So you want to know how to get rid of a beer belly fast.
And there’s a good chance you’re going to want to not totally give up your beer forever. Hey, can’t say I blame you.
Beer bellies can sneak up on you fast. One minute you’re having fun drinking with your friends and then the next thing you know you look down at a hard beer belly.
Or maybe you rarely even drink but for some reason, you still have a potbelly. Whatever the reason is I’m going to show you how to fix the beer belly quick.
Many of those with a beer belly aren’t able to lose it even though they’ve lost some weight and watching what they eat. You can feel like you’re skinny everywhere but your stomachs.
I know having a beer belly can be embarrassing but I’m going to show you how to lose your beer belly in a week or two. Oh, and you’ll not only flatten your beer belly but you won’t totally have to say goodbye to beer too.
What Causes a Beer Belly?
Why do men get big beer bellies? Men tend to be more gender prone to carry belly fat.1 Man boobs are also a problem for many men today.
But women can also get a beer gut. I’ve heard women tell me their belly has gotten so big from drinking beer that they look pregnant and it’s embarrassing.
Is beer belly fat or bloating?
Bloating can easily happen after drinking alcohol especially beer since it’s carbonated and contains carbs. You can tell if it’s bloating if the size and comfort of your stomach fluctuates throughout the day. If it doesn’t then it’s more likely fat rather than bloating.
This deep visceral fat is not only unsightly but it’s also very dangerous for your health. Visceral fat surrounds your organs and places stress on them. This force pushes your fat and organs against your abdominal wall causing the hard belly fat.
You can still be otherwise skinny but still have a beer belly. This is usually caused from having too low of body fat, not enough lean muscle mass, which results in a skinny fat belly.2
Studies have found visceral fat to be linked to serious health diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.3 So getting rid of your beer gut is going to give you more health benefits than just a flat-looking stomach.
You can get a beer gut at any age but most men start to see it once they hit their 30s. This is the age when the metabolism begins to slow down, start having muscle loss, and not as physically active as before.
But your genetics are also going to play a factor in how big of a beer paunch you’ll get.4 Body fat distribution is largely determined by genetics so if you’re predestined to store fat in your belly then it’s the first place the excess fat is going to go.
Can You Fix a Beer Belly?
Yes! The good news is that there are ways to fix a beer gut.
It’s not just the alcohol that causes the increase in stomach fat. Beer is high in carbohydrates that can result in an insulin spike. Insulin is the hormone that shuts off fat burning and promotes fat storage in stubborn parts like your belly.5
Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram which is almost double the 4 calories per gram in carbs and protein. Your body burns alcohol calories differently than protein, fats or carbs.
Your body prioritizes burning off the alcohol first in your liver.6 So while it’s burning off the alcohol calories, you won’t be burning off the carbs from the beer or whatever else you’re eating.
So as you’re drinking alcohol your body has stopped all fat burning while it metabolizes the alcohol. Then the insulin spike from the carbs in the beer also stops fat burning and promotes fat storage.
Then all the carbs from the beer and whatever else you’re eating at the time get dumped right into your belly.
Alcohol is also known to be estrogenic which can greatly affect how much fat your body can burn.7 Here’s a study finding young men who drank the heaviest had lower testosterone and semen quality.8
As a male, you’re going to want to have higher testosterone and GH levels to improve body composition. Drinking alcohol and beer is going to lower those making it harder to burn off the beer pooch.
There is also a lot of controversy about beer containing phytoestrogens.
There are some studies out there finding the hops in beer to be estrogenic.9 So much so that female hop workers had menstrual disturbances. But the researchers state the amount of these phytoestrogens in the beer won’t cause much of a difference.
At the very least lowering your alcohol intake by drinking less beer daily is going to do wonders for getting rid of your beer gut. But if that’s out of the question then at least stick to the 1-2 light beers a day during the week.
How to Get Rid of a Beer Belly Fast
How long does it take to for the beer belly to go away?
