I found myself in a conversation last week about alcohol and I thought it would make for a great topic this morning.
This is a question I get ALL the time. It is often worded in various ways but at the core of the question people want to know how much or how often they can drink alcohol and maintain in good standings with their health.
I am happy to take this question head on because the answer is simple. There is zero benefit to your body nutritionally when drinking alcohol. It is important to understand this before I move forward and explain. I also must say that if you reject this as truth it will be difficult for you to get an accurate answer to this question.
Is alcohol bad? No. Neither is ice cream or pizza. But we must accept that we are not helping our body burn fat and build muscle when we drink alcohol.
So if your goal is to lose fat and add muscle then alcohol is not helping you do that. In fact, it is working in opposition to that goal.
I want to paint a black and white picture because it is. Here are the facts. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram and all alcoholic beverages contain some sugar. Alcohol consumption causes an increase in insulin secretion.
In addition here are a few observations that I have made over the years with most of my clients. Drinking alcohol leads to poor food choices. Now you have two problems with double the calories. It also leads to feeling sluggish in the gym which may lead to less workouts.
When someone asks me about alcohol I respond by asking them what their goal is? I then follow that up with how much has alcohol prevented you from reaching your goal in the past? Usually they end up answering their question with the answer to those questions.
I want you to live a healthy life. Does that mean there is no room for alcohol. No. But if you are trying to lose body fat and gain muscle then abstaining from alcohol will help you tremendously. And don’t fool yourself into thinking you can eat healthy and workout to offset drinking alcohol.
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