The booze counts too
When we eat food, we access energy in it, this energy is in carbs, fats and proteins. Depending on the food, this energy will come along with more or less other beneficial nutrients.
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THE BOOZE COUNTS TOO: Why you should be watching alcohol when trying to lose body fat. SUMMER’S COMING BABY!
Lockdown is easing, the weather is warming, Christmas is coming. I hope you’re smiling as much as I am while writing this.
Along with summer comes more socialisation, more BBQs, and you guessed it, more booze.
Alcohol can help us have fun socially, and I’m by no means asking you to not drink (I’m not that mean), but, along with being concerned for our general health, drinking too much alcohol can cause you to hold onto and/or put on unwanted body fat.
Here’s how:
When we eat food, we access energy in it, this energy is in carbs, fats and proteins. Depending on the food, this energy will come along with more or less other beneficial nutrients.
When we drink alcohol, we also swallow energy, which is stored in the alcohol itself. In drinks like beer, wine, cocktails and mixers, there is often carbohydrates (therefore, more energy) in them.
Alcohol is fairly easy for people to drink. Therefore, if we drink it often, multiple drinks at a time, it may cause us to gain weight, if it is putting you in an energy surplus (causing you to eat/drink more energy than your requirements).
So what? Alex, I drink several beers/wines a night, what should I do?
Drinking too much alcohol is complex, and I’m not going to go down any specific path, other than providing a couple of potential strategies you can try and implement to reduce your weekly intake:
A) Max drinks per night
Count approx. how many drinks you have per week (EG 20x)
Set a reduced target number per week (EG 12x max)
Plan how many you will have per day (EG 1x per weeknight, 3x on Sat and Sun night)
B) Only drink on weekends
No alcohol during the week (swap with soda water, zero sugar soft drink, kombucha)
Only drink on Saturday and Sunday nights
**If you experience the urge to binge drink weekends, I do not advise this strategy***
Give these strategies a go, I hope one of them helps you out!
As I mentioned though, drinking to excess is complex, and this is general advice on reducing alcohol intake in the context of weight loss: if you believe you are suffering alcoholism, consult a medical support group or specialist.
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