In addition to revving your appetite, tippling also makes you lose your eating inhibitions ("I only live once—I'll have the steak frites!"). "It temporarily impairs the prefrontal cortex, the smarty-pants part of the brain that allows you to think clearly and rein in impulsivity," Dr. Peeke says. "So after a certain amount of alcohol (and it's different for everyone), you're going to feel yourself not caring and letting it rip with food and probably drinks." A cocktail (or three) can make you forgetful, too—as in, forgetting that the Death by Chocolate dessert is not on your eating plan.