Alcohol is one of the reasons why people forget their problems for a while and enjoy the day as it goes. But you probably do not want to deal with a six-pack of beer showing in your tummy!
Spare tire, love handles, a big-boned bowl full of jelly, belly-pooch, or beer belly. There is plenty of endearment in terms of “Beer Belly” you can pick from.
This blog will tell you what beer belly is, how to get rid of it, and the causes and tips you can gain and apply to yourself!
What is Beer Belly, and what causes it?
Based on its general term, the beer you are drinking adds calories to your tummy. And whenever you drink alcohol, you consume higher calories, which can turn into the so-called ‘Beer belly.”
But despite its name, ‘Beer belly,’ beer is not the only one that causes abdominal fat to form. It usually comes from an unhealthy habit—from a poor diet.
Lack of proper exercise, eating foods that contain a lot of calories, and hormonal changes! There are plenty of reasons that affect your stomach size.
The leading cause of having a beer belly has too many calories. Not just from drinking beer but any calories—whether from food, alcohol, or sugary beverages. However, drinking alcohol can affect your beer belly.
In general, beer is usually the one to blame because alcohol intake is often associated with the waist since the liver burns the alcohol of the drink instead of the fat, which makes the alcohol easy to overdo.
Why does fat form in the belly?
The calories stored are called fats if you take more calories than you burn. The question is, why does fat form in the belly?
Men and women have similar fat storage from the beginning. But when puberty hits us, it changes.
Since women have more fat under the skin than men, the extra fat will go through the arms, buttocks, and bellies. But because men do not have enough subcutaneous fat, the fat goes no other than the tummy.
What is wrong with having a beer belly?
Having a beer belly can lead to different levels of health problems. You can have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or any cardiovascular disease.
It can also be associated with dementia and different types of cancer, such as breast, colorectal, and prostate. In the next part of the blog, we will tell you if having a beer belly is dangerous.
Is having a beer belly dangerous?
Carrying extra fats in your hips or thighs is less dangerous than having them in your belly region. The fats you can find on your belly are hazardous and are called visceral fat.
Visceral fat under your tummy can be measured by waist circumference. When it exceeds 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women, it can increase the risk of heart disease, overall mortality, and even metabolic syndrome.
The experts recommend maintaining and keeping your waist size under 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men.
Does Drinking Beer cause Beer Belly?
As said above, alcohol plays a huge role in getting excess fat on your tummy. Hence, your lifestyle also affects and contributes to the additional belly fat.
Overall, consuming too many calories, not just alcohol, dramatically affects the fats in your belly. Whether from sugary foods, fried foods, desserts, or alcohol, different types of calories can increase your belly fat.
Although drinking alcohol is not the only cause of beer belly, there is a good reason why alcohol is connected and associated between belly fat and beer. Alcohol gained its reputation as a significant factor in contributing to belly fat, and as stated before, the liver only burns the alcohol, not the fat on the drink.
It is difficult to track the calories you are drinking on your alcohol since the beverages you drink go down smoothly. Especially to those people who drink a large number of beers in one sitting, the calories can be added quickly.
Of course, drinking beer usually comes with eating unhealthy foods such as a bag of chips. Most beers served from the bar go with pizza, burgers, wings, onion rings, and other fried foods.
In addition, alcohol increases your appetite, making you consume unnecessary foods, which increases the intake of your calories.
Why Are Men Most Likely to Gain Beer Belly?
Research shows that women can still be healthy even if they have a body fat within the range of 20 to 25 percent, while men should focus on aiming for less than 15 percent of their body fat. The fat can differ and be stored between the sexes.
The reason why men gain more fat quickly in their bellies is because of their genetics. Women have high hormone estrogen than men, making them have more fat storage than men.
The next part is the best part of this blog, so keep reading!
6 Ways to Get Rid of Beer Belly
If you gained a beer belly after partying and drinking too much beer or alcohol, do these six ways to get rid of your beer belly!
