Sugar Or Alcohol? Which Is Worse For Your Weight Loss Plan.

Would you rather have a chocolate truffle or glass of wine? How about a warm cookie out of the oven, or a zesty margarita?

Let's talk about sugar and alcohol: two things that have been somewhat demonised in the wellness world yet are still big parts of many of our favourite indulgences. A good glass of wine or a delicious piece of cake is a part of a balanced, well-rounded diet; they can contribute to your overall sanity when you're eating clean! But sugar and alcohol themselves — generally speaking — are not really healthy substances you want in your diet. So is there a lesser of two evils?

We noticed that there's a bit of controversy over which is worse. Sugar can be like a drug and create an addiction that can lead to major health problems. The same can be said for alcohol — it's a toxin and is difficult for the liver to metabolise. Both can significantly contribute to weight gain.

While some trainers suggest eradicating alcohol from the diet entirely, we've also noticed many diet plans allow an occasional glass of wine during the week while forbidding dessert. Is one worse than the other?

Why No Desserts?

Alcohol And Weight Gain. Here Is The Lowdown.

You’ve probably heard that alcohol contains empty calories and, if you want to lose weight, it’s a good idea to scale back on how much you drink. But there’s a difference between hearing your friend’s cousin lost a bunch of weight after she stopped drinking beer and knowing the actual science around weight and alcohol. 

According to a new study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, people who drink heavily when they’re younger have a higher risk of gaining excess weight and becoming overweight or obese when they’re older. For the study, researchers analyzed data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health from people when they were in their late teens and early twenties and again when they were in their mid- to late-twenties and early thirties.

 People who were heavy drinkers (which is defined by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans as having four or more drinks on any day or eight or more drinks per week for women) had a 41 percent higher risk of going from a normal weight BMI to an overweight BMI when compared with people who weren’t heavy drinkers, and a 36 percent higher risk of going from an overweight BMI to an obese BMI by the time they hit their mid-twenties. If someone was already obese, they had a 35 percent higher risk of staying that way and gaining more weight. 

7 Questions You NEED To Ask Yourself If You Are Struggling To Lose Weight.

You’re tracking your calories, fending off snack temptation, and ordering salad bowls so often, you have a salad guy who knows your order by heart. But despite your best efforts to shed pounds, the scale won’t budge.

Don’t blame a lack of willpower. Your diet fail probably means you’re falling prey to some mistakes that can derail even the most motivated dieters.

To help you figure out where you’re going wrong, answer these seven questions. Then follow the expert-backed advice that’ll get you on the road to being a weight-loss success story.

5 Mistakes You Are Making That Are Ruining Your Weight Loss Efforts.

If it feels like you’ve been trying to slim down for weeks, months, maybe even years, and nothing’s happened, we feel you: The struggle is real and the frustration even more so. 

But before you think about waving that white flag, you might want to double check that you're not making these common mistakes without even knowing it.

We tapped nutrition and fitness pros to find out which seemingly helpful diet and workout choices are really keeping us from shedding the pounds

Will Saving My Calories For Alcohol Help Me Lose Weight.

Raise your hand if this has happened to you: You've got a big night out with the gals or a hot date who also enjoys a bottle (or three) of wine with dinner. In preparation, you stock up on ibuprofen, drink a gallon of water, and, um, only eat kale all day.

Gulp! More than half of women say they skip meals to save calories for alcohol—not sometimes, not on special occasions, but "all the time," says Caroline Cederquist, M.D., weight management expert and cofounder of bistroMD. Okay so you're not alone, but that doesn't mean this calorie-slashing strategy is actually working for you.

Health hazards aside, "saving" your calories for alcohol is not even smart for weight loss, since missing just one meal slows your metabolism, says Cederquist. Bonus bummer: You're more likely to store any bar food you eat as fat since your bod is working to burn off the booze first, she says.

The takeaway: Eat normally on happy-hour days and opt for a lower-cal drink (like half wine, half seltzer), or order your favorite cocktail and sip it nice and slowly.

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Booze! - How Small Changes Help You Stick To Your Weight Loss Plan

No matter how tropical your mixed drink or how light your beer, your choice of happy-hour hooch may not be as healthy as you think it is. Alcohol is still filled with empty carbs and calories that add up if you're watching your weight. 

