Hey Bud, Be Wiser.
So let me start this off by saying I love going to breweries and getting a flight of beers to try. Usually a triple or quadruple are my ways to go. But my current goals and lifestyle do not support any consumption of craft beers, I’m going to give you some tips and guidelines for consuming alcohol while still trying to maximize your health. Please note that if you have high performance goals that border on professional there is no place for alcohol in your diet whatsoever.
What’s In My Drink?
So first it’s important to make sure that your alcohol aligns with nutritional, lifestyle and workout goals. Alcohol is 7 calories per gram - these are empty calories. So remember a calorie is a calorie, but not all are created equally.
Any amount of alcohol is going to have negative effects and that is only multiplied by the magnitude.
It takes about 1 hour for one unit of alcohol to get metabolized fully.
For Example:
1-750ml Bottle of Wine 11% ABV= 8.2 Units = Approx 8 hours
1-750ml Bottle of Wine 14% ABV= 10.5 Units= Approx 10 hours
1-16oz Beer 3.8% ABV=2.2 Units = Approx 2 hours
1-16oz Beer 5.2% ABV= 3 Units = Approx 3 hours
What Happens When I Drink?
Maybe besides becoming less socially awkward? There is a good amount of metabolic strain you are placing on your entire body.
Level of cortisol will increase and lead to a reduction in Muscle Protein Synthesis. Also as we now know elevated cortisol levels can lead to worse sleep. Then with a limited amount of sleep and muscle protein synthesis there will be a drop in skeletal muscle mass.
So let’s play out a scenario here. You have goals of toning up and leaning out but are unable to get those last 10 pounds of fat off so you hire a coach and express these goals to him or her. So the first thing they have you do is take some before pictures. As the weeks go by you are crushing it in the gym and getting daily walks in. You are doing great and deserve a treat you think. So every evening you have glass of wine or two with your dinner. Let’s says its 375ml worth at 11 percent, or if it’s a special occasion and it’s the good stuff that is about 15%.
So you are consuming about 4-5 units of alcohol per evening. With an average of 4 hours a night for your body to clear your bloodstream of alcohol you have elevated cortisol. When the sun went down an hour ago and your cortisol should be on a downward trend it’s as elevated as ever trying to fight off some poison, some tasty tasty poison.
Another few weeks go by and you have reached your 10# weight loss goal, so you go to some progress pictures. Then you see it. You lost ten pounds but it looks like you gained ten pounds of fat right on your belly and you’re not super happy with the end results. This all goes back to that excess cortisol - one of the main reasons why we gain extra belly fat.
So What’s the Plan?
There is this social norm to have a drink to celebrate this or toast to that. Whether that was an example throughout your childhood or how you felt you had to fit in growing up - we see drinking as the “norm” throughout society so it feels weird to go against the grain.
It all comes down to priorities. Yes this is going to come up again and again. Your actions dictate your priorities.
If it is more important for you to have a drink than it is for you to get a good night sleep, you will have that drink. If that’s not you then it’s more about awareness and understanding of what you can manage and cannot manage when it comes to alcohol.
Above all you have an idea of when too much is enough. When you become that guy or that gal, but as it goes strictly for the biology side of it there are a few rules to follow.
Do not drink so much you ruin your sleep quality.
Calculate the units and hours and subtract those from your bedtime to know when to have your last drink.
Do not drink to get drunk. Enjoy for the taste but limit yourself!
Hydrate as you go. Dehydration can be a determinant to recovery and increase the risk for a hangover.
Don’t drink before or after heavy bouts of exercise.
If counting Calories, count alcohol as carbs. You don’t want to limit your intake of fat or protein.
These are just some tips to help. Most important, your goals need to align with your actions but setting a proper expectation. If you want to have a drink or several know you won’t get the best results and you have to be okay with that. Just as if someone enjoys pizza and burgers and is fine that they might not have the six pack they see on instagram.