Way 1: Drink a glass of water per can or bottle of beer
Remember that for every beer you drink, take a break and have a glass of water. Note that soda does not count as water since it contains sugar.
Way 2: Fasting
Fasting can help you lose fat. When you fast, you control your hunger hormone, which contains insulin sensitivity that can lower calories and reduce fat loss.
Here are some fasting methods you can try:
| Type | Amount of time | Per hours of eating or feeding |
| Warrior Diet | 20 Hours | 4 Hours |
| Leangains Method | 16 Hours | 8 Hours |
| 5/2 Method | Eat regularly for five days per week. The other two days, eat any foods that has a 400 to 800 calories. | |
Way 3: Reduce the carbs and increase the proteins
By increasing the proteins, you intake by at least a gram on your body weight per pound; you can accelerate the loss of your fats. But, you should decrease the carbohydrates you intake.
By reducing the carbs, you will burn the fats in your belly and reduce the number of liquids you may be holding from beer consumption.
Way 4: Drink beer once a week
Try drinking a beer once per week to enjoy beer. It is an excellent inspiration to manage the intake of alcohol going inside your body, and you can enjoy your summer or holiday outing.
Doing this will help you motivate yourself by having something to achieve, like losing belly fat. Remember to drink responsibly because drinking too many beers every day will not be suitable for your health.
Way 5: Do work out
Try adding to your schedule 7-10 minute workouts to burn the calories you have in your body. If you achieve the 3 to 5 solid movements every week, you can now add the mini-workout where you can add to your schedule.
Way 6: Do not drink beer for almost two weeks
If you succeed in doing these ways from the beginning to the fifth part, you are now ready for the last detail. If you do not drink beer for almost two weeks, your body will change and improve.
By not drinking beer, you will increase the fat mobilization in your body, and it will improve your insulin sensitivity. To call it another way, it is like making your body reset and changing it to another level.
When to see a doctor if you have a beer belly?
A beer belly does not require you to see a doctor unless complications start to show from carrying the excess weight that needs immediate medical attention.
Here is a table for your guide to know when you can see a doctor:
| Medical Conditions that requires medical attention as soon as possible | Reasons that causes your belly to swell |
| Type 2 diabetes | Pregnancy |
| Joint Problems | Blockage in your GI Tract |
| Heart Disease | Irritable bowel syndrome |
| – | Food allergies |
If you find out that your belly is bloated and you feel any pain or changes from the trip to your bathroom, call a doctor or go to the nearest hospital near you as soon as possible.
Tips to Avoid and Lose your Beer Belly
Beer belly will often shrink when you lose some weight. To lose weight, you should burn more calories than you intake.
Below are the following strategies to avoid and lose your beer belly.
Eat Healthy Foods
Instead of having and eating your food double to its piece, try cutting the food in half so that your mind will trick you into eating a large portion instead of overeating.
It is also beneficial if you track the calories you intake. You should eat more vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and lean proteins to avoid gaining more calories.
Instead of eating processed foods, try to make healthy food swaps. For example, instead of eating ice cream for dessert, try eating strawberries. Drink flavored water, such as adding a twist of lime or lemon instead of soda.
Increase your Physical Activity
Increasing your physical activity will make you lose weight quickly. Try doing high-intensity exercises like rapid sprints or other exercises, followed by resting briefly, then doing more intense but short exercises.
You should also aim for at least 30 minutes of exercising two days per week and do stretching in the morning and evening.
Summary
So, in conclusion, beer is not the main culprit in why you have a beer belly. You must maintain a healthy lifestyle and check the calories you intake daily!
We hope this blog answers the questions you are thinking, such as, “What is Beer Belly?” and “How to get rid of it.”
As a homebrewer, Michael would get frustrated about the lack of brewing information on the internet. After hundreds of gallons of spoilt batches, Micheal had enough. And he founded Unknown Brewing as a resource for homebrewers.