Did someone say shots?!
Alcohol is something most people have at least tried and probably still wets your whistle today. There are drinks for every reason, season, and occasion:
Champagne for celebrations!
Shots for partying!
Wine for girls’ night!
Beer to survive the Cleveland Browns!
Outside of the fun, social component, there are many layers of alcohol, especially as it relates to and impacts your health, fitness and desired results!
Adult beverages exist as a staple at many social gatherings and celebrations.
And, let’s be honest – a glass of wine or bourbon on the rocks after a long day at the office, home with the kids, or evening spent caring for aging parents is the most relaxing way for you to unwind!
For these reasons and many more, alcohol is often seen as a “non-negotiable,” a habit so entrenched in daily lives and routine that even the desire to shed pounds, slip into those favorite jeans, or boost energy levels take a backseat.
But let’s face it: if you find yourself staring at a stubborn scale, wrestling with tight clothes, and battling fatigue and mood swings, it’s time to raise a glass—to the truth!
This blog is here to uncork the secrets behind alcohol’s impact on your health and results and trust me, you won’t want to miss this spirited discussion – here’s what’s on deck:
- What Happens to Your Body When You Drink
- How Alcohol Affects Your Results
- Creating Balance: Acute -vs- Chronic Consumption
**Note: This blog is judgement free – just want to make sure you have the information so that you can appropriately make choices and manage expectations around your results / lack thereof!
__________________________________________________________________________________________
HOW ALCOHOL AFFECTS YOUR RESULTS
Alcohol is sometimes referred to as the unnecessary fourth macronutrient (macro) because it is a very different kind of macro compared to the 3 real macronutrients: protein, smart carbohydrates and heart healthy fats.
Each macro has a specific nutrient density, supports organ health and ensures your body functions properly:
- Protein & Smart Carbs: 4 calories per 1 gram; provides an energy source for your brain and muscles.
- Heart healthy fats: 9 calories per 1 gram; provides long-term energy and helps metabolize certain vitamins.
Then there’s alcohol: contains 7 calories per 1 gram and provides absolutely 0 nutritional value. This is precisely why you hear alcohol referred to as empty calories.
Let’s say you are about to enjoy a nice cocktail. While drinking, what is actually happening to your body that you can’t see, can’t feel and perhaps, you just don’t know?
When drinking, alcohol directly enters your bloodstream, making a B-line for your liver. Unlike the other (real) macronutrients, there is no place in the body to store alcohol. This means the other nutrients you’ve consumed through a healthy diet and your body needs to absorb to properly function, are put on hold until the alcohol leaves your body – yikes!
But, disrupting your body’s ability to properly function is just the tip of the iceberg.
Below outlines all of the major implications of alcohol- all the things that happen to your body when you drink plus how each impacts your results:
#1. Fat Loss: When alcohol enters your body, everything else your body needs and should be doing to properly function comes to a screeching halt. Your body recognizes alcohol as basically a poison and thus immediately starts to process and get rid of it, ASAP!
During and after drinking, your body either stops burning fat or, burns it at a much slower rate; taking anywhere from 12-36 hours to process the alcohol – that’s a LONG time!
What does this mean for you?
While your body is frantically trying to process and burn off alcohol, the fat burning process shuts down and STOPS for 12-36 hours after drinking. During this time, your body cannot process and burn carbs or fats so they are stored! Over time, this leads to gaining weight and fat.
IF you are actively trying to fit into clothes better, achieve that ‘tone‘ aesthetic look, lose the belly/midsection or trim the waistline, alcohol is slowing this process or, stopping it all altogether.
Regardless of how many days you exercised that week, how many calories your fitness tracker claimed you burned – you cannot out-train alcohol. This is exactly why alcohol leads to additional weight and fat gain when regularly consumed and a big reason why you are not seeing the results you want.
#2. Ability to build muscle: The same way your body is prevented from processing carbs and fats during and after drinking, also holds true for protein! This means that protein synthesis – the process of building new muscle – cannot occur. If you are looking to get stronger and build lean muscle, drinking alcohol is not the way to go.
#3. Sleep: Many believe having a drink in the evening helps with sleep BUT, the opposite is true!
Alcohol disrupts your regular sleep patterns by putting you in more of a sedative state than actual restful sleep. The quality of sleep is worse and often causes you to wake multiple times throughout the night and the lack of sleep then bleeds over into the next day and days to follow.
Without quality sleep, you are going to be groggy, brain function will be fuzzy and productivity low both at home and in the office. And, since your muscles repair, build and grow during periods of rest and recovery, sh!tty sleep stalls that process too.
#4. Workout Performance: Alcohol and workouts. Oil and water. Peanut butter and hot sauce. They don’t mix!
