An Eye-Opening Article On The REAL Science Of Summer Alcohol Intake And Fat Loss
The subject and information in this article may seem negative or depressing at first, but it’s very appropriate for this time of year.
Plus, we’ve been bombarded with questions regarding the subject of alcohol and fat loss, so we wanted to take the time to answer all these questions.
There’s actually a very positive, long-term take-away at the end of this article, so take this information seriously because it can really make the difference.
We actually give you a list of action steps that you can proactively start taking today. Whether you’re a beer lover or just a social drinker, these action steps will help you on your fitness journey.
Ok, time for the negative and depressing stuff first.
Aside from the fact that alcohol decreases reaction time, slows muscle contraction, digestion and thinking, people perceive it to be a stimulant.
That’s probably because it knocks down your inhibitions and makes you act like an idiot. Even though we do like to drink occasionally, our opinion is there’s very little to be said for the positive “benefits” of alcohol.
Although many of us have our “moments” where we celebrate a little too much, lets look at what it does to you nutritionally.
Alcohol is a carbohydrate, or a simple sugar, void of any vitamins or minerals. Since it is a carbohydrate, one ounce of alcohol provides 70 calories. The problem arises because these calories don’t have any vitamins or minerals so the alcoholic finds his hunger satisfied without ever getting proper nourishment, leading to serious deficiencies.
One gram of alcohol yields approximately 7 calories, almost twice as much as protein and carbs. From a health standpoint, these calories are empty and useless.
Alcohol is such a simple sugar that it actually enters the bloodstream through the walls of the stomach as opposed to most nutrients, which are absorbed in the small intestine.
This quick absorption explains why you may feel the effects of alcohol shortly after having just one or two shots.
It also goes directly to work on the central nervous system and starts to damage valuable brain cells.So far alcohol consumption doesn’t seem like the greatest idea in the world, does it?
But wait! There’s still more. Alcohol damages these brain cells by withdrawing water that is essential for cellular health. Next, it moves on to other cells in your body, which leads to dehydration. That’s the primary reason you’ll get the famous “hang-over-headache”.
We’ve already educated you on how simple sugars impact insulin and fat mobilization.
Alcohol is the equivalent of the most notorious simple sugar, carrying with it all of these other dastardly effects. It requires no digestion. It is a form of fuel, but in this case, that’s not necessarily a good thing.
Your cells uptake it because it is so simple, your body will use it for fuel before using other carbs, proteins, or ingested fats. It is considered “nutrient sparing.” Since it becomes the quickest available food source, it spares all other nutrients that follow it.
When calories are prevented from being used as food, what do they likely become?
You know the answer by now. Accumulated body fat stores!
If you’re trying to reduce body fat, you should also know that alcohol is very rapidly synthesized into triglycerides and stored as fat. It is also an appetite inducer! If anyone you know has ever gotten drunk (l would presume you might even have ), the first thing they wanted to do when the excitement slowed was EAT!
So is alcohol really a stimulant? By now you should see that it isn’t, and in addition to all the effects listed above, it does a number on your motivation and sense of well-being. Of course, this is what we call the famous “hangover”.
Can you really drink alcohol and still stay lean?
In the final analysis, this topic seems to be a common struggle we hear from a lot of people…they want to get lean and stay lean, but they don’t want to give up drinking alcohol.
Will a few beers during the football game destroy your fitness program? Probably not. It comes down to a matter of commitment. If you are totally committed to health and fitness, you will probably minimize your alcohol intake.
You’ve heard rumors of the positive cardiovascular effects a daily glass of wine might have because of the antioxidants. Just remember, you can get these antioxidants in many supplements and even from whole food sources without getting all the sugar from the red wine.
We love a glass of red wine with a lean piece of steak just as much as anybody else, but it’s just advertising and marketing hype that makes people think red wine should be part of a fat loss plan.
If you enjoy an occasional drink or two, that’s fine. Just be aware of the whole picture when alcohol enters your system.
First, we believe the best thing anyone can do is live alcohol free until you reach your initial goals or a maintenance type of schedule and then add alcohol back in 1 or 2 times per week in moderation. A LOT easier said than done, especially during the summer.
The second best option is to limit alcohol intake to once a week after the first 4 weeks of beginning any serious fat loss lifestyle.
We believe most of us can drink in moderation, and still stay perfectly healthy and lean after some initial sacrifice to get to our goals, but there are a few tricks that can help you not pack on the pounds.
Your Alcohol Intake Damage Control Plan
Get plenty of water to prevent the dehydration.
If you decide to drink beer after working up a sweat, I suggest killing your thirst with a few large glasses of water first. Or if you pull a late-nighter, make sure you have damage control in place by drinking extra water before bed and having a water bottle by your nightstand.
