The Reality of Alcohol and Weight Loss

Many of us love to have a glass of wine after a stressful day, a cocktail to celebrate Friday being here, or happy hour with friends on Monday because it is well - Monday! But, we don’t always stop to think about what these drinks do to our progress, even if we are taking account of them in our caloric intake.

We’ve discussed that in order to achieve fat loss, a caloric deficit is required or, “calories in are less than calories out.” However, not all calories are created equal! The QUALITY of your calories plays a major role in your progress, results & overall appearance. Alcohol has a specific impact on our body and it’s systems, some of which make it much harder to lose weight.

For those of you that do not consume alcohol, your liver and overall health are greatly benefiting from your choice. If you are someone that is working towards a health and weight loss goal that DOES consume alcohol, evaluating how much will be an important part of achieving the results you truly desire.

How Alcohol Impacts The Body:

Sabotages Circadian Rhythm: Alcohol impacts your sleep patterns and ultimately can reduce the amount of restorative sleep you get, especially when consumed a few hours before bed.

Athletic performance: Poor sleep leads to poor performance. It may also take away all participation if you are tempted to sleep in instead!

Blocks nutrient absorption: Alcohol raises blood sugar by flooding the liver once it is consumed. This forces the liver to work in overdrive to metabolize the alcohol instead of other nutrients which compromises the absorption rate of those other nutrients.

Lowers ability to burn calories: Alcohol is more dense than other energy sources and is broken down by the body first when it has the choice. The body is working so hard to metabolize the alcohol and burn that energy that it causes a standstill in regards to the other calories (energy) consumed and its ability to burn THOSE. That being said, that energy (carbohydrates or fat) is left unused, unburned and leads to weight gain, fat gain and lack of results.

Muscle performance: Alcohol prevents calcium from being absorbed in muscle cells which leads to cramping.

Dehydration: Alcohol has a diuretic effect, causing dehydration that impacts every system in the body (organs, systems, digestion, etc.).

Poor choices: Alcohol lowers your inhibitions making it easy to hit the fast food drive through instead of making something at home.

Regardless of your current habits around alcohol, increasing your awareness on how much you do consume can be really helpful. Take a look at your alcohol consumption when evaluating your goals. Does it align with your endgame and the results you desire to achieve?

If there’s room for improvement, try reducing your daily or weekly intake down to weekends, or limiting to 1 glass per night instead of your current “limit”. Opt for a “dry week” or even month! This was one of the first “health and fitness” challenges I tried when just starting to work toward my goals and it was also one of the most rewarding.

For those times that you do plan to partake, here are some easy tips & tricks: