We’ve all done it. You down a few rounds of drinks (or more) and before you know it, the delivery guy is at your door with your large meat lover’s pizza or your headed straight to Greys Papaya. Late night munchies, we are all guilty. While sober, you may not be so quick to give into those cravings, after a night of boozy indulgence, you lose the self-discipline.
“After drinking we lose our inhibitions,” says JeanPaul SanPedro, an L.A.-based celebrity fitness trainer and owner of C.U.T Nation. “So that bacon wrapped hot dog that’s made on a cardboard and aluminum foil that you would normally have the self-control to pass on…well that self-control is out the window.”
Not surprisingly, science suggests the same, otherwise known as the “aperitif effect,” alcohol stimulates the appetite and makes you crave high-fat food, hence the desire for pizza, burritos and fries. But why?
We feel less satisfied
In a U.K. study, men drank either 12 ounces of a non-alcoholic lager or the same amount of the lager but with about two drinks worth of alcohol in it. Despite the alcoholic lager containing more calories, men ended up eating 30 percent more calories after drinking it.
We think junk food is damn delicious
University of North Carolina researchers indicate alcohol intake may also stimulate galanin production, which is a brain chemical that produces cravings for fat. Findings out of Purdue University also suggest that moderate consumption of alcohol enhances the taste of salt and fat.
We can’t get away from the aroma
Alcohol may cause the brain to become more sensitive to food aromas, thus encouraging the appetite say scientists at Indiana University. Researchers found that alcohol exposure can both increase the brain’s sensitivity to external food cues, like aromas, and result in greater food consumption.
We trip down memory lane
Social context plays a role in binging, too. Research out of Northwestern University found that alcohol only increased food consumption when people knew they were drinking an alcoholic beverage. Friends, alcohol, food. It’s a no brainer.
All is not lost. Here, your late-night menu to what to eat before, during and after a big night out. So you can still party and keep that killer six-pack.