Monday, September 14, 2009

Beer Guts

As any college student living in these Facebook times, I've found myself spending too much time online browsing photos of my fellow peers. One disturbing thing I've found is the overwhelming number of young girls with beer guts and double chins. Now I'm no pre-med student, but I don't think it takes a total braniac to figure out whats making these girls fat. Alcohol. Whats even more upsetting is that they truly feel they can hit the gym a few times a week and lose the weight they've put on. The missing element to their brilliant plan is a healthy diet plan. They continue to be photographed bonging beer and pounding cheeseburgers at tailgates, but still think they're taking the necessary steps to getting those six-pack abs. Think again, ladies.

Alcohol, like anything that your body won't break down easily, should be consumed minimally when trying to lose weight. This is a common fact that you will find in almost every diet book. Although some would dispute that alcohol consumption is directly related to weight gain, it cannot be denied that overeating is associated with the actual consumption itself.

So what can girls do? Stop binge drinking.

Okay, so chances are most of these girls will not stop drinking, but they can take a few steps to help the binge eating when they feel the need to drink excessively.

1. Do away with the temptation. At most of these functions where heavy drinking takes place, there is sure to be not-so-good-for-you food. Take a tailgate for instance. At most of these you can easily find hotdogs, hamburgers, cookies, etc. Now these don't seem TOO horrible, however when these party go-ers drink a lot, they stop thinking about how many hours at the gym those 3 hotdogs and cookies are going to cost them. They start thinking about how good the food smells, and how much they would enjoy grabbing just one more fistfull of chips. So if you know you're going to be at an event like this, take your own healthy food that you know you can afford to munch on. For instance, trade in the homemade chocolate chip cookies for oatmeal with dark chocolate chips or swap your greasy potato chips for veggies and lowfat dip or hummus. These switches are a sure fired way to help you from popping a button on your cutoff jeans.
2. Only allow yourself a certain amount to drink. If you know you won't be able to resist the snack table, cut back on the drinking or switch to a drink that will satisfy whatever you are craving.
3. The final tip would be to keep yourself active. If you are in a social situation where heavy drinking will be involved, keep yourself moving around. You'll be more tempted to snack if you're sitting around with a drink in one hand and a free hand just dying to clutch a cheesburger.

Also, something else to keep in mind, ladies. With every passing year it gets harder and harder for the pounds to come off. So keep that in the back of your mind whenever you're planning to attend your neighbors keg party. You will regret it later. Promise.

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