Beyond Calories: Creating Transformative Awareness around Weight Loss

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto

Weight loss is a simple formula: consume fewer calories than you burn, and you'll lose weight. This principle is undeniable as it is rooted in the laws of thermodynamics. Yet, for most people, the journey to achieving and sustaining weight loss is anything but simple. While science underscores the importance of energy balance, it also reveals the sobering reality of outcomes: 95% of individuals who embark on a weight loss journey fail [1] and less than 20% of those that succeed maintain their goal for more than a year [2]. These statistics aren't just a testament to the difficultly of the task — they highlight a critical gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. The disconnect lies not in our understanding of metabolic processes but in the psychological and behavioral challenges that come with implementing this knowledge.

Why does something so simple prove to be so elusive in practice? The answer lies in how deeply our thoughts, habits, and perceptions shape our relationship with food, motivation, and the very concept of dieting.

For many, the very word "diet" triggers a cascade of negative associations — restriction, deprivation, and even punishment. Simply saying "I'm on a diet" can set up individuals for psychological conflict before they even begin. Consider research by Harris Lieberman and colleagues [3] where participants unknowingly consumed all their calories for the day via a slurried concoction totaling either 313 calories (practical starvation) or 2,294 calories (maintenance). Incredibly, participants reported no significant differences in mood, sleep quality, or mental performance between groups, underscoring the role perception has on shaping experience. The only clear variation was hunger, which makes sense due to it being a natural physiological response to a reduced caloric intake. This suggests that much of the hardship we associate with dieting stems not from physical deprivation, but from the knowledge we are on a diet. Just imagine how people would perceive their dieting experience if they were unaware of their caloric intake!

Reminiscent of the age-old maxim — "perception is reality" — how we interpret our experiences fundamentally shapes our emotional and physiological responses. An example of the power of perception can be seen in a study by Crum et al. [4], where participants were told they were either consuming a high-calorie "indulgent" milkshake or a low-calorie "sensible" one, though both shakes were identical. Those individuals who believed they consumed the indulgent shake reported greater satiety and experienced a larger decrease in the hunger hormone ghrelin. This further highlights a critical truth: how we perceive our actions, especially when it comes to weight loss, matters. When dieting is seen as a sacrifice, it can become an uphill battle. Therefore, framing dieting with purpose such as an act of proper nourishment or empowerment towards a new you instead of a form of deprivation can make the process a more rewarding and sustainable endeavor. 

Adding to the psychological battle even further is the idea of "projection bias," a cognitive distortion where individuals overestimate their ability to handle future challenges. We inherently believe we will make the right choice when the time comes, however we often miscalculate our future discipline when the challenge presents itself, leading our resolve to crumble under the pressure of the moment. This creates a reinforcing cycle of frustration, highlighting the need for strategies that align our planning with realistic expectations of our future selves. In the moment, it's easy to plan on resisting tomorrow's temptations — the cookies in the office breakroom or choosing the sensible option over the indulgent one at dinner with friends — but when hunger and social pressures strike, resolve often crumbles like that cookie you are trying to avoid. The disconnect between the "now you" as you plan and "future you" as you are faced with executing of the plan explains why so many diets fail. Planning with overly optimistic assumptions about future discipline often leads to disappointment and derailment.

In the moment, even with a plan, traditional approaches to dieting frequently rely on willpower, yet this strategy is inherently flawed because it fails to account for the cognitive distortion of projection bias and the finite nature of self-control. By overestimating future discipline, we set ourselves up for repeated mental strain because we're forced to depend on a fatiguable muscle called willpower. Instead it would better serve us to emphasize approaches that minimize reliance on sheer determination. Because willpower is a finite resource, this constant mental tug-of-war between the logical — what we "should" do — and the impulsive desire of — what we "want" to do — is certain to deplete our mental energy over time. Therefore, success lies in designing systems and environments that reduce a reliance on willpower. For instance, removing high-calorie snacks from the home or preparing meals in advance minimizes moments of weakness and reduces decision fatigue, making healthy choices easier by default.

