Want to put a TON of work in the gym and NEVER get results? Have you tried drinking?
I anticipate this being my least popular article ever lol! Drinking undermines results. I’m sorry. This bourbon enthusiast wishes it weren’t true, but it is. I am not here to nag. You can still enjoy a nice drink sometimes while still moving towards your health and fitness goals but to do so requires that we not kid ourselves.
I am going to give you several ways that moderate drinking undermines your results and some practical recommendations to cut back without feeling like you are missing out.
First, a couple basic concepts about fitness that are important to understand: workouts don’t make us better. The RECOVERY from workouts is what makes us better. That is when the body makes the adaptations we want to see. Second, building and maintaining muscle are keys even when the primary goal is weight/fat loss.
Okay, 5 ways Alcohol undermines your results:
1. Alcohol messes with your sleep. No it doesn’t help you sleep! It *might* help you fall asleep but it “fragments your sleep, littering your night with brief awakenings” according to Dr. Matthew Walker, Author of Why We Sleep. Even one drink with dinner is all you need to seriously effect your sleep. Sleep is crucial to that RECOVERY I mentioned. Without it, it is very difficult to lose weight.
2. You are drinking empty calories. Yup, alcohol itself contains a ton of empty calories and cocktails often use sugary ingredients to mask the taste of the liquor. “But Alec, wine has polyphenols and flavonoids”. Correct but first, you don’t know what those are or what they do for you. You just read that in some click bait article trying to justify drinking lol! I know “red wine is healthy” is what we all want to hear. Buzzkill time: ALL of the healthy compounds in red wine can be found in…grapes. Eat plenty of fruits and veggies and you’ll get all of the benefit of a glass of red wine without any downside.
3. It impedes muscle building. Alcohol disrupts the secretion of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) after a workout. Increasing your muscle helps you look tone, get stronger, and increases your metabolism. I go over this concept in more detail HERE.
4. It dehydrates you. Want to make sure you feel super sluggish during your workout? Being dehydrated from your drink(s) the night before is a great way to do it. You won’t be able to push yourself during your workout. You might even feel crummy enough that you just skip it all together. The dehydration and melancholy (fun word) experienced after alcohol consumption (often known as a hangover) makes us all very vulnerable to catching a case of the F*K Its and then we skip our workout all together.
5. It makes you crave more CRAP! Between the extra sugary calories, the dehydration, and the sleep disruption, you are going to have BAD cravings when you are regularly drinking. Your nutrition is going to take a hit directly from the drinks themselves and indirectly from the other garbage you end up consuming as a result of those cravings.
Okay so what the heck do we do? I enjoy a nice drink. Sometimes I enjoy more than one. Here are some practical limitations I have put in place from time to time:
- Eliminate midweek drinking. I think this is the most practical rule for anyone who is serious about their health and fitness. You rarely have some occasion that was made dramatically better by adding alcohol during the week. I know a drink with dinner is nice. Skip it until the weekend.
- You are only allowed to drink one night per week. I follow this rule during periods of time when I want to be even a little bit stricter. The last time was leading up to a Spartan Race. This rule is stricter than the first in that it only gives you one night instead of two. It is more flexible in that you can choose whatever night you want. You can drink a lot on that night or a little but you get ONE night per week. I like the simplicity. When I am tempted to add a nice beer with my wings at the Goat on Wednesdays, I remember that it will mean I can’t have anything all weekend.
- 3 Drink limit. This rule could be used in addition to either of the first two.
- Drink 1 water between each drink. LOVE this rule when I follow it. It cuts your bar tab in half. It mitigates the dehydration. It also helps you “practice” not drinking. If you implement rule 1 or 2, you are going to have social occasions where you aren’t drinking. It is easy to feel awkward in those situations but it is also easy to NOT feel awkward. Once you establish a new normal, it feels totally natural. Alternate drinks with waters and you are halfway there!
- Sober October/January. I’ll be honest I don’t do as well with the all in, cold turkey for a period of time type of cut backs but I have enough friends who have that I have to bring it up. Set a period of time. NO ALCOHOL is the rule and NO COMPROMISE is your policy. I love it!
“But Alec, I really like to drink!” Me too friend. I also like to sleep well and be in shape. I like doing both so I reign in the drinking just enough to have my cake and eat it too.
“But Alec, meeting friends out for drinks is a big part of my social time”. Me too friend. Meet them out and have a soda water with lime. I don’t have a single friend that isn’t happy to see me even if I am not going to join them in a drink. I have some friends who drink a fair amount between Marine Corps friends and the wild rugby players I know. They all support anyone who is cutting back. Its good stuff.
“But Alec, I’m not an alcoholic. I drink moderately. I don’t have a problem. Why should I cut back?” Even moderate drinking that is well under control in terms of regular life is enough to mess with your results, especially if you have weight to lose. You can “I only have one drink with dinner” your way to zero results despite tons of hard work.
“But Alec, during the summer I have lots of friends visiting in town and its really hard to cut back”. I totally get this. I live on a houseboat lol! Its FUN to have people over and enjoy a few drinks while we BBQ and watch the sun set. Summer is typically a “maintain” period for me. It’s okay to be strategic about when you are going to relax and have a little more fun vs when you are really going to buckle down. Just make sure you don’t move backwards. Maintain.
“But Alec, I don’t think I have the willpower to do any of this stuff to dial back and I feel a little out of control.” It might be time to get help and I hope you do. You can check out “Quit Drinking without Willpower” by Allen Carr or go check out an AA meeting. I went to an AA meeting to celebrate a friend’s 1 year anniversary of sobriety. Everyone was incredibly friendly and positive. It was cool!
I hope this all helps! Cheers! (with a soda water with lime)
