One area of the alcohol debate I come across a lot is when people start a new fitness program, they always seem to ask how alcohol will affect their progress. To help you understand the affects alcohol has on your progress I've compiled a list of the most common questions I get asked about alcohol.
1. Are there calories in alcohol?
Yes, alcohol is labelled as having 7.1 calories per gram, although if you take into account thermogenesis and the thermic effect of food it comes down to about 5.7 calories.
2. What happens to me when I drink alcohol?
You get drunk, start sending drunken texts and everyone becomes your best friend. Oh wait, that's just me. When you drink alcohol (ethanol) your body and specifically your liver goes into high alert mode because one of the metabolic by products of alcohol is a toxin called acetate. Our liver starts working overtime to remove this toxin and metabolizing it takes precedence over everything else. This means any fat burning your body might have been doing or growth and repair it might have been doing comes to a standstill until the acetate is removed. This leads to the next question...
3. Will I get fat if I drink alcohol?
The easy answer here is yes and no. Let me start with the no part. At the end of the day to put on weight you have to be in a calorie surplus and to lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit. Bearing that fact in mind, when you drink alcohol, if you were to stay below or at your maintenance level of recommended calories then no you wouldn't gain weight. Therein lies the problem however... You see it's what alcohol actually does to us that cause the problems. Alcohol been alcohol gets you drunk, when you're drunk your inhibitions are lowered way down - I mean "oh my god I can't believe I [insert your own embarrassing story here] last night" down. These lowered inhibitions lead to all kinds of crazy stories but most importantly for you and your health they lead to you overeating i.e. cue the snack-boxes, chilli fries and all the other junk food that more often than not follows a night out. It's the alcohol and the excess calories from this junk food and late night gorging that lead you to eat over maintenance and thus get fat.
The second problem here is that as calories go - alcohol calories are empty - they have no nutritional value what so ever and they have a very short term effect on satiety (how full you feel). And because the majority of alcohol is consumed in liquid form it's very easy to over consume calories by drinking alone.
4. What if I don't eat and just drink instead?
Seriously are you that stupid? Re-read the previous two questions and pay specific attention to the fact that alcohol is a toxin, contains no nutritional value and leads to overeating by reduced inhibitions and not to mention that going down this route is just plain idiotic, especially when you get the 'weight-watchers' saving all their points for the weekend and wonder why they aren't getting any healthier. Apologies, rant over.
5. Is there a way I can minimise the negative effects of alcohol?
Actually there is. Now I can't take credit for this formula. It was devised by the excellent nutritional consultant Martin Berkhan. This works on a moderate basis only once every week or every 2 weeks and is NOT free reign to get bananas every night. On the day you will be drinking limit your intake of dietary fat to 0.3g per Kg of bodyweight. Limit carb intake to 1.5g per Kg of bodyweight. Get your carbs from veggies and any accessory carbs that are in protein sources. Eat as much lean protein as you want. Limit your alcohol choices to dry wines, spirits with calorie free mixers and avoid beers, sugary drinks and high calorie cocktails. This formula focuses on elements that are least like to cause fat storage when drinking. Remember though alcohol is a toxin at the end of the day, it causes a host of other problems and should only ever be consumed in moderation, if at all. A friend mentioned to me recently that if alcohol had only been discovered today it would most definitely be banned. Remember that very true observation.
Thanks for reading. Being alcohol aware is just the first step.. For a complete plan visit my website where I'll give you my Free 90 Recipe Cookbook system.
Thanks again,
John "Social Life Friendly" Mulry
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