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Wine and Weight Loss: Dieting Without Cutting Wine

As the New Year sets in, so many of us are looking for ways to slim down and get fit. Chances are you may also be wondering if that means you need to cut wine out of your diet entirely. Here’s the skinny.

wine glass and barrel

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Wine and Weight Loss

From time to time research will pop up on the internet promoting red wine consumption as a secret weapon for fighting fat. There have been studies conducted that do show that resveratrol, a product of polyphenol that can be found in red wine, can help the body convert stubborn “brown fat” to the more easily burned “white fat.” Presto, whammo. Next thing you know there are news agencies everywhere advising that two glasses of red wine before bed can help you burn fat.

Too Good to Be True?

As with so many other things in life, yes. The bare truth is that, while grapes do contain resveratrol, it’s a soluble element that is often filtered out of wine during the winemaking process. That means that, while two glasses of red wine before bed may clam your nerves and help you sleep – which is great for weight loss, by the way – the wine itself isn’t going to do much to help you shed pounds with ease.

In addition to the now filtered out resveratrol, wine is an alcohol and contains a fair amount of carbohydrates. Adding these empty calories to your daily intake, especially right before you sleep, can actually hurt your metabolism.

A better option is introducing grapes or other berries into your evening. Resveratrol is an antioxidant that has many health benefits including a marked improvement in heart health among other patients. Additionally, the antioxidant is found to help the body safeguard against cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. It has very few known side effects, even in large doses, and is readily available in most fruits, including grapes, blueberries, and strawberries.

Bye, bye Wine?

Source: http://www.byrdie.com/wine-weight-loss

So, if wine isn’t the magic weight loss solution we were all hoping it could be, does that mean that we have to completely leave it in order to drop pounds? Luckily, the answer to this is also, “No.”

As with all things in life, moderation is key. You can still enjoy wine while losing weight, especially if you follow a flexible dieting plan. You’ll just need to monitor and track your intake, balancing the wine by moderating your other carbohydrate intake for the day.

Remember that the best diet is the one that is sustainable for long-term change. Choosing something that you can’t see yourself doing long-term is a sure fire way to burn out and abandon your goals. Instead, set achievable goals that start with one small change at a time.

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