If you know you’re going to consume more alcohol than you’re supposed to, it helps to make sure that dinner is based only around protein and vegetables.
Eating a good portion of appetite-satisfying protein along with nutrient-rich vegetables can help to control your appetite and give your body the nutrients it needs.
Just like we explained above, too many carbs + alcohol intake = “fat-spill-over”.
Make sure you stay away from syrupy, fruity drinks that are loaded with sugar.
This has a two fold negative effect for your belly and butt fat. You’re not only getting all of the empty alcohol calories, but also loads of empty sugar calories. These drinks can have as much as 500-600 calories per serving!
The best thing to do is stick with a clear alcohol mixed with water or club soda. Vodka with fresh squeezed grapefruit or lemon juice is my favorite, but I make sure I add water too. Another option is vodka with club soda and extra lemon/lime. This is easier if you’re at a restaurant, bar, or nightclub.
Also, most people don’t realize that tonic water is loaded with just as much sugar as soda pop. Stick with club soda because it contains zero calories.
If you’re a beer drinker, you’re better off choosing just 1 or 2 dark beers rather than 5 or 6 light beers. Although dark beers have more calories than light beers, they also have more B vitamins and antioxidants than light beers, so you actually get more nutrition from the dark beer.
As long as you keep it to just 1 or 2 dark beers you’ll be ok, but if you go beyond that you should start counting calories and go with a low-calorie light beer option instead.
Try to get in a high intensity, full body workout or some type of GL-12 or HIIT before your night out of drinking or socializing.
This is always a great way get your metabolic rate cranking for some extra damage control.
Also make sure to get in some long duration cardio the morning after your night out along with extra water intake. Your energy will probably stink, that’s why you should stick with lower intensity and focus on sweating and rehydrating.
Avoid late night fast food or junk food after drinking.
This will sabotage your fat loss efforts big-time! The worst thing for your body is loading up on burger, fries, pizza, ice cream, or other junk foods after consuming alcohol.
The best method is to plan ahead. Make sure you have an alternative healthy option planned ahead of time so when you get home you can heat it up and satisfy your late-night cravings.
There’s also been plenty of times late at night when we will prepare a whey protein shake with natural peanut butter to help “fill us up” because we didn’t have any other food planned ahead. It’s not the ideal situation, but it’s better than eating junk.
Alcohol is very good at depleting your body of the vitamins and minerals we need to be healthy and feel normal, so it’s important to replenish these key compounds to help us recover.
Although ridding alcohol intake from our lives is definitely the BEST option, we also have to be realistic. Most people are going to consume some type of alcohol at least socially. If that’s you, why not do it the healthiest way possible and keep yourself on track by using the steps above?This is also a great way to possibly prevent a “hang-over”.
What’s your favorite summer party drink? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Your fat burning friends,
Shaun and Karen
P.S. Here are the secret ingredients we both use to replenish key nutrients and cure our hangovers. Click here to check it out.
We regret every time we run out of this stuff and drink a little too much.
The Hidden Secrets To Controlling Your Attitude, Emotion, Fat Loss, and P.L.O.M. Disease…
OK, since this is my first post, I really want to inspire you with this life-lesson about fat loss. Plus, this technique will automatically help you improve every area of your life.
As someone who has battled cancer and won, had my ovaries fried, AND been zapped into menopause, I think I know a thing or two about struggling with weight gain and self-esteem.
That’s why I wanted this article to be about something that is near and dear to my heart: attitude, emotion and fat loss.
And since I turned 50 years old this year, I’ve realized that my attitude at this age is EVERYTHING.
Even though my hubby always makes me feel like I’m beautiful, I still struggle everyday with my own personal insecurities about my body and my weight.
I’ve learned some very valuable life (and fat loss) lessons over the last 30 years, and I wanted to share something that’s really helped me overcome those “bad days” since passing the 40 mark well over 10 years ago.
We call it P.L.O.M. disease. And if you’re not careful it will sneak up on you like a mosquito and bite you – right where it hurts. What does it stand for?
Poor Little Ole’ Me!
I come across people everyday who struggle with P.L.O.M. disease and sometimes it creeps in my head and gets the best of me. I’m sure you can think of several people in your life that suffer from this disease on a daily basis.
Every time you ask them how they’re doing you get the “Poor Little Ole’ Me” response.
Maybe you’re a lot like me and it gets you sometimes too!
If so, there IS something that you can do about it.
Here’s the secret of controlling our attitude, emotions and reactions to other negative people: AWARENESS.
I know it’s much easier said than done, but just by increasing your awareness you can overcome the negativity that creates a bad attitude and kick P.L.O.M. disease to the curb once and for all.
Most of the time it’s other people in our life that are negative and we allow them to puke on us with their problems, which indirectly creates negativity and a bad attitude in our own lives.
