Why Do People Develop Beer Bellies?
You’ve either got one or you’ve seen somebody with one, but there’s no mistaking the infamous ‘beer belly’. Usually seen on males rather than females, a protruding belly which is usually out of proportion with the rest of the person’s body is never a good look.
Even if you don’t drink beer, it doesn’t mean that you’ll avoid getting a beer belly. It’s not just beer that will make your belly big! One glass of wine can have the same calories.
Getting A Beer Belly Isn’t Just Down To Beer
A lot of people think that the only reason for getting a beer belly is because of drinking too much beer. But any type of alcohol consumed in large quantities and on a regular basis can wreak havoc with the insides of your body. Alcohol is very high in calories and a night on the booze can add up to a lot of consumed calories. Alcohol also makes you feel hungrier so you eat more.
A beer belly is often different from an overweight belly, and while it’s often caused from consuming too many sugary alcoholic drinks, it’s more like a pot belly or pregnant belly than a layer of excess fat.
Free Download: Why You Can't Shift Your Belly Fat
Drinking Too Many Calories
While dieters obsess over their calorie intake when they eat, they often tend to overlook the calories that are ingested through drinks. The rough estimate of calories in alcohol is as follows:
- 120 to 126 calories for every glass of wine
- Between 103 and 250 calories per pint of beer – depends on the nature of the beer (regular, light, hard cider, etc.)
- 97 calories and above in a glass of common liquors (vodka, rum, whiskey, tequila, gin)
- From 97 to 250 calories for cocktails glasses
- Up to 700 calories in a Pina Colada
The Other Causes For A Beer Belly
Men tend to gain fat around their waistlines rather than other parts of their bodies. While women often gain around the belly, arms, thighs and buttocks, men will gain fat around the bellies much more before it starts to spread around the rest of the body.
Sometimes, somebody may have a beer belly which isn’t actually caused by drinking beer or any other type of alcohol. It’s merely caused by eating too many sugary foods over a prolonged period of time.
This leads to the build up of visceral fat, which is fat inside the body and around the internal organs. This is the reason why fat around the belly is so much more common than fat around the other areas of the body.
Too Much Stress
Lots of stress can also be a cause of getting a beer belly. The body is very sensitive to the hormone cortisol which is released when a person is undergoing lots of stress. This can cause the body to gain weight very easily, even if you’re not eating more or exercising less.
How Can You Get Rid of a Beer Belly?
Beer has lots of sugar in it and as we’re constantly told, isn’t good for your body at all. By cutting down on the amount of alcohol you drink you can start to reduce the fat around your waistline and therefore trim down your beer belly over time. If you’ve been drinking large quantities of alcohol for many years, this could be extremely difficult to start cutting back. However, it’s definitely not impossible.
Have a glass of water between each alcoholic drink. This will slow down your alcohol consumption and help you to feel full. Water is one of the few drinks that can help to make your stomach flat. It has no preservatives, no sodium, no calories and you can drink as much water as you want without adding to your caloric intake.
Free Report: Why You Can’t Shift Your Belly Fat
A good diet, less stress, less alcohol and plenty of water are the key ingredients to getting rid of a beer belly for good. Excess belly fat is unhealthy and significantly raises your chances of having health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. That’s the bad news. The good news is that it is possible to avoid getting a beer belly even though you’re not having success right now. For more information, download my free report, Why You Can’t Shift Your Belly Fat.