There are practical strategies to help reduce our need for willpower and bridge the gap between intention and action. For example, a study on the snacking behavior of secretaries revealed that proximity to, and, visibility of, foods significantly influenced their consumption [5]. Candy placed within arm's reach was consumed 1.8 times more frequently than candy placed a few feet away, and candy in an open bowl was eaten 2.2 times more often than candy in a closed container. The implication here is clear: reducing access or creating challenges to acquiring unhealthy options is more effective than relaying on sheer willpower or self-control. This can be applied to just about anything that doesn't serve our weight loss goal such as keeping high-calorie foods out of sight — or better yet, out of the house! We're much less likely to drive to the store if we desire something sweet than walking to the kitchen.

Another proven tactic to reduce mental strain is using implementation intentions or simple "if-then" rules to automate decision-making. For example, coming up with the rule of: "If I feel the urge to snack on a cookie at work, I'll drink a glass of water instead." This pre-planned response minimizes the mental effort required to make the most advantageous choice towards achieving your weight loss goal. And because satiety signals respond to volume, a full glass of water may satiate you more than a cookie, allowing you to feel that you're in charge of your weight loss journey. 

Given the limitations of willpower, adopting strategies like pre-planned responses becomes essential in bridging the gap between intention and action. These pre-planned responses not only simplify decision-making but also align with a broader strategy of cultivating mindful habits around food, sharpening awareness of how we engage with our meals and environment.

One additional factor to help with closing the gap between intention and action is to understand our interaction with food itself. Our brains don't have an innate calorie counter; instead, they rely on contextual cues to estimate intake. Distractions, such as watching TV or scrolling on a phone during meals, dull satiety signals and increase the likelihood of overeating. By practicing mindful eating — focusing on each bite and savoring the experience — you can enhance satisfaction and reduce the risk of overconsumption [6].

Beyond these immediate tactics lies a powerful opportunity for deeper change. Reframing the journey as a path of identity transformation creates a bridge between strategies discussed and the mindset needed for long-term success. Rather than viewing weight loss as a temporary endeavor filled with restrictions, aligning it with a broader sense of who you want to become can fundamentally shift your approach. Instead of saying, “I’m on a diet,” consider saying something like, “I’m becoming a healthier person.” This subtle shift in mindset aligns actions with a larger purpose, redirecting the focus from temporary restriction to lasting growth. Carol Dweck, in her book entitled *Mindset *[7], speaks to this approach, emphasizing that "becoming is better than being." In other words, focusing on progress and self-improvement provides purpose to the journey leading to better outcomes than fixating on a specific goal. By prioritizing the establishment of sustainable healthy habits — like hitting a protein goal by eating more whole foods, moving your body regularly outside in the sun, and improving your sleep hygiene — you set the foundation for long-term success.

Purpose is uniquely important, serving as the strongest motivator for behavior change, tying together the psychological challenges and solutions. Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist, observed that “those who have a ‘why’ to live can bear almost any ‘how.’” By connecting weight loss to a meaningful purpose — such as improving health, setting an example for loved ones, or building self-confidence — individuals can reframe their individual journey as one of empowerment rather than a burdensome sacrifice. Shifting the focus from what we are giving up to what we are gaining — such as vitality, strength, quality of life, longevity — makes the trials and tribulations of the process feel more worthwhile and rewarding. Purpose not only provides clarity but serves as a unifying thread that connects practical strategies to the psychological hurdles previously discussed. By rooting the process of weight loss in a meaningful "why," the journey shifts from one of mere behavior modification to a transformative pursuit.

While weight loss may be simple in theory, the practice definitely has its challenges. However, as we have seen, these challenges are not insurmountable. This discussion isn’t meant to be a definitive guide to effortlessly achieve your ideal body because, in truth, that journey is never easy. Instead, the aim here is to create awareness around ideas and systems that work. The first step being awareness — by understanding the hurdles, we can begin to navigate them. Recognizing these obstacles makes them less daunting and allows us to develop personalized strategies that can lead to success. Reframing weight loss as a transformative journey, designing systems to reduce reliance on willpower, creating an environment that supports your goals, and connecting actions to a meaningful purpose transforms the process from one of deprivation to one of empowerment. Success in weight loss, as in any endeavor, requires acknowledging that the sum of your actions has led you to your current position, and the only way forward is an intentional effort and willingness to rewrite your story.