After a night of drinking and feeling hungover, exercising is the last thing you want to do and thus starts a slippery slope of falling out of healthy routines and habits. One day of skipping a workout turns into 2 days, then a week and so on.
IF you do workout, you will have lower energy levels, weights will feel extra ‘heavy‘ and you will not be able to reach optimal performance. Again, all leading to less desirable results!
Plus, alcohol makes your body resistant to insulin which is NOT good since insulin makes it possible for your muscles to absorb carbohydrates -a primary energy source for exericse!
If your muscles are not adequately fueled, exercising is super hard, less productive and thus it will be much harder for your muscles to grow and get stronger.
#5. Mental + Emotional Health: In the moment, a drink might help you loosen up or enjoy time with friends and, occasionally, that is fun!
But when it comes to regular drinking, alcohol affects your mood, attitude and energy levels. Waking up after a long night of drinking leaves you feeling groggy, agitated, and reactive – all of which affect your personal and professional relationships.
Plus, alcohol triggers symptoms related to anxiety and depression since it is a ‘downer‘. While it can feel like the escape you need, the delayed onset of these symptons adversely impacts your emotional and mental health.
#6. Recovery: Your body relies on and needs proper nutrients as well of periods of rest and recovery to function, build muscle and survive.
Regular bouts of inconsistent sleep paired with lack of proper nutrients since your body can’t absorb what it needs when you drink means your body does not get what is needs to keep you feeling your best, your organs fucntioning, and your muscles growing.
#7. Diet: You’ve likely been there: post drinking indulgences and binges complete with pizza, chips, cookies, smash burgers, fries….the list goes on!
Alcohol is an insatiable energy source that lowers your inhibitions; leading to behaviors and choices that do NOT support your health or desired results, particularly when it comes to food.
First, on top of drinking your calories, your brain is triggered to eat to help absorb the alcohol. And, it is not a big bowl of salad you crave but all those delicious, highly processed foods!
Second, alcohol disrupts your ability to recognize natural hunger and fullness cues so you feel more hungry than you truly are. When this happens, you are more likely to overconsume and mindlessly graze which leads to gaining both weight and fat.
Between the empty calories, lowered inhibitions and increased urge to binge and snack, these are just more reasons to consider going dry or drastically limiting alcohol consumption when looking to improve your health or achieve specific results like building muscle, losing weight and body fat.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
ACUTE vs CHRONIC CONSUMPTION
The final topic I want to cover is the difference between acute and chronic consumption, especially regarding weight loss, fat loss and overall health.
Just because you are trying to lose weight does not mean you can never drink again ever.
It does mean you need take into consideration your health, desired results and drinking habits.
BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF and assess what is more/most important and from there, align your behaviors, choices and expectations accordingly.
Certain results require sacrifices and changes so it’s on you to decide what you want.
Now, what does ‘moderation‘ look like?
How much may be too much?
There is a massive difference between acute and chronic consumption:
Acute consumption: alcohol is not a regular habit and is reserved for special/one-off occasions. Acute alcohol consumption could be having about 1 drink per week or less or going out every few months and having a few drinks to feel a little silly 😉.
Yes, you may feel the effects of alcohol for the next day, but drinking alcohol on special occasions may be part of your life and can be enjoyed in moderation!
Chronic consumption: this level of intake can do more harm than good, and not just with weight or fat loss. The average American has 4 drinks per week, and if you are consuming more than 7 drinks a week, that is considered heavy drinking.
Outside of weight loss, chronic drinking causes lots of long-term health problems: alcoholism, skin discoloration, liver and kidney problems, insomnia, and in extreme cases, malnutrition!
There is truly no benefit to drinking, especially regularly.
If you fall into this category of having multiple drinks per week, for weeks and weeks on end, it is important to be honest with yourself.
You now know that alcohol has a lot of negatives and zero positives, so maybe you make an effort to cut back a drink or two!
Starting with small changes will add up over time, as long as you stay committed and consistent.
Now, you may be thinking: “I only go out one night a week! I only have a handful of drinks! It’s not even that bad!”
Going out once a week sounds so fun and having an active social life is important to overall health. My questions to you are:
When you are going out, how many drinks are you having?
Are you eating a well-balanced meal while out or, opting for processed foods and late night snacks?
Remember, life is about enjoying special moments, and it is okay to let loose every now and again – “everything in moderation!”
Just remember that the less you drink, the healthier you will look and feel and the better your results!
It is OKAY to have a glass of wine from time to time! It is OKAY to celebrate big life events!
But the same thing you tell your kids is what I am going to tell you…you don’t NEED alcohol to have fun 🙂
So, the next time you are out with your friends and thinking about ordering another drink, think back to this blog and opt for non-alcoholic, alternative drinks, water and / or scale back.
Your body, your brain and your health will love and thank you!
