Exactly how much alcohol do you need to drink to gain 1 pound of fat

As the holiday season approaches, with festive events every week, it can be all too easy to overindulge and drink more alcohol than you normally would.

It might be fun in the moment, but it usually leads to guilt the next day because you dread to think how many calories were in each drink. But to save you the dread after a night out, Nicole Baird, 32, has worked out how much of each alcoholic drink you really need to drink to see the weight start to pile on.

“To gain 1 pound of fat, the average person needs to consume 3,500 calories more than their maintenance calories,” Beard said. Newsweek. This is a long-standing theory that dates back to a scientist named Max Wishnofsky in 1958, and it still holds sway today.

After calculating how much each drink would need to reach the 3,500 mark, the content creator from Cambridgeshire, UK was shocked to learn how many calories were in some of her favorite drinks.

She said: “I wasn’t surprised by the calories in drinks like beer or cider, but I definitely didn’t expect cocktails to be so calorie heavy, simply because they’re so small. My favorite drink is the passionfruit martini, so I’ll be more careful about those in the future or maybe swap them out for a gin and tonic.

“I think everything should be in moderation when you’re trying to lose weight. Whether it’s wine or chocolate. The purpose of the video was to show that you can still have 2 or 3 of your favorite drinks without ruining your weight loss progress” .

She shared her insights on TikTok (@nicoleswellnessjourney) on Nov. 3, not to scare people into sobriety, but to show that a few drinks every now and then won’t derail your fitness or weight loss.

No matter what time of year it may be, or how busy your social calendar is, drinking should only be done in moderation. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends no more than two alcoholic drinks per day for men and no more than one per day for women, but less is always better.

However, the report shows that 60 percent of adults consumed alcohol in the previous month, of which 30 percent indulged in binge drinking. This is defined as five or more drinks for men, or four or more drinks for women in the space of about two hours, according to the DGA.

Newsweek spoke with Kat Best, co-founder and head of nutrition at Alta, who explained that while alcohol can be very high in calories, there are other factors that explain why it leads to weight gain.

“To gain one pound of fat, you need to consume about 3,500 more calories than you burn,” she said. “Factors that influence this include metabolism, age, general health, lifestyle and the quality of calories consumed.”

“Alcohol is technically the fourth macronutrient and is more calorically dense than protein and carbohydrates. These calories offer no nutritional value in the form of minerals, vitamins or fiber.”

Not only that, but Best added that alcohol can affect sleep, hydration, metabolism and blood sugar, all of which need to work hard to regulate weight.

“The best thing is that it can take 36 hours for alcohol to clear your system. So the food you ate while drinking and in the time frame your body is processing the alcohol will be stored as excess energy. This is why weight fluctuations occur for up to 3 days after drinking,” Best continued.

How did social media react?

As Beard herself is working on a weight loss goal, having lost 35 pounds so far, she wanted to show that a few drinks here and there is acceptable, as long as they’re balanced. She said: “I still eat all my favorite foods, just in moderation. One thing people need to consider is how alcohol affects the way the body metabolizes food.

“I work with a calorie deficit, I cook delicious meals, but I take care of my portions.” I go to the gym twice a week and lift weights, with a small amount of cardio.”

Byrd has loved seeing the positive reaction her video has received online, as it already has more than 511,500 views and 32,000 likes on TikTok. It also allowed her to connect with other people who have their own ways of incorporating alcohol into their weight loss.

With more than 400 comments on the TikTok post so far, many people have been quick to share their thoughts or problems they often face. One commenter wrote: “Dehydration and water retention after a hard weekend causes weight gain.”

Another person replied: “Haha this makes me feel so much better about drinking wine this weekend!”

“It’s definitely not the alcohol that gets me, it’s the food that comes with it,” joked another TikTok user.

Iis there a health problem that worries you? Let us know via health@nevsveek.com. We can ask the experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.