1. Renew Bariatrics, Diet Failure Statistics, https://renewbariatrics.com/diet-failure-statistics/

2. Wing & Phelan, 2005, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15798171/

3. Lieberman et al., 2008, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18779282/

4. Crum et al., 2011, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21574706/

5. Wansink et al., 2006, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16418755/

6. Robinson et al., 2013, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15010185/

7. Dweck, 2006, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30008392/

Top 9 Food Myths

Myth #1: Eating fat will make you fat.

Truth: It’s true that fat is denser in calories than carbohydrates and proteins (more than twice the calories per gram), but obesity is not primarily due to an excess of calories consumed. It is the type of calories consumed that is important. Recent science shows that most surplus weight and obesity is caused by excess carbohydrates in the diet. Fats are a main source of energy. They are also an important source of fat-soluble vitamins and provide much of the pleasurable flavor and texture in food. Some (the omega fats) are, in fact, essential in our diet, as we can’t produce our own.

Myth #2: Saturated fats are bad for your heart.

Truth: There has never been any robust, conclusive evidence that saturated fats cause chronic disease. In fact, saturated fats are the cleanest-burning fuel you can put in your body. From a health perspective, saturated fats are not only benign, they’re beneficial.

Myth #3: Carbohydrates are essential to our bodies.

Truth: There are no essential carbohydrates. Your body evolved to make its own blood glucose from non-carbohydrate sources. When it does so, it makes the optimum amount for the present needs of the body. There are beneficial carbohydrates—soluble and insoluble fibers—but you can get plenty of these without also burdening your body with sugars and starch.

Myth #4: Gluten-free eating is the healthiest option.

Truth: If you have celiac disease or are gluten sensitive, by all means avoid gluten in your diet. Otherwise, keep in mind that most processed, gluten-free foods use substitutes like rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca flour. These and other starches rapidly raise blood glucose and insulin, aggravating diabetes and other chronic diseases. Gluten-free does not mean low-carbohydrate. In fact, it’s sometimes quite the opposite.

Myth #5: Everything in moderation.

Truth: To quote Canadian physician Dr. Jay Wortman, “Everything in moderation is an excuse we use to eat the things we shouldn’t eat.” Like the notion of a “balanced diet,” “everything in moderation” gives us license to trade off nutritious calories for empty ones. This is doubly dangerous when that junk food contains sugar, which activates the opiate receptors in our brain, stimulating our reward center. Each time we eat something sweet, we’re reinforcing those neuropathways and hardwiring our brains to crave the stuff. So, next time you catch yourself using “moderation” and “balance” as a rationale to consume foods you know are bad for you, it helps to remember that you’re not only fooling yourself, you’re compromising your health in the process.

Myth #6: To lose weight, you need to cut calories.

Truth: Cutting calories means you eat less food, and eating less food means you have less of an opportunity to meet daily nutritional requirements. If you are restricting calories to less than your daily needs, you will not only be perpetually hungry, but you will also reduce your metabolic rate, making weight loss more difficult. What’s more, once you return to your regular diet, there is a high probability that you will regain the weight you lost and are likely to put on even more.

Myth #7: Fruit is good for you because it’s natural.

Truth: Newsflash: fruit did not evolve to be a health food. Its evolutionary imperative is to spread its seeds, and the best way to do that is to get animals to eat it, move on, and deposit the seeds, some distance away, embedded in a healthy dollop of fertilizer. Sweet fruit is more attractive to animals—including humans—so job well done on the dispersal-system front. But the sweetness comes at a high cost not only in terms of high-carbohydrate starches but also fructose—a known toxin. The same goes for honey and maple syrup. Don’t be persuaded to buy and eat food simply because it’s considered natural.

Myth #8: All vegetables are created equal.

Truth: Many vegetables—especially root vegetables, beans, and grains (and, yes, I include grains as vegetables because they are plants)—are high in starch and can contribute to obesity and insulin resistance. Choose wisely.