This depends on how much you have to lose but you can quickly start slimming it down in a week or two. In 30 days, you could lose a handful of inches off your belly once you start doing what works for getting rid of it.
How soon will you lose weight after quitting alcohol?
You’re going to lose your beer gut much faster if you give up alcohol. Alcohol shuts down body fat burning while it’s processed and you end up storing the carbs in the beer along with everything you ate as fat.
Here’s a study finding those drinking higher amounts of alcohol had bigger belly fat.10 And this is another study finding the risk of obesity goes up by a whopping 70% with the heaviest drinkers.11
While you get faster results from quitting alcohol you don’t have to completely give it up to get results too…
If you don’t want to give up alcohol completely it’s best to at least minimize your consumption. I like to stick to the rule of only 1-2 drinks per day during the week.
Switch to a light beer that contains less carbohydrates. The less carbs you’re drinking then the less of an insulin spike you’ll get from drinking the beer.
Light beers usually contain less alcohol which means a shorter time it’ll take for your body to process the calories. You’ll burn more abdominal fat the less of an insulin spike you have and the less alcohol there is the to process.
Losing the Beer Belly in a Week
The fastest way to slim down the beer belly in a week or two is to reduce your alcohol and beer consumption. Switch out the heavy IPAs for a light beer if you wish to continue to have alcohol.
Reduce your carbohydrate consumption since your body is probably is holding a lot of water retention. Carbs are stored as glycogen in your muscle and liver for future fuel. For every 1 gram of glycogen you’ll hold onto 3 grams of water. So cutting your carb intake will help to quickly flush out the water weight.
Instead of carbs eat more protein along with some healthy fats. Protein is satiating making you feel fuller for longer. Protein also has a thermic effect which increases how many calories your body burns. And protein is necessary for improving body composition by building lean muscle which will tone and tighten up your body.
Exercising by lifting weights and cardio will be effective at building muscle and burning off fat. Weightlifting first will burn through your glycogen stores and then the 20-40 minutes cardio afterwards will then burn off your fat stores. Try working out while fasting to burn off even more of the belly fat.
What exercise burns the most belly fat?
This is going to be HIIT (high intensity interval training) exercise. Studies have found this to be a more effective way to burn abdominal fat than slow-go cardio.12 Not that cardio is completely ineffective just you’re going to get faster results using HIIT.13
Most people trying to lose their belly fat try to do it by 30-minute sessions of cardio. But it’s going to be more effective to use HIIT workouts combined with Metabolic Resistance Training.
Getting Rid of Beer Belly in 30 Days
While you can definitely slim down your beer gut fast with the above you can also make a lot more progress after 30 days. To do so, you want to continue what you’re doing above with the diet and exercise strategies. But here are more overall long term solutions that’ll get results.
Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know you’ll never get rid of your belly if you have too much fat on your body. If you have belly fat then it’s going to throw off the balance of your hormones and their functions.
This is because the fat cells in your stomach fat are biologically active. The deep visceral fat in abdominal fat releases inflammatory cytokines that can negatively affect your insulin sensitivity.14
And the more insulin resistant you become the more likely you are to never burn off the stubborn belly fat. So cutting down your body fat percentage is going to be key to getting fast results.
Like said earlier it’s best to go higher protein, low carb and an adequate amount of healthy fats. I’d even go so far as to add in intermittent fasting as it’ll help to naturally increase your growth hormone levels.
Intermittent fasting can help get rid of an alcohol belly by increasing fat burning. You’ll be able to burn through the stored glycogen in your liver with fasting and then burn body fat stores.
Fix Gut Health
Getting your gut health right is going to help you get rid of your beer gut faster. If your gut health is bad then it’s going to make it even harder to lose the belly pooch.
One study that found when gut bacteria from obese mice was transplanted into skinny mice.15 The researchers found the once skinny mice had an increase of 60% body fat. Another study using mice found skinny mice that were fed fecal matter from obese mice led to the former to gain lots of fat.16
The best thing you can do to improve your gut health is to start taking a probiotic, prebiotic & maybe even digestive enzymes.