As my husband always says: “There are a few negative people in this world…and they move around a LOT!”
So true! Don’t let their negativity poison you. I’ve been guilty of this over and over again, but because I’m consciously aware of it…I have learned to ignore certain things that drag me down.
Whether it’s negative people at work, home, or even things like CNN (we call it Constant Negative News), don’t allow them to bring you down.
Typically when people tell you that they’re feeling FINE, what they’re really saying is that they’re…
Feeling Insecure Neurotic and Emotional
(Joking of course, but hopefully you get the point).
Remember, attitude is a choice. A cheerful heart and attitude are like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.
One of the things I learned from a mentor a long time ago, was to wake up everyday, look in the mirror and say:
“I’m a great person inside and out.”
This leads me to my “take home” message:
ALWAYS be aware of maintaining a P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude) for your best body…and your best life! This will help you avoid the P.L.O.M. disease.
You’ll probably always have those bad days (just like me), but if you know the root of the problem at least you can try to put your thoughts back into a healthier spot. This will help get you back on track.
Sometimes we can’t control our bodies (especially us women ) and sometimes we can’t even control what happens to us. All we CAN control is HOW we react to it.
I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me over the last several years.
If you like this article here’s what I need you to help me with.
Leave a comment in comments section…
Hit the Facebook like button below so we can help other people avoid the P.L.O.M. disease…
My husband said if I get 25 comments on the blog he would let me keep posting, so I need your help!
Your fat burning friend,
Karen
P.S. I’ll be back Friday with more inspiration AND an eye-opening article about artificial sweeteners. Talk to you then.
Watch the short fat burning presentation above and learn exactly why 95% of the population gains ALL or more of their weight back within one year of losing it.
In fact, this is my wife Karen’s number one anti-aging exercise secret.
For some reason, this tried and true technique if one of the most neglected fat burning strategies on the planet.
Ironically, it’s also the most powerful type of exercise if you really want to exude confidence and live life with a lean, sculpted body.
It’s another simple secret of your fat burning journey.
Helping you stay lean and healthy,
Shaun and Karen
Well, another new year has come and gone and, with it, we all likely made – and broke – more than a few resolutions on the way to spring. One of those resolutions, probably the most popular one, in fact, was to “go on a diet.” If you’ve already broken your resolution to go on a diet this year, you’re not alone.
At any given time, according to the Calorie Control Council, 33 percent of Americans – some 71 million people – are on a diet. According to the Institute of Medicine, they spend more than $40 billion a year on weight reduction products. Yet, nine out of ten people who lose weight by dieting gain it all back within a year.
Why are so many people failing on their diets? Most people fail to lose weight in this fast-paced, confusing climate of “over information” because so many programs offered today are impractical, costly and too difficult to sustain.
Did you know that 66 % of American adults are considered “overweight?” This trend grows steadily every year because conventional dieting methods simply don’t work. In fact, rather than losing weight, the average American continues to gain 1 to 2 pounds a year according to the American Heart Association.
Books, diets, talk show health gurus, websites, infomercials – clearly, there is no lack of diet and weight loss information out there for you to choose from. But which is the best choice for you? And, when you make it, will your diet book of choice contain all the parts of the code that can last a lifetime?
Of course, there will always be the gold standard for diet books, titles like Atkins, South Beach, Sugar Busters and Body for Life. These perennial bestsellers have managed to capture the public’s attention – and stayed there – thanks in large part to the fact that each contains some piece of the Fat Loss puzzle. As such they often work to create Fat Loss in the short-term, but how long do they last? Chances are – not very long.
This year I want you to take a resolution “do over.” That’s right; no matter where you live or what month it is or what season of the year we’re in, it’s never too late to resolve to stop dieting forever. That’s right; the author of a new health book just told you to stop dieting.
Why? The reason is simple: diets don’t work. They are short-term fixes to long-term problems. After all, you didn’t gain the weight overnight, why should we think we can get rid of it that quickly. Instead of resolving to diet this year, resolve to live; live a healthy, hopeful, happy life that isn’t restricted by calories, carbs or crash diets.
Pledge to lose the fat realistically and practically, and give yourself the time to take it off – and keep it off – effectively. Forget “crashing,” “dropping” this or expecting “instant” that; lasting, permanent change takes time. I always say that we shouldn’t expect to cash in on last year’s resolution until next year, so give yourself the gift of 365 days to achieve your goal.
After all, aren’t you worth it?
Wendy Chant
Co-creator of Get Lean In 12
Author of the bestselling book Crack the Fat Loss Code (McGraw-Hill, 2008) and
Conquer the Fat Loss Code (McGraw-Hill, 2009).
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), the first thing they wanted to do when the excitement slowed was EAT!
) and sometimes we can’t even control what happens to us. All we CAN control is HOW we react to it.
