Stomach

Question
Hi
I have been trying to reduce my belly for years. I have noticed that lately it has gone down a bit. The only thing different is I havent had a beer since Xmas. It cant be the calories because I am eating less and exercising in fact I hurt my back and cant exercise and I am probably eating more than ever now! Whats up?

Answer
Thank you for contacting allexperts.com. I hope that I can assist you with your question.

The body stores dietary fat in various ways.  The factors which influence this have to do with genetics, hormone levels, and a vast array of other factors.  Also, men and women store fat differently due to the way that fat cells are distributed in the body. Men tend to store fat around their mid-section (i.e. the beer belly) whereas women tend to store fat around their hips and thighs.

Beer is deceptively high in calories.  Even so-called "light" beer often contains more than 100 calories per 12 ounce serving. Reducing your calorie intake by a couple of hundred calories per day will eventually result in weight loss.  One pound of fat equals approximately 3000 calories.  Keep in mind also that beer is a yeast product.  Have you ever made bread or seen traditional yeast bread being made?  When you mix the yeast product with the flour and water, and allow it to sit for a while, what happens to the dough?  It RISES.  This is a natural process.  Most people have too much yeast in their system.  In fact, this can be a serious medical consideration.  By having an over abundance of yeast in the body, bloating can occur. This is how the term "beer belly" was created.  Think of a man with a "beer belly" and you will visualize someone who is bloated.  

Finally, in addition perhaps you are eating more fiber now than previously which gives a person a feeling of fullness with less calories.  Truthfully, the average person has NO IDEA whatsoever how many calories they are actually consuming and small dietary changes can result in a huge variance in calorie intake.  Unless you are keeping in depth records of every morsel you are eating, you could very well be eating far less calories NOW than you were before Xmas, and not really realize it.  

Also, if you read the entry in my blog (http://everydayhealthandwellness.blogspot.com) dealing with the effect that temperature plays on weight loss. You will understand that in the winter our bodies BURN UP more calories than in the summer.

I would say that the combination of drinking less beer, coupled with possible dietary changes and a much cooler winter are resulting in enough calorie reduction to have caused your weight loss.  When you come down to it, weight loss is all about calories and nothing else.  It's the law of physics and thermodynamics at work.  Whether you realize it or not, what you are eating (and the effects that cooler temperatures) are causing a calorie deficit and that is why you are losing weight.

Please feel free to contact me any time.

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