With the holidays right around the corner, many of you will be consuming a little more alcohol than what you’re used to consuming.  Instead of just one glass of wine here and there, you’ll be drinking multiple glasses as you gather with friends and family and enjoy each other’s company.  Before you do that, you may want to think about what the excess of alcohol does to your body and how it can prevent you from losing weight. A recent article from Alive magazine helps explain this.

So how is it that alcohol can prevent you from losing weight? In a nutshell, it really messes with your metabolism. Here’s what you need to know:

• Alcohol calories are used as a preferential and easy form of fuel for the body, which stops your own body fat stores from being used.
• Alcohol is eventually metabolized into a compound called acetate. It is the amount of acetate produced that is responsible for preventing fat from being oxidized for energy.
• Alcohol can cause a rise in the muscle-wasting stress hormone cortisol, leading to a reduction in your ability to burn calories.

If you want to keep yourself on track to meet your weight-loss goals, you may want to go back and refer to an article back from before Thanksgiving, “Keeping the Holiday Weight Off.” One of the suggestions is to pick and choose the times that you are going to drink alcohol. If you can do this, you’ll still be able to enjoy the holidays and you’ll have an easier time maintaining your weight.