For optimal results, include another 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week. This could include:
How to Get Rid of a Beer Belly (Without Ditching Beer for Good)
Are you dealing with a 6-pack of beer instead of 6-pack abs? Don’t get us wrong, beer is delish and having a 6-pack of abs is a lot of hard work (and not necessary to be healthy).
But beer does add calories to your day, and often times your drinking shenanigans involve eating more high calorie foods, which can turn into a beer belly.
Since beer alone isn’t the only culprit to a growing gut, you need a combination of certain diet adjustments and exercises to see a change.
If you’re ready to blast your beer gut, here’s how.
A beer belly, AKA a beer gut, is a term used to describe central or abdominal fat usually acquired by alcohol consumption. Clinically, docs call it “abdominal obesity.”
Carrying excess weight around your stomach can hurt your health thanks to visceral fat, which is the unhealthy fat.
But contrary to the name “beer belly,” it takes more than beer to make your waist circumference increase. Three major factors can affect the weight in your mid-region.
1. Alcohol intake
Beer alone doesn’t create a beer belly, it’s the high calorie content of alcohol itself. One study found that beer drinking itself is not linked with changes in waist circumference or waist-hip ratio. But it does add more calories to your day (which is the reason behind weight gain).
2. High calorie foods
Pizza, nachos, burgers — all delicious foods that tend to pair well with a nice cold mug of beer. Usually, it’s a combination of these high calorie foods with high calorie drinks that makes your waist grow.
But a study looked at how macronutrient-accompanying foods impacted energy intake and weight gain. The results found that greater consumption of high fat and high simple sugar foods created overeating and weight gain.
3. Where your body stores fat
Men and women typically store weight differently, and sorry dudes, you’re more likely to be carrying around extra weight in your stomach region. Women tend to gain weight in their hips and thighs due to hormones driving fat storage down to the lower body.
Sure don’t, but you should be aware of the quality and quantity of what you drink.
The 2015-2020 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that if you choose to drink alcohol, be moderate about it. This means having up to 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men. One alcoholic drink could be:
- 12 fluid ounces of regular beer
- 5 fluid ounces of wine
- 1.5 fluid ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits
Remember, takes more than reducing the amount of beer you drink to see progress. Lifestyle changes including diet and exercise are more important than cutting out beer completely. These healthy habits can help you reduce and burn calories to promote weight loss.
Thirsty for more tips?
- Choose your beer wisely. Often darker beer (like stouts and lagers) are going to contain more calories and carbs than if you choose a light beer.
- Be wary of mixed drinks. Cocktails are usually made with juices or other sugar-containing mixers that will quickly add to your daily calories. If you want to go the liquor route, ask for clear mixers like seltzer water or club soda.
- Tonic water does have sugar. Tonic water is clear, but don’t let it fool you. It contains a similar amount of sugar that you’d get from a soda.
Was this helpful?
Instead of focusing on targeted fat loss (which isn’t a thing), think about overall fat loss. As you lose body weight with healthy habits, your beer belly will likely shrink.
Here are some key dietary tricks to help wittle your waistline.
1. Reduce your calories
Counting calories can be a pain, but it’s a basic weight loss principle that you have to burn more calories than you take in to lose weight. It takes burning about 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat.
So, making minor caloric changes in your diet (paired with exercise) can help you create a calorie deficit to shed belly fat.
But cutting calories doesn’t mean you should be feeling hungry. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that people get full from the amount of food they eat and not the number of calories they take in.
So, it’s more important to limit high calorie foods that don’t do much for you nutritionally (like fried foods and higher sugar foods) than counting calories.
2. Eat whole foods
Choose vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins. These foods are loaded with important nutrients like fiber, healthy fats, and antioxidants.
Processed foods may be convenient, but they are also typically packed full of sugars, enriched flour, and saturated fat which can make it challenging to lose that belly weight.
3. Cut down portions
According to the CDC, when faced with larger portions, people tend to unintentionally consume more calories. Just eating smaller portions can make a big difference in calorie count.
If you still want to treat ‘yo self to a beer and a snack every so often, try cutting down your portions. Split those late-night nachos with a friend or just eat one slice of pizza with your brewsky. You can also ask for a to-go box to wrap up half your food or use smaller plates at home.
As nice as it would be to target your beer belly directly, that’s just not the case. You can do crunches and sit-ups to firm your muscles in your abdomen, but it takes more to see an actual decrease in fat.
Increasing exercise is important when seeking weight loss. Here are some tips.
1. Sneak in daily movement
Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park farther away when going to the store, or even take short breaks at work to get a walk in. They may not seem like “exercise,” but the truth is that they burn calories too. Adding those little changes each day can result in more calories burned over time.
2. Exercise more often
According to the CDC, you should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity into your week, plus 2 days of strength training. Moderate-intense activities could include:
- brisk walking
- light bicycling
- push-mowing the lawn
- playing doubles in tennis
Those 150 minutes don’t need to be all done at once. It could be 30 minutes per day for 5 days per week. Try whatever balance works best for you.
Want to kick it up a notch?
For optimal results, include another 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week. This could include:
- running/jogging
- hiking
- playing basketball, soccer, or tennis singles
- fast bicycling
How to Get Rid of a Beer Belly
You don’t have to completely give up hops and barley to lose a beer belly. Drinking beer in moderation along with other diet and lifestyle changes can help you lose that weight.
A beer belly may be the result of some fun times, good food, and tasty suds, but it may also be making it harder to move around or fit into your clothes. In addition, extra weight may be sapping your energy and putting extra strain on your joints and heart.
Getting rid of a beer belly will take a combination of diet and exercise. It tends to take longer to lose weight than it did acquiring it, too.
Keep reading to learn what causes a beer belly to form and the best methods for getting rid of it.
