Clients are always asking me what affect alcohol has on fat loss or fat gain. Whilst I'm not suggesting that you can't enjoy the occasional alcoholic drink when trying to drop weight, i will point out just a few effects that alcohol has on your body's ability to burn fat.
Effect on Health:
Alcohol is also an immunosuppressant. This means It'll be harder to avoid that cold everyone in your office seems to be catching, which translates into lost training time, lost family time and loss of productivity at work.
Effect on Weight loss:
Alcohol is calorie dense, containing 7 Kcal per gram. So if you're looking to peel off that stubborn layer of fat that covers your midsection, the answer is quite obvious if you're a drinker. You should strongly consider cutting back, or temporarily eliminating consumption altogether.
Trust me; it won't take long to notice the weekly or daily subtraction of hundreds, or potentially, thousands of calories. Beer can range from 60 to 250 calories per serving; one shot of liquor contains up to 200 calories - and when you're tossing that in a sugary fruit juice or soda, you're looking at hundreds more calories per drink.
Effects on sleep:
Studies have shown that rapid eye movement (REM) sleep patterns are disrupted by alcohol consumption. Our muscles, organs and hormones all recover and refuel whilst we are sleeping, as well as this, our bodies burn considerable amounts of fat during this time. Disrupted sleep causes havoc to these vital processes and we miss out on the hard earned benefits from our exercise.
Keep that in mind next time you sit down for a bottle of wine after work.
*Disclaimer: Individual results vary based on agreed goals. Click here for details.