Myth #9: If you work out, you can eat whatever you want.

Truth: Working out does burn calories, so your food intake should increase proportionally. However, science tells us that about 80 percent of weight management is determined by what you eat, not how many calories you burn. You lose weight in the kitchen; you get fit in the gym. If you eat poorly, exercise will not help you outrun the negative health consequences.

via The Bio Diet

"Eat Less & Move More" is Bad Advice

The conventional advice given to those who are trying to obtain a goal of weight-loss is to “eat less and move more.” This operates under the calories in, calories out model whereby you need to exercise off more calories than you have coming in. Sounds great in theory, but I am here to tell you that a calorie is not a calorie and exercise doesn’t really burn that many to begin with.

Eat less…

During a simple calorie restricted diet the weight lost is usually comprised of 2/3 fat and 1/3 muscle. So, if you lose 15 pounds, approximately 10 pounds would come from fat and the other 5 pounds from muscle. The loss of muscle is unfortunate and in a perfect world (e.g., prioritizing adequate amounts protein in the diet) would not be as significant, however if you are following the “eat less and move more” mantra this is pretty much to be expected. 

Take a look at this example: a 200 pound woman with 30% body fat (200 x 30% = 60 pounds of fat mass), after losing 15 pounds would weigh 185 pound with 50 pounds of fat mass. She lost 10 pounds of fat and her total body fat was reduce from 30% to 27%. 

While a total loss of 15 pounds is worth bragging about, as per the above example, the loss in muscle mass will cause a reduced metabolic rate, slowing down continued weight loss. In other words, because she burned off 5 pounds of muscle it will be harder to continue losing weight as easily as it would be if she hadn’t lost 5 pounds of muscle. Why? Muscle is an expensive tissue to maintain, it consumes nearly 40% of your body’s resting metabolism. To combat the negative effects of reduced muscle mass, while seeking a goal of body recomposition, it is important to increase total protein intake as to not hinder future progress,

Dietary protein requirements are largely affected by the amount of muscle mass you carry around  as well as your total calorie intake. There is an inverse relationship between calories and protein, whereby increasing calorie intake reduces dietary protein requirements, while reducing calorie intake increases dietary protein intake. Applying this to the above situation, our 200 pound woman would make better long-term progress from an increased total protein intake of say 150-180 grams: 180 grams of protein x 4kcal/g = 720 kilocalories from protein; 720 calories is 36% on a 2000 kilocalorie diet and is 48% on a 1500 kilocalorie diet (this is purely for illustrative purposes as I am not a proponent of counting calories). Thus, the absolute and relative amounts of protein in the diet are increased. By doing this, muscle mass is much more likely to be retained, improving long-term weight loss and body recomposition goals. This is clearly supported by clinical trials; high protein diets consistently result in more successful long-term diets…

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4213385/

Move more…

Exercise is definitely beneficial for optimal health and longevity as it increases overall fitness, improves cardiovascular health, promotes a positive well-being and if done properly can increase muscle mass which can pave the way for a long life full of vitality. However, one thing exercise does not do is cause weight-loss. When someone starts an exercise regimen without a specific dietary intervention, long-term weight loss fails to occur in the majority of people because the calorie deficit produced from exercising is offset by the increased hunger and subsequent food intake. In other words, energy intake will rise to meet the level of energy expenditure. Another way “eat less and move more” falls short of optimal advice.

This is not to say that exercise is worthless when it comes to weight-loss because exercise has the ability to do one thing that dietary intervention cannot: it builds muscle. Learning from the above mentioned example, it is our ability to maintain muscle that creates a beneficial atmosphere around weight-loss because muscle is metabolically active — the more we have, the greater amount of energy we must expend to keep it, even at rest.

For conventional purposes, exercise can be broken down into two categories; aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic training revolves around extended periods of heavy breathing which makes the heart work and improves cardiovascular fitness, generally at the expense of precious muscle. Examples are running and cycling. Anaerobic training is performed at a much higher intensity than aerobic exercise, albeit much shorter bouts with plenty of rest in between which promotes muscle growth and increase strength. Examples are sprinting and weight lifting/strength training.

