In moderation, alcohol won’t screw up your progress towards your fitness goals. However, it may be a good idea to keep it’s effects in mind next time you hit up the bar cart with those you are quarantining with!
In moderation, having a drink every once in a while is NOT going to ruin your training. Just don’t go out every night (have MULTIPLE drinks) and still expect to make a ton of progress in the gym or on the roads!
EMPTY CALORIES
If fat loss (maintaining a calorie deficit) is your goal, remember that alcohol IS NOT calorie free! At 7 cal/gram, it’s more calorically dense than carbs or protein without the nutritional benefits. (For reference: 1.5 ounces of distilled liquor, 12 ounces of beer and a 5-ounce glass of wine all contain 150 calories)
DRUNCHIES
Unsurprisingly, alcohol may decrease satiety and cause you to lose eating restraint. Passively overeating can cause you to consume more calories than you originally mean to and lead to a lil weight gain.
INCREASE CORTISOL
Drinking alcohol causes your body to increase cortisol production for up to 24 hours. This isn’t great because cortisol tells the cells that they should go get their energy from liver protein, not blood glucose. At the end of the night, the extra glucose (that normally would have fueled your tomfoolery but can’t when alcohol is involved) gets stored away as FAT. Yay.
DECREASE PROTEIN SYNTHESIS
Tragic I know. But it’s true. Alcohol puts your body into a catabolic state in which it’s breaking down more things than it’s building. Because alcohol dehydrates you and disrupts normal functions, your body can’t heal as easily after a workout. The worst part is, protein metabolism/synthesis can occur up to 48 HOURS after a workout so if you drink alcohol at any point before that, training gainz could be affected.