Chronic consumption of alcohol also leads to insulin resistance, thereby increasing the proliferation of visceral abdominal fat deposition.
So eating food is like #3 (right behind boobs and sex) for my favorite things in life. Three months before a "pool/beach" trip, I end my affair with that succubus, Little Debbie, and her Swiss rolls and molasses cookies. I also up my workout to 5x a week instead of 2x and start reducing my carbs in meals. I primarily drink beer, so I can't get around that. I just have to know where my limit is and just flirt with that my first few days of drinking. I'm okay with just a good buzz if it means I look hot for my wife!
Actually, I respectfully disagree with LL Cool J. Not all calories are created equal and that goes with the different types of alcohol that we consume. Your body metabolizes distilled liquors much more efficiently (thereby not storing as much of those calories as fat) than it does with beer or wine. When drinking beer and wine, there is a spike in glucose which triggers the release of insulin. The insulin then tells your body to store those calories as fat. Obviously, drinking no alcohol is the best way to avoid the extra weight and other adverse health conditions, but you're on the message board if you're looking for advice on that! Is this still Cancuncare?
It doesn't work that way, but it's ok to respectfully disagree. A standard drink is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled liquor. It's all about the portions. Due to the lower alcohol content, most people can drink more beer than liquor. It all comes down to the serving size. Distilled liquor and beer/wine both elicit an insulin response in a similar fashion. At the end of the day it boils down to how much you drink of each.
As soon as our body gets its hands on protein, fat, or carbohydrate, it turns them into amino acids, fatty acids, or glucose, respectively. Once fat is converted to fatty acids, if there are more fatty acids around than we currently need, all of them are sent off to be stored as body fat. The glucose we get from carbohydrates does not work that way. Glucose cannot be stored as body fat without the hormone insulin. And then there are amino acids from protein. Amino acids must first be converted into glucose. Once they become glucose, they need insulin or they cannot be stored as body fat.
To cut down on calories and more importantly carbs, my wife and I will mix either flavored vodka or rum with sugar free Mio (or sugar free Kool Ade packets) and water. Actually, its really good and keeps you hydrated.