Alcohol and Fat Loss

Alcohol And Fat Loss!

Alcohol ~ it serves many roles.
It is a common staple during the holidays!

Regardless of your reasons for drinking, you need to be aware of the bottom line fact that alcohol may interfere with your fat loss goals.

So How Much IS okay?

Check this out…

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Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005
Those who choose to drink alcoholic beverages should do so sensibly and in moderation-defined as the consumption of up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.
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Here’s the whole “In Moderation” approach again!

So every day is considered moderation?

Now these guidelines were not written with fat loss goals in mind – just general weight loss. Also suggested “health benefits” aside – when Fat Loss is your goal – drinking alcohol on a daily basis will make the path to results quite difficult.

Why alcohol calories are more important than you think:

1.“One to two” drinks a day can really add up.

And I do say “one to two” in quotes, for if we struggle with the honesty of proper portion sizes with the foods we eat this most certainly carries over to the beverages we consume – alcoholic or not.

Successful fat loss begins with burning slightly more calories than you take in.

Part of the Fit Yummy Mummy supportive nutrition plan covers the fact that you may decide to choose one to two low-calorie alcoholic drinks…and in doing so, you’ll have to account for the calories.

Take this example:
Drinking 2 (12 ounce) beers will supply an extra

~300 calories a day.
~ 2100 extra calories a week.
~ Multiply that out for a year and you have 109,200 extra calories!

That’s potentially 31.2 pounds of fat in a year. YIKES!

Well what if you DO account for those calories – making nutritional and exercise choices that allow for this additional calorie intake so it does not ADD up like this?

You are STILL not in the clear….

2. Alcohol calories are still EMPTY calories.

Alcohol has virtually no nutritional value – and some negative value in more ways than one. Choosing alcoholic drinks means you are pushing out important vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, fiber and other essential nutrients.

3. Alcohol is processed in your body much differently than the other calories you consume.

We all know the infamous term “beer belly”.

Our initial belief is that it is caused by excess alcohol calories being stored as fat.
But get this…. less than 5% of the alcohol calories you drink are turned into fat.

Rather, the main effect of alcohol is that it reduces the amount of fat your body burns for energy.

Alcohol Inhibits Fat Burning!

When alcohol is consumed it is quickly absorbed into the blood and heads straight for the liver. In the liver alcohol is converted to acetaldehyde which in turn is quickly converted to acetate.

To a certain extent, the source of fuel your body uses is dictated by its availability. Your body tends to use whatever you feed it. Instead of getting stored as fat, alcohol is converted into acetate and the blood levels of acetate after drinking are 2.5 times higher than normal. Consequently, when acetate levels rise, your body simply burns more acetate, and less fat.

Alcohol puts a barrier between you and your fat loss goals.

Your body will burn the acetate you are creating first and foremost, placing fat burning on hold.

4. Alcohol Hinders Muscle Growth

You all know Muscle is your Metabolism.
Well consumption of alcohol places your body in a dehydrated state.
Hydration of muscle cells is important when trying to increase your lean muscle. Water is also a very important part of many bodily processes. Being dehydrated can seriously hinder your overall performance.

5. Alcohol Induced Cravings

Evidence suggests drinking alcoholic beverages may stimulate your appetite and cause you to eat more than you normally would. It decreases your inhibitions so you care less about how much you are eating.

Alcohol Facts that May Surprise You

• Alcohol is not a carbohydrate.

• Hard liquor is distilled and thus contains no carbohydrates.
The current “Zero Carb” campaign for vodka and whiskey is deceiving and may encourage mindless consumption.

• When grapes are made into wine, most of the fruit sugars (carbs) convert to alcohol, but a few carbs remain.
A 5-ounce glass of wine typically contains 110 calories, 5 grams of carbohydrates, and about 13 grams of alcohol (which accounts for 91 of the calories). A 5-ounce glass of wine supplies roughly the same amount of alcohol and number of calories as a 12-ounce light beer or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits.

• Beer contains carbohydrates.
The new low-carb beers are not new at all, though this type of beer does indeed have fewer carbs. Low-carb beers are simply the old light beers with a new label and ad campaign. The old Miller Lite has 96 calories and 3.2 grams of carbs in 12 ounces. The “low-carb” Michelob Ultra has 96 calories and 2.6 grams of carbs. Coors Lite has 102 calories and 5 grams of carbs. The differences are tiny—hardly worth mentioning. In contrast, a regular beer has 13 grams of carbs and more calories – 150 calories.

Calorie content of popular alcoholic drinks….

Beer (12 oz.)
Michelob Ultra: 96 calories
Miller Light: 96
Coors Light: 102
Bud Light: 110
Sam Adams: 160

Wine (4 oz.)
Red: 70
White: 65
Rose: 65

Liquor (1.5 oz)
Rum: 125 (100 proof0
Gin: 125
Vodka: 125 (100 proof)
Tequila: 115
Whiskey: 125 (100 proof)

Mixers
Long Island Iced Tea: 780 calories
Margarita: 740 calories
Pina Colada: 644 calories
White Russian: 425 calories
Sex on the Beach: 356 calories
Mai Tai: 350 calories
Lemon Drop: 223 calories
Smirnoff Ice: 230
Jack Daniel’s Hard Cola: 230
Mike’s Hard Lemonade: 225

The purpose of this post is not to tell you that you can never enjoy an alcoholic beverage again.

I know I sure enjoy an ice cold Sam Adams, or 2 or 3.

Since I began my Fit Yummy Mummy lifestyle – about 4 1/2 years ago – I do not “need” as many, just a couple Sams can be super satisfying. Plus, the taste of each beer is so rich and hearty, so when I say I enjoy it – I truly do. I savor each sip.

And Have fun in the process…

This post was designed for those who have inquired about alcohol and fat loss. If this is you, do allot the time to take inventory to see how much you are drinking and how this may be affecting your results.

I believe it is super important to learn how to enjoy alcohol (or any other type of “unsupportive” food or drink) in moderation – which does NOT mean Every Day – so you don’t end up sabotaging your efforts for results.

Over the years I have come to respect alcohol and now recognize that it is not something I “NEED” but something to be enjoyed on occasion.

Final piece of advice – After the holidays….go through a trial of no alcohol for a certain period of time or plan out and choose to have only 1-2 drinks a week for 4-6 weeks to see if it helps with your fat loss efforts. Give it a go and be sure to share your results!

 

PS: Just a reminder that Todd’s “How to Get Six Pack Abs” program takes you through a step by step process to detox your body after drinking and STILL be able to Burn Fat. This guy knows his stuff!

Check it out => How to Get Six Pack Abs

Friday is the last day to get his mega Holiday Specials!

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