While both forms of exercise will increase energy expenditure, the amount of calories expended when not exercising is much greater than those spent when exercising. Time spent not exercising is roughly 45 times greater than time spent exercising (60 minutes at the gym vs. 23 hours not at the gym). Office work, sitting in traffic, grocery shopping, cooking, watching television, and sleeping are all lower intensity activities than any exercise; having a substantial amount of your body composition comprised of muscle will allow you to utilize your calories for the health of that expensive tissue and not have it stored as fat. Therefore, it is important to prioritize your exercise regimen accordingly.

Anaerobic training, specifically strength training increases skeletal muscle mass. This has a positive affect on our metabolic rate allowing us to use energy more efficiently (e.g., burn fat), in addition to improving overall strength, coordination and quality of life. Having stronger muscles makes all activities easier, and thus of lower intensity. And lower intensity favors fat burning as a primary fuel source. In other words, to optimize the effect of exercise on fat burning, get in the weight room.

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A better way to think about getting in shape would be to “Eat and Train.” This seems to be a much more productive piece of advice as I have hopefully illustrated above. The idea of “eat less and move more” is aesthetic whereas the other is functional. The former may not have a clear goal, but the latter always does.

Nutrition Primer: How to Start Eating Better

It hard to know where to start when it comes to bettering your health, but step one is always going to be about improving your nutritional habits. Take a look at the following questions to get an idea of where you should start.

Question #1: Where do I start when trying to improve my nutrition?

The first thing people often do is choose a diet they have be researching or one that their friend recommends, but jumping into any diet is not always the best choice. Food provides the body with energy, as well as information, and if you completely change what you are consuming chances are you are going to have a hard time adapting. Headaches, digestive issues and wild cravings are generally the mainstay of radical changes in diet. So instead of jumping on the Paleo, Ornish, low-fat, Mediterranean or vegetarian bandwagon, first address the issue of eliminating nutritional deficiencies.

Most people will be surprised to find out that they, in fact, have any deficiencies at all, but the research shows that more than 80% of the population has at least one. And who knows, the very reason you have sought out to read this article – weight gain, sleep disturbance, digestive issues, etc. -- could be rectified with a simple adjustment of your diet, without rushing into a full overhaul.

To eliminated any underlying deficiencies it is best to start with the following:

• Adding more quality proteins by using less lunch meat and favoring more free-range, wild caught or grass-fed meats
• Increasing vitamins and minerals by choosing a colorful variety of vegetables and fruits
• Allowing room for sufficient healthy fats by using coconut oil to cook, olive oil in salads, full-fat dairy or avocado as a snack
• Drinking more water. Try adding a cucumber or lime slice for some flavor.

Establishing optimal eating habits are done one step at a time. By making small changes over time you are positively altering your environment, ultimately creating a lifestyle change that is much better than any crash diet you can subscribe to.

Question #2: What’s the Best Diet to Follow?

There really is no “best diet.” What works best for one person, is probably not going to work for another. Those who have found success with a low-fat/high-carb diet (Jenny Craig) would probably find success with the equally restrictive high-fat/low-carb diet (Atkins). Macronutrient (carbohydrate/fat/protein) restrictive diets work well for weight-loss because they limit one of the body’s main sources of fuel — fat or carbohydrate. However, due to their intensive restrictions, when the majority of start to slip with temptation they tend to slip all the way off the diet and regain the weight.

A better way to ask the question would be; “What is the right nutritional approach that will create a positive long-term, systemic change in my life?” It is definitely a much harder question to answer correctly, which is why it is often not asked. As stated in question one, making small nutritional changes can have that positive affect and allow for insight as to what makes your body work more efficiently. The caveat to that is we all have limitations, whether they be financial or health related that will need to factor in to your nutritional choices. In the end, the best diet is one that is going to allow the individual to thrive in every endeavor.

Question #3: Is Counting Calories Important for Weight Loss?

No, counting calories is not something you should spend your time on when it comes to weight loss. Eating should be enjoyable, not reduced down to a math problem. When we choose to count calories with the intention of losing weight, the general approach is to take in less calories than we’re used to. Calories-in, calories-out right? Well, it’s not that simple as energy expenditure would be reduced to meet the decreased energy intake. So a calorie is not really a calorie because your caloric output is controlled by your body and is dependent on the quantity and quality of the calories ingested.