Certainly alcohol consumption, particularly among men, is associated with the formation of a beer belly, or what’s clinically referred to as “abdominal obesity.”
A study in Epidemiology and Health found that high alcohol intake was related to high waist circumference. This isn’t surprising due to alcohol’s calories.
But a study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that while drinking a lot of beer may widen your waist, the belly isn’t a unique destination for beer-related weight gain.
Despite the popular belief that beer tends to go straight to the belly, it appears the high-calorie drink actually contributes to weight gain throughout the body. Many women, for example, start to carry extra weight below the belt, rather than just above it.
Beer may also be indirectly responsible for your growing waistline. Think about what you often have with beer: Pizza, nachos, and other high-fat, high-calorie foods tend to accompany a chilled mug of lager or IPA. The light beer may not be the culprit as much as the food you’re enjoying it with.
Interestingly, drinking beer may also interfere with your body’s ability to efficiently burn fat. The body will work on breaking down alcohol for energy before it gets to any stored fat waiting to be burned.
Too much alcohol consumption is also associated with reduced testosterone levels , which is, in turn, associated with an accumulation of excess weight in the abdominal area.
Targeted fat loss, especially around the midsection, sounds good in theory, but it may not be the most realistic.
Exercises like crunches may help firm up muscles, but there’s mixed research about how well specific exercises can burn fat just in the belly or elsewhere.
However, a beer belly will usually shrink as you lose body weight. Losing weight is often described in simple terms: Burn more calories than you consume. To help with that, consider the following strategies.
Eat healthier
Cutting back on your beer consumption will help, but it’s only one dietary change you can make. Here are few tips to consider:
Cut your portion size in half
For example, instead of having two slices of pizza, have one. You’ll get used to simply consuming smaller portions as the days and weeks go on. This is especially important if you eat out a lot. Restaurant serving sizes are often much larger than standard serving sizes.
Count calories
It can be a pain at first, but once you learn how many calories are in the foods you usually eat, you won’t have to do as much math.
To lose about 1 pound per week, the average woman should shoot for about 1,500 calories daily (down from an average of 2,000 calories). The average man should limit intake to about 2,000 calories daily (down from a typical 2,500 calories).
Keep in mind that these estimates vary greatly from person to person. An individual’s age, weight, height, activity level, and general health must be considered.
Eat more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins
And eat less processed food and foods containing added sugars, enriched flour, and saturated fats.
Make healthy food swaps
- Try strawberries instead of ice cream for dessert.
- Drink water (flavored with a twist of lemon or lime) instead of soda.
- Use healthier fats, such as olive oil, instead of butter when cooking.
Move more
Increasing your physical activity level is a key factor in most weight loss efforts. Here are some tips:
Try high-intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE)
HIIE involves all-out efforts in rapid sets of sprints or other exercises, followed by brief rests, and then more short but intense exercise.
A study in the Journal of Obesity suggests that HIIE is more effective at burning fat and accelerating weight loss than many other forms of exercise.
Exercise more often than not
Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise most days of the week, as well as 2 days per week of strength training and stretching in the morning and evening.
Sneak in exercise
Make lifestyle choices that will naturally burn more calories, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or taking frequent breaks at work to take short walks.
The time frame for eliminating a beer belly depends on many factors, including the amount of weight you want to lose and your commitment to the exercise, diet, and lifestyle choices necessary to lose the weight.
One way to think about is this: One pound equals about 3,500 calories. So if you cut your calorie intake by 500 a day, burn 500 calories every day, or find some other combination that works for you, you could conceivably lose 1 pound a week (7 x 500 = 3,500).
That works out to about 4 pounds a month. Cutting back (or burning) 1,000 calories daily could get you to an 8-pound weight loss each month.
That’s a safe, reasonable weight loss plan. Of course, if you don’t follow your eating and exercise goals, that schedule won’t hold up. Diligence is key.
Be wary of fad diets and weight loss pills that promise rapid results. These product claims are likely exaggerated. They could lead to some dangerous health complications, too.
If you want to make your beer belly less noticeable as you make these lifestyle changes, here are a few quick tips:
- Wear loose clothing, such as flowy blouses and button-up shirts. Tight clothes, such as muscle shirts, can accentuate the belly area.
- Try dark colors for pants and shorts and lighter colors for shirts. This may provide a more proportioned look, since beer bellies can make legs look extra skinny. However, in general, darker clothes from top to bottom can help make any extra weight less noticeable.
- Don’t tuck in your shirt.
- Wear vertical stripes, if you’re going to wear stripes at all.
- Choose tailored pants, or simply pants that flatter your lower half. This will help with your overall appearance.
- High-rise jeans and other pants are a better choice than low-rise ones.
- Wear single-color shirts or blouses.
Carrying around a beer belly isn’t by itself a medical emergency. But it can be a sign that your risk for serious medical problems is increasing. Extra weight can be associated with:
It’s also possible that weight gain in the belly may itself be a symptom of something unrelated to your diet and exercise routine. Swelling in the abdomen can mean everything from pregnancy to serious digestive issues, such as:
- irritable bowel syndrome
- lactose intolerance
- blockage in your intestine
If your expanding belly is accompanied by pain or changes in your bowel habits, see a doctor soon.
If you want to get rid of your beer belly but are worried that you’ll have to completely give up the magic of hops and barley, fear not. Beer, in moderation, can still be present in your diet. You’ll just have to make some other changes to allow that beer habit to continue.
Generally, that means less soda and calorie-dense foods and more fat-burning exercise. You may also want to try light beers and fewer of them.
You can also talk with a personal trainer and a dietitian for help in changing your lifestyle and turning a beer belly into a six-pack.
Last medically reviewed on March 21, 2023
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