The beer belly. While a few men may consider it a rite of passage showcasing a number of good nights out with the boys drinking beer, most men would rather do without.

The fact of the matter is that the beer belly, while not being so aesthetically appealing, is also doing a number on your health as well.

Fortunately, there are a few tips and tricks to help you combat that beer belly and prevent the negative health effects that go with it. Here’s how.

Alternate One Drink With One Glass Of Water

First, you’ll want to make sure that you alternate one drink with one glass of water whenever you go out. This will slow down your drinking so you drink less overall, consuming fewer calories.

Remember, much of what causes a beer belly is simply calorie overload, so anything you can do to curb that will help out.

Additionally, the extra class of water will also help keep you hydrated, providing further benefits.

Choose Light Beer

Speaking of ways to slash calories, also consider a light beer rather than a regular. While there may be a slight taste difference, usually it’s well worth it. Especially if you are someone who likes to drink regularly, anything you can do to take down your calorie intake is going to go a long way towards helping you prevent that beer belly.

Get Cardiovascular Exercise Into Your Day

It’s important that you find ways to build cardiovascular exercise into your day as often as possible. Research published in the Obesity journal noted that between cardiovascular exercise and resistance-based exercise, cardiovascular exercise appeared to be most helpful for helping combat visceral fat, which is what a beer belly is.

Remember that even brisk walking will count as aerobic exercise, so if nothing else, head out for a walk around the neighborhood 30 minutes prior to drinking.

Watch Your Food Consumption While Drinking

Finally, last but not least, pay close attention to what you are eating while you are drinking. Too many people start indulging in peanuts, chicken wings, and nachos while consuming beer, all of which will only add to the calorie content you are consuming.

When drinking, avoid all food — but do make sure that you eat a healthy meal beforehand. You don’t want to start replacing healthy food calories with alcohol calories instead.

If you keep these tips in mind, you should be able to put your best foot forward at side-stepping the beer belly. Of course if you drink too much, nothing is going to help prevent the beer belly and you’ll likely run into other issues with your health as well as liver problems. Your best bet really is to just focus on cutting back on how much you drink and be smart whenever you are drinking. That will give you the best chance at keeping your waistline in tact.

_Reference:

_{Ismail, Irfan, et al. "A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the effect of aerobic vs. resistance exercise training on visceral fat." Obesity reviews 13.1 (2012): 68-91.}

[Image via Getty]