Studies have found probiotics to be effective for lowering body fat and reducing belly fat.17 Also, it’s a good idea to cut out the junk fried foods and processed foods that are destroying your gut health too.
Studies have found alcohol consumption wears down your gut health so if you have any digestive issues like constipation, diarrhea, bloating, etc. then there’s a good chance you have room to improve your gut health.18
If your gut health is bad and you get a lot of bloating, discomfort, diarrhea, constipation, etc. then you may need additional supplementation. Try taking Gut Reg along with some collagen to help rebuild the damage caused to your gut lining from alcohol.
Contains 5 of the key types of collagen in scientifically ideal forms. Uses hydrolyzed collagne peptides making it easier to digest. Mixes easily, no clumping, with no odor or taste.
- Supports healthy, youthful looking skin & skin elasticity
- Supports joint health & comfort
- Supports hair health & growth
- Supports healthy body composition
Less Stress, More Sleep
Chronic stress is another hidden reason you might have abdominal fat in the first place. Numerous studies have found chronically elevated stress levels to be highly associated with abdominal fat.19
Getting enough sleep is a big one. Alcohol may help you fall asleep faster but it also reduces deep REM sleep.20 So you may still get 7-8 hours of sleep but with the alcohol you’ll still wake up groggy and tired.
Most men and women are sleep deprived which can lead to elevated stress levels. Then people under stress are much more likely to binge eat on junk foods than to eat healthier options.21
Plus heavy drinking of alcohol can promote these junk food binges. There’s nothing like beer drinking just about every night of the week and then munching on junk food to increase stomach fat.
Alcohol itself is a less satiating form of energy.22 So you have to be careful when drinking alcohol to not want to overeat on calories and junk food.
How To Drink Beer and Gain Weight
So what if you still want to drink alcohol (beer especially) and want to lose belly fat?
First off I’d recommend cutting out your carb intake earlier in the day. Keep it under 50g of carbs to save room for those empty calories from alcohol later. Beer is heavy on the carbs so this is going to help you out there.
Lowering your daily calorie intake to 1500 for men and 1200 for women will “free you up” to have those additional empty calories from alcohol. Alcohol is high in calories so making some room by cutting out other calories will help.
Then I’d avoid eating while you’re drinking your beer. Like I said earlier alcohol itself isn’t very filling so it’s going to make it way easier to overeat while drinking. Try to keep around a pre-made meal so you don’t get the drunken munchies.
Last but not least pick a beer that is lower on the calories and carbs. These are usually light beers. I know some of us love the IPAs but these are the heaviest, most calorie-dense beers out there. Try to save these for the weekend if you must.
You can check out more of my list of the best and worst alcoholic drinks for weight loss.
Conclusion
Getting rid of the beer belly can be done fast once you reduce your consumption, lower your carb and calorie intake, and start exercising. Then if you want to go deeper and keep slimming down the waistline then you can focus on improving hormones, fixing gut health, and getting enough sleep.
The alcohol can cause weight gain (especially in the belly) but you don’t have to completely give up your beer. While beer can be fattening you just have to drink the right beers and in the right portions along with dieting and exercising.
As long as you’re doing everything else right then you can still have some fun and enjoy your beer. But if you aren’t exercising, eating bad the rest of the time, and drinking an excess of bad heavy beer then it’ll be near impossible to lose the beer gut.
So now that you know how to lose the beer belly fast it’s time to start doing what works so you can get results. Time to slim away that beer belly!
Josh holds a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology and Nutrition Science. He’s a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and he’s a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) by American Council on Exercise. He’s worked as a Strength and Conditioning Coach at the high school and college levels. He has over 15 years of experience as a personal trainer and nutrition coach. He strives to bring inspiration and results for people to live healthier lives through smart diet and exercise.