England Coaching

Tips on Drinking Alcohol and Maintaining Fitness Results

Screen Shot 2016-04-06 at 3.15.56 PM

I was working with a client this past Monday night and we were discussing a particular topic of drinking alcohol.

I generally do not condone the idea of drinking alcohol as it really does not promoted the ideal results of those whom I work with. I do understand that you are sometimes put into a position where you’re going out with family or friends and it is a social event consisting of drinking alcohol.

One question that came up is how you can minimize the negative affects of alcohol while optimizing recovery.

Here’s a short read on what you should do when before, during, and after you go out drinking!

I’d like to say sticking within guidelines of monitoring your alcohol intake is a fantastic idea. I definitely promote limiting the amount of alcohol you intake. According to Mayo-clinic they suggest you intake just one alcoholic drink a day. This can be broken down to 12 oz of beer or 5 oz of wine. Realistically most individuals in our society does not limit themselves to this and will persist to drink multiple drinks in one sitting.

Drinking 1 gram of alcohol roughly transitions into 7 kilo-calories which can add up quickly. Screen Shot 2016-04-06 at 3.19.37 PM

If you know you are going to be going on a night out and plan on drinking, there are some pretty simