“My buddy Dan drinks beer most nights & he’s shredded”
“My friend Karen drinks a glass of wine a night & she’s got a 6 pack!”
Sure- you can drink alcohol & get results. You can also be genetically blessed, drink alcohol, eat pizza, & lose weight.
Let me start by saying that I love alcohol. I am a Kentucky bourbon girl. I love sweet wine & I do enjoy beer. I bartended for a long time & enjoy making craft cocktails. Something about cracking a can on a summer day, or drinking bourbon neat on a winter night just soothes the soul.
However, it’s important to have realistic expectations when it comes to fat loss & how far you can actually get with drinking alcohol.
So first of all, what does alcohol actually do?
Alcohol shrinks and disrupts the brain tissue, throwing neurotransmitters off course, so you feel sleepy and function in slow motion.
A simple night of heavy drinking can disrupt your immune system, decreasing the ability of white blood cells to handle harmful bacteria.
Alcohol is DOES supply the body with ATP (energy) at 7 calories/gram. But this is not to be confused with an actual nutrient.
Swipe to see exactly how you SHOULD be accounting for your drinks.
Sure, you can be a math wizard and plug alcohol into “your macros”- but THIS SHOULD ONLY BE DONE ON RARE OCCASIONS.
You SHOULD NOT be plugging alcohol into your macros every single night.
The body works extremely hard to get rid of alcohol in order to prevent it from accumulating & destroying cells and organs.
The liver will SELECTIVELY metabolize alcohol first meaning:
Your body STOPS muscle protein synthesis.
Your body STOPS oxidizing fat.
We build and repair our muscles through recovery- not during the workout.
So let’s say you have a killer lifting session. Then later, you celebrate by drinking with your friends. Having several drinks significantly impairs your body’s ability to recover and synthesize more muscle tissue.
If you’re struggling to see results, get real honest with yourself about how much you’re drinking. I’m not saying give up your wine!
But you just need to be realistic with how much you want your body to change, recover, & grow.