can lead to a night of uneasy sleep.
Unfortunately after a night (or more) of bad sleep, your ability to make smart diet choices like working out and eating healthy, are severely limited. Studies have linked an increase in obesity rates to a decline in total sleep hours. So yes wine makes you fat, again if you OVERDO it!
Sluggish Day After-
A night of tossing back a few glasses of wine will make your laughter come easy in the moment, but tomorrow you’ll be too tired and dehydrated to hit the gym. Excessive wine drinking, as with any type of alcohol, can lead to weight gain because of the behaviors you exhibit in the days following a night of heavy drinking.
Even if you are a highly active individual, you may be experiencing stalled weight loss because of the steps you take after a night of drinking wine. Even the most dedicated of us can blow off a workout after a night of too much merlot!
Morning After Food Choices-
The other way in which “technically” wine makes you fat, is the food choices you make after a night of drinking too much wine. You wake up in the morning and instead of eating a bowl of oats or an egg white omelet, you stop at your closes fast food restaurant and order 750 calories worth of breakfast.
{A breakfast like this will run you 900 calories…before you dress up the coffee!}
Then at lunchtime you realize that you forgot to pack your healthy lunch, so you hit up yet another fast food restaurant and order another 600 calories of lunch…plus a few cups of coffee (with sugar) to get you out of that sluggish slump. When dinner rolls around you’re too tired—even though you didn’t work out—so instead of preparing fish and veggies like you planned, you order a pizza and soda, which can easily get up to 800 calories.
So now do you see how easy it is for a few glasses of wine to make you fat?
Avoid the morning after curse by:
•Drinking a glass of water between each glass of wine to keep your wits about you…and hydrated.
•Eat a low calorie dinner when you plan to go out drinking—better to admit you might overdo it than deny it and regret it later.
•Split a greasy snack with pals to limit the additional calories.
No comments:
Post a Comment