Besides, by counting calories you are essentially outsourcing appetite awareness to the food-label gods. Instead, think about regaining control of your portions with the hand-measuring system. Here is how it works:

• Your palm determines your protein portion
• Your fist determines your veggie portion
• Your cupped hand determines your carb portions
• Your thumb determines your fat portions.

Question #4: Should I Avoid Carbs?

Avoiding carbs is not necessary for weight management, nor achieving optimal health. However, if the majority of your dietary carbs come from a box – pastas, cereals, donuts, pizza – it would be best to reevaluate your choices in order to reach your goal. The quality of your carbohydrates is important in terms of nutritional content and the toll it play on our body.

When we eat a food containing carbohydrates, the digestive system will break them down into sugar allowing it to enter the blood. This causes our blood sugar to rise and in response the pancreas secretes insulin – a hormone that shuttles sugar out of the blood and into the cells to be stored at energy. When this happens we blunt our ability to burn fat and instead use the easily accessible energy within our blood.

Sugar is the biggest offender especially if it enters the blood stream as glucose, which doesn’t need to be broken down by enzymes, so it’s absorbed immediately. Starch can be in the same boat when it comes to raising blood sugar, sometimes worse if it's in the form of gluten-containing, nutrient-depleted grains (e.g., pastas, cereals, donuts, pizza). So where does that leave us?

Do not avoid carbs. Instead make better choices. The following is a list of possible replacements for when you are meal planning:

• Low Starch Vegetables such as baby corn, jicama, kohlrabi, rutabaga, water chestnuts, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, turnips, green beans, cucumber, bean sprouts, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, artichokes, okra, zucchini, green peppers all have a high ratio of fiber and nutrients compared to the content of carbs present.
• Moderate Starch Veggies like sweet potatoes, beets, or carrots are still reasonable but it is wise to watch the serving sizes.
• Low-Sugar/Low-Fructose Fruits such as Kiwifruit, Blueberries and raspberries, Grapefruit/lemons/limes, melons, pears with skin, and coconuts are decent choices that have their place in a season context, however avoiding fructose altogether is likely a safe bet for most people especially those who are obese.
• Gluten-free grains are acceptable for people who have the genetic ability to process carbs, but grains often irritate the digestive system as well as blood sugar control mechanisms for a significant amount of people.

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If you found these helpful and would like answers to more questions feel free to contact using the links below:

Alcohol & Weight Loss

Alcohol & Weight Loss | After Your First Two Drinks

After your first drink, your body starts to get rid of the alcohol quickly using the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) pathway.1 In this pathway, ADH converts the alcohol into acetaldehyde, which gets further broken down to acetate. These by-products (acetaldehyde and acetate) are considered to be highly reactive and can increase oxidation throughout the body, but especially in the liver.

Because your body sees these by-products as dangerous, it wants to use them as fuel.This means your body will significantly blunt fat-burning close to 75% after just one and a half drinks.2 And it will stop using carbs for energy. Therefore, although very little alcohol will be stored as fat (less than 5%), the fat and carbs you are eating have an increased risk of being stored as fat.

Your liver can process these toxins through the increased use of certain vitamins, such as the water soluble vitamins B1, B3, B6, folate and C, while also possibly depleting some of the fat-soluble vitamins, A, E and K1. Over-time these decreases in vitamins can play a secondary role in loss of motivation, energy, and well-being.

After your first couple of drinks, your brain also starts to increase its usage of GABA. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and is a large reason why alcohol is known as a “depressant.” Over time, the GABA receptors get used to the effects of alcohol, which is a reason why people may need more and more alcohol to feel the effects from alcohol consumption.3 GABA is also the neurotransmitter, principally responsible for allowing you to stay asleep. Therefore when your brain uses more of it before you go to sleep, you have less while you’re actually sleeping, causing a disruption in restful sleep.

