Some thoughts and discussions from me.
How to Fit Alcohol into a Healthy Lifestyle
Good morning, friends! I’m so very excited about my next online boot camp in October, and even more excited that you are, too! It’s almost full, with only two spots left, so if you haven’t signed up yet, and want to – or want more information – you can visit this page, or shoot me an email at yourtrainerpaige@gmail.com, and we can chat to see if it’d be a good fit for you 🙂
Today I want to talk about something that actually gets a lot of discussion when it comes to my consultations and check-ins with clients: alcohol.
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I’ll be honest: I love a good craft beer in the summer (and in the winter, I love my porters.) I love sauvignon blanc and rose in the summer, and pinot noir and chianti in the winter. I enjoy sipping an alcoholic beverage to relax or to commune and celebrate with friends.
Is it healthy? Well, that’s debatable – even at just one drink.
(this past weekend, sipping on a bloody beer – bloody mary in a beer, essentially – at a local brewery)
Are we able to fit it into a healthy lifestyle? Yes, I feel we are. Of course, I’m not talking about boozing it up every night to the point of inebriation, but I do believe alcohol can be a part of a healthy lifestyle.
But…as always, there’s an “It Depends.” Are you really surprised? Let’s keep going.
Whether or not you can fit alcohol into your own healthy lifestyle is completely dependent on your own personal goals. In fact, when I’m doing consults with clients or boot camp participants, if they drink alcohol, part of our conversation is spent on discussing alcohol consumption.
Are you trying to lose body fat? Are you trying to lose body fat aggressively? Are you in maintenance mode? Are you trying to lose body fat, but not too seriously? These are all important questions to ask to figure out how much of a part alcohol should have in your life.
How to Fit Alcohol into a Healthy Lifestyle – By Goals
Disclaimer: if you have issues with alcohol, please seek health. This post is meant for those who do not have alcoholic tendencies and/or issues with alcohol.
1. Fat Loss: Limit or cut out.
womp, womp.
If you’re serious about your fat loss goals, I typically suggest to cut out or limit your alcohol consumption to once or twice per month, one glass, on special occasions. As my own former nutrition coach, Jen Comas once told me, alcohol and body fat are besties. And the science backs it, as does evidence. Take someone who wants to lose body fat, and who drinks regularly, cut out their alcohol consumption and nothing else, and their body fat percentage almost always decreases.
2. Maintenance: enjoy in moderation
If you don’t necessarily have fat loss goals, but want to keep your body fat where it’s at, enjoy alcohol in moderation.
Moderation is a subjective term, yes, but subjectively to me, moderation means 1-2 per day – and probably not every single day. For myself, and all of my clients who reach the maintenance stage I like to put some practices into place to make this stage as seamless as possible, meaning, we don’t have to count, or pay super close attention to every little thing we put in our mouths. Make smart nutritional choices most of the time, and enjoy your wine or beer in moderation.
3. Fat Loss – but not as aggressive: be choosy with your booze…y (lol)
I have some clients who just enjoy their alcohol and simply aren’t interested in cutting it out. And that’s completely their prerogative, as it’s absolutely none of my business as to where their priorities lie. I simply help get them to where they want to be based on those priorities.
That said, it’s important to put some practices into place to make sure they are still seeing results, albeit likely a bit slower results than if they cut out or limited alcohol.
The first is to be choosy. If you’re going to enjoy alcohol at a party, maybe try and steer clear of all of the cakes/cookies/brownies etc. or the appetizers/snacks that don’t necessarily support your goals. Additionally, if there’s an event, and you know having a drink with your friends will enhance the experience, choose that night to imbibe, rather than a night at home, alone on the couch that likely wouldn’t enrich the experience as much.
The second, is to pay attention as to what you’re eating with the alcohol. As such as the way alcohol is metabolized, it helps to only eat protein and fat while drinking, and maybe pass on the starchier options. When we drink alcohol, our body metabolizes that first, and as alcohol is an entirely different macronutrient in itself, reducing carbohydrate intake while consuming alcohol will lessen the metabolic ‘hit’ on the system.
4. Muscular gain and training stimulus response: Alcohol can inhibit ‘dem gainz’
Alcohol consumption after training can interfere with how the body responds to training – and that includes both recovery and repair. This study says that drinking alcohol within 8 hours of a training session can impair protein synthesis. This disruption in protein synthesis is especially impaired when you also haven’t consumed adequate protein after your workout.
Alcohol consumption – especially when in excess – can also lead to dehydration, which isn’t good for the body, whether training or not.
All of that said, it’s most important to think about your own goals, your own actions, and own happiness and health when making any choice in your journey to your health and fitness goals, whether that be fat loss, maintenance, muscle gain, performance, or any other goal that you might set.
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Do you drink alcohol?? How much do you typically drink a week?
I definitely enjoy my wine or a night out with friends but I totally agree with you that it’s all about moderation! And, great info this this post!…I never thought about alcohol disrupting protein synthesis!
Kelly @ Laughter, Strength, and Food recently posted…Thursday Thoughts
This is great information! I am not sure any one else is addressing the reasons why alcohol can impede progress that I have read. Other than simply saying – limit alcohol intake. I really learned a lot, especially limiting carbs while drinking. Who knew??
I don’t drink very often. I prefer my indulgences covered in icing 😉
Thanks, Kaelin! Glad you found it helpful! 🙂
Great post! I have a glass of wine about 3-4 nights per week. I rarely have any liquor, even though I do love a good margarita. I love breweries and craft beer, but that has only been on occasion recently.
Sara @ Oats & Rows recently posted…Hesitant when pressing ‘Publish’ (+ Thursday Thoughts)
Thanks Paige! I love how you break this out by goal, because it’s super true! After your help within the RESOLVE program, I proceeded to do P90X3 with additional metabolic conditioning, with alcohol in moderation and lost 3% body fat in 7 months. Slow and steady!
Aw, YAY! That’s awesome, girl! I was just thinking about you the other day. Glad to hear you’re doing well – and you got it, slow and steady does win the race!
I really enjoyed this article, thanks for all the great info!
Yes! Too much of everything will never be good, and this goes with the wine as well. It can be helpful for our body and system, but we need to moderate it.