How Alcohol affects your fitness

Is Alcohol coming in the way of your fitness goals? Read on to know more.

Why do people drink alcohol? Some of the most common reasons/excuses are:

• Too much stress in work/personal life
• Sports fan. You just wait for the next game to call your friends over.
• To celebrate the weekend
• To socialise

The list can go on and on. Reasons may be different but people consume alcohol which eventually becomes part of their lifestyle. If you are into fitness you’ll have to tread carefully. Alcohol has the power to destroy your fitness goals.

There is no denying the fact that alcohol is bad for you whether you are a bodybuilder or just a regular person. The fitness community has for long steered itself clear of alcohol. According to many pros there is no place for alcohol in a fit man’s life. Does that mean you have to give up on those night outs at your favourite club? Let’s find out.

1. Calories in Alcohol

1 gram of alcohol contains about 7 calories. If you compare this to other macronutrients it is quite high with only fat pipping it at 9 calories per gram. While Protein and Carbohydrates sit at 4 calories per gram. Thus alcohol is a calorie dense product. It should also be noted that calories from alcohol doesn’t contain any nutritional value. Scientists refer to this as “empty calories”. If you are a person who is on a fat loss mission enjoying your favourite drink may put you two steps back.

Let us look at calorie content of various drinks:

• 1 pint of Beer contains about 180-200 calories
• 1 glass of Wine contains about 160 calories
• 1 glass of Long island iced tea contains anywhere between 300-700 calories
• 30 ml of whiskey/vodka (neat) contains about 100 calories (If you add a mixer calorie count increases)
• 1 jagerbomb contains about 200 calories

Next time when you are out partying, make sure you choose your drink and mixer wisely.

2. Lack of Judgement

Alcohol increases craving for junk food. When you are consuming alcohol you lose your judgement and consume all the wrong kinds of food. You’ll probably binge on pizza slices and french fries throwing your macros out of the window which can be detrimental to your fitness goals. All the excess calories will eventually show up on your belly.

3. Toxic effect

Your body recognises alcohol as a toxin which is bad. As soon as alcohol enters the body, your body shuts all the protein synthesis/fat burning process and tries to get rid of it. Your body even shuts absorption of vital nutrients. Liver plays a major role in breaking down the alcohol into acetates which is further broken down and eventually leaves the body a waste product. If you are the kind of person who keeps track of everything that goes in your mouth and treats food as a fuel source for your body, then why would you put anything in your body which may cause harm?

4. Dehydration

Alcohol causes dehydration. If you are into fitness or bodybuilding you probably know how important it is to stay hydrated throughout the day. Alcohol dehydrates muscle cells making it very difficult to build new muscle. Also the next day you’ll probably be hungover and miss your workout.

5. Alcohol lowers testosterone levels

As you probably know testosterone helps in fat loss and also contributes to building muscle mass. Alcohol tends to reduce testosterone levels which may put your fitness progress to a screeching halt. Reduction in testosterone levels may also lead to decrease in the metabolic rate.

Conclusion

There is no denying the fact that there are various negative effects of consuming alcohol. Excess consumption on a regular basis will eventually damage your liver, Kidneys and other vital organs. Long story short, alcohol is bad for you.

My View

Alcohol is bad for you. So what isn’t? Even the air which we breathe is polluted and is bad for our lungs. What about our food which is covered in pesticide. Even driving for that matter is unsafe. Does that mean we stop breathing, eating or driving? Absolutely not. Alcohol can be enjoyed in moderation. So the next time you raise your glass just calculate the hours you’ll need to spend on that treadmill just to compensate. This way you’ll automatically drink in moderation. 

Final Word

Unless you are preparing to go on stage, a few drinks won’t do too much harm. Excess of anything is harmful. You can definitely enjoy couple of cold ones on a Friday night and still have a six pack. 

Guys let me know your views in the comments section. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. 

Cheers (with H2O of course).

Follow my fitness journey on IG Amit.fit