Alcohol also affects the higher processing areas of the brain, the cerebral cortex, while leaving the lower areas of the brain somewhat unaffected. This leaves you more emotional than you would normally be. If you’ve ever experienced “drunk logic” while doing or saying things you would never think to do sober, then you’ve experienced the inhibitory effects of having your cerebral cortex taken out of the equation.

While your body has started to use the alcohol as energy, your body releases anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) to help your body rid itself of the alcohol. This basically means that your urine volume increases significantly (about 100 ml per 10 grams of alcohol).4 If you’ve ever “broken the seal,” you know that the more you continue to drink, the more frequently you use the restroom.

Since your kidneys are working over-time, your body releases an increase in certain minerals and electrolytes especially calcium, magnesium, copper, selenium and manganese. All of these play important roles not only in blood volume, but in bone health, blood pressure and the anti-oxidant pathways.

In addition to everything above, a small increase in cortisol typically occurs with moderate drinking while testosterone levels will drop about 6.8% in men (not so much in women).5 Aromatase will also increase. Aromatase is an enzyme that helps to convert testosterone to estrogen and is obviously not something that is welcomed by many guys.

Alcohol & Weight Loss | After Six to Eight Plus Drinks

If you’re drinking a moderate amount of alcohol, those things listed above are the main effects, at least short-term. If you drink heavily and drink often, another system called the Microsomal Ethanol-Oxidizing System (MEOS) system kicks in at the point when the ADH pathway becomes overwhelmed.

This system is interesting because it causes your body to generally burn off more energy as useless heat and probably saves your life from too high of a blood alcohol level. It is primarily controlled by a special enzyme that plays an important role in utilizing certain medications and the metabolism of fatty acids. This increased rate of medication breakdown can decrease their effectiveness, while the incomplete breakdown of fatty acids can cause an increase in oxidation. This increase in oxidation becomes exacerbated as the body’s main anti-oxidant (glutathione) is also impaired, decreasing your ability to fight the oxidation.

As your drinking levels continue to increase, testosterone levels drop from 6.8% with 4 drinks to 23% with 8 drinks.6 This drop, combined with a slowdown in protein synthesis, can cause havoc when trying to recover from a workout.

In addition to that, fluid loss will generally become more significant, causing dehydration that might affect you for days afterwards. Finally, with heavy drinking, the breakdown of alcohol can occur for up to 48 hours after your last drink. This means less glucose is reaching your brain and working muscles, making you both more tired and quicker to fatigue if you do exercise.

If You’re Going to Drink Alcohol, Drink in Moderation and Not Too Often

You would think after listing all that happens in your body after consuming alcohol, the no-brainer suggestion would be to not drink. What is missing though are some of the benefits from consuming moderate amounts of alcohol.

Alcohol is shown to increase insulin sensitivity, which basically means that your body needs less insulin to do its job. In addition to that, research has shown that women who drink a moderate amount will have the same or slightly lower BMI, as those who don’t drink.7 The same effect is not seen in men. Those who moderately drink are also at less risk of dying from heart disease and cancer while decreasing one’s risk of Alzheimer’s8and even slightly improving your immune system.9

In other words, complete abstinence may not be needed while trying to lose fat as long as it’s done in moderation and not very often (think one time per week). If you don’t drink, obviously don’t start, but if you want to have a couple of drinks on the weekend, there is nothing necessarily wrong with having one or two. In future articles, I will list some of the best and worst drinks to have when going out and 5 strategies you can implement to decrease the deleterious effects of having a night of heavy drinking.

Alcohol & Weight Loss | Wrapping It Up

In any fat loss plan, there are three main components that should be priority: Diet, Exercise, and Sleep.

As stated throughout the article, a moderate amount of alcohol can increase total calories, decrease your motivation for exercise, and negatively affect your sleep. Despite this, many people can enjoy a drink or two, without throwing those three components completely out of whack.

On the other hand, drinking heavily can significantly derail energy levels, has a larger influence on dehydration, negatively impacts hormonal levels, and can significantly disrupt your sleep. Therefore, limit your overall levels of alcohol and put yourself in the best position to reap some of the benefits of alcohol consumption, while not derailing your overall progress.