Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Runnin' On Acetate


I seem to have some kind of crazy, jacked up metabolism when it comes to consuming alcohol. It seems every time I have a few drinks my weight the next morning jumps up four, even five pounds. People tell me it's just water weight but it typically takes me five days to get back where I was before I drank. This creates a frustrating cycle of losing all week only to gain it back in one day.

I didn't think it seemed possible that 4 drinks could cause this phenomenon, so I did some research on the subject. Here's what I found:

Rather than getting stored as fat, the main fate of alcohol is conversion into a substance called acetate. In fact, blood levels of acetate after drinking two shots of vodka were 2.5 times higher than normal. And it appears this sharp rise in acetate puts the brakes on fat loss.

A car engine typically uses only one source of fuel. Your body, on the other hand, draws from a number of different energy sources, such as carbohydrate, fat, and protein. To a certain extent, the source of fuel your body uses is dictated by its availability.

In other words, your body tends to use whatever you feed it. Consequently, when acetate levels rise, your body simply burns more acetate, and less fat. In essence, acetate pushes fat to the back of the queue.

So, to summarize and review, here's what happens to fat metabolism after the odd drink or two.

. A small portion of the alcohol is converted into fat.

. Your liver then converts most of the alcohol into acetate.

. The acetate is then released into your bloodstream, and replaces fat as a source of fuel.

The way your body responds to alcohol is very similar to the way it deals with excess carbohydrate. Although carbohydrate can be converted directly into fat, one of the main effects of overfeeding with carbohydrate is that it simply replaces fat as a source of energy. That's why any type of diet, whether it's high-fat, high-protein, or high-carbohydrate, can lead to a gain in weight.

The combination of alcohol and a high-calorie meal is especially fattening, mainly because alcohol acts as a potent appetizer.

Not only does too much alcohol put the brakes on fat loss, it's also one of the most effective ways to slash your testosterone levels. Just a single bout of heavy drinking raises levels of the muscle-wasting hormone cortisol and increases the breakdown of testosterone for up to 24 hours. The damaging effects of alcohol on testosterone are made even worse when you exercise before drinking.

Although an alcohol-rich meal does increase your metabolic rate, it also suppresses the number of fat calories your body burns for energy — far more so than meals rich in protein, carbohydrate, or fat. While the odd drink now and again isn't going to hurt, the bottom line is that alcohol and a leaner, stronger body just doesn't mix.


I get VERY hungry when I start drinking and often start grabbing snacks. Also, I usually have a large meal immediately after drinking. I believe my body stops burning fat, starts running off acetate, and then takes in a few hundred extra calories that it won't be able to burn. All these factors together are most likely the culprit.

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