Yes, what you've read about some health benefits to booze is true. Beer and wine may help ward off coronary artery disease, hypertension, and even dementia. All of these benefits go bust, however, if you don't practice moderation, generally accepted as no more than one beverage a day for women or two for men.

Learn your limit, switch to a better bar order, and raise your glass to better health.

Liquor

In small amounts, ethanol, the pure form of alcohol, may raise good HDL cholesterol and encourage better blood flow. go overboard regularly and the effects reverse, increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease. The first law of liquor: go easy. The second: ditch drinks with inflated calories and loaded with sugary stuff.

Schnapps

This candy-like liquor is relatively low in calories, but it's usually no more than a mixture of alcohol and artificial sweeteners.

Try instead: Rum
Distilled from either molasses or cane sugar, this full-bodied liquor pops up most often in daiquiris and piña coladas, which, coincidentally, are some of the biggest calorie bombs at the bar. Try a Dark and Stormy instead: Mix 1 part dark rum with 2 parts ginger beer, plus a squeeze of lime. Refreshing.

Herb and spice liqueurs

Don't let the herbs of a Jägermeister or a Goldschläger fool you—these tipples usually contain more than 100 calories and 11 grams of carbohydrates per ounce.

Try instead: Gin
This liqueur packs an herbal wallop from the juniper berries that are added to the alcohol during distillation. You probably know it as a central ingredient in martinis, but it also tastes great mixed with club soda and a lime wedge. The less you do to a good gin, the better.

Coffee liqueur

Do you know why Kahlúa tastes so good? Yep, it's packed with sugar. That's also why it contains 91 calories per ounce. Combine it with Baileys and chocolate syrup in a Mudslide, and it's like drinking an alcoholic dessert.

Try instead: Brandy
Brandy is full flavored on its own, so there's no need to add mixers (and extra calories). At 70 calories per ounce, a good bottle is worth the extra dough.

Beer

Resist the urge to chug: Limit your quaffing to two bottles (one for women), and you'll reap the health rewards of beer while preventing yourself from carrying around a keg of your own.

Domestic beer

Just because American beers tend to be brewed up on the lighter side doesn't mean they always go easy on the calories. Aim for a beer with fewer than 140 calories. Budweiser, Pabst, and Samuel Adams Boston Lager don't make the cut. 

Try instead: Yuengling Lager (135), Busch (133), or Rolling Rock Extra Pale (120)

Light beer

Caution: The light beer you're drinking may have more calories and less flavor than some of its nonlight competitors. Bud Light has about as many calories as regular Keystone Premium.

Try instead: Miller Lite (96 calories), Michelob Ultra (95 calories), MGD 64 (64 calories)

Imported beer

Bass, Heineken, and Pilsener Urquell all contain 150 calories or more per bottle. With plenty of other imports on the market, look elsewhere.

Try instead: Amstel Light (99 calories), Beck's Premier Light (64 calories)

Wine

Wine can help you live a longer life, according to researchers. Resveratrol, a substance found in grapes, has been shown to protect the lining of arteries. Some wines have more benefits than others, but whatever bottle you choose, don't feel the need to finish it. A glass a day is all you need to do you wonders.

The wines to choose

Pinot Noir: This wine contains the highest levels of resveratrol. One study found that pinot noir had more than five times the amount found in other wines.

Sparkling Wine: Brut Natural, Brut Sauvage, and Ultra Brut have less than 3 grams of sugar per liter. Sec varieties can contain 17 to 35 grams of sugar. Doux wines contain more than 50 grams.

Cabernet Sauvignon: Moderate consumption of 1 glass of this red wine per day may help reduce your risk of Alzheimer's disease. Talk about having wine on the brain!

Chardonnay: Buy the cheap stuff. Research has found that amines, typically found in top-shelf barrel-aged wine, are the most common culprit in wine headaches. California and French whites tend to have the highest levels of amines.

A note on mixers

Adding the wrong mixers to your drink can inflate calories and fill your glass with unwanted artificial ingredients. As a general rule, stay away from sodas and energy drinks, which contain crazy amounts of calories, and go for no-calorie club soda instead. Avoid bottled mixers, too—they're often little more than sugary corn syrup and food coloring. Use real, 100 percent fruit juice as a swap.

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