Alcohol vs Fat loss goals

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Do you want to be more toned to feel more confident and happier (summarised as content, appreciative & feeling positive) or do you want temporary confidence and perceived temporary happiness.

Before you get in your feelings this isn't time to break out the "you should stop drinking" violin

That's a hard battle and to be honest I think all things serve their place and time in your life. So guilt tripping and shaming does nothing to help.

This article purely provides useful information to help you decide that, f**k alcohol... I mean whilst dieting temporarily prioritising your fat loss goal over your alcohol loyalties and beliefs may be more favourable 😊 and help you to achieve those results faster and easier!

The alcohol affect

So let's get started, here's the list:

1 It's a poor energy source, Alcohol is 7kcal per ml but offers no nutritional value of any kind and is likely to dehydrate you and your cells

What does this mean to you, well if you are trying to lose body fat, YOU MUST EAT IN A CALORIE DEFICIT, and if alcohol doesn't make you fuller help you perform better then it's stealing the spotlight from actual food

2 Alcohol is burned first as a fuel source before anything else. Any excess carbs and fats consumed, don't get burned and are then stored as additional body fat

This means any energy from food can not be used whilst alcohol is in the system. So all calories above what's needed has a higher chance of being stored as additional body fat

3 Food judgement calls, Alcohol reduces your inhibition and chances of sticking to a diet becomes a lot less likely

Do I even need to explain.... food around alcohol is either for indulgence or believed to help soak up the alcohol when you've really knocked them back

4 negatively impacting sex hormones especially testosterone in men

So why is this important, low testosterone in men and women can be the beginning of a cascade of health problems.

5 Negatively affects digestion and nutrient uptake

Alcohol is an inhibitor which is why we do more and sometimes tolerate more stupid things from others. But not only does it inhibit the ability to know our limits it also prevents the body from digesting food correctly as alcohol causes stress on digestive organs. This then means the body can not metabolise (create and sustain energy) as it should and leads to poor weight management.

So what do you do

"Okay so thanks for that Jer, now what"

So realistically giving up alcohol for many is not realistic nor may it even be worth it for some. So how do you navigate around alcohol consumption.

Couple things, so when aiming to drop body fat perhaps park alcohol to the side to help speed up the fat loss process. But if you struggle to do that when dieting then don't diet 🤷🏿‍♂️

or

Stick to drinks that may not have such a negative affect on dieting, such as low calorie alcohol options and low calorie mixers. Split your drinks up try to enjoy them for what they are and aim to rid alcohol from your body as soon as possible by recovering and repairing from drinking it

• Sleep more

• Drink plenty of water when possible

• Consume more proteins rather than fats and carbs around day/s of consumption

• Restore electrolytes to help hydrate

• Move more with non taxing Movement to better stimulate blood flow

Final note

You got to do what you got to do, so as I said in the beginning I'm not the one to tell to stop drinking forever. But it is helpful to bring attention to why you drink, like the real why?

Secondly just being aware of why you drink in the first place can be eye opening and lead to further personal growth.

But if you still are keen to drink, then I won't stop you in fact, I'll do the opposite because at the end of the day we are all trying to enjoy ourselves in line with our own values and beliefs.

So as your coach I say, if you are dieting to acces that next level you, find new ways to enjoy your alcohol that won't slow down your progress or bring it to a hault.

Use the tips above and do what you can when you feel you can.

What help making this balance, www.jdfitco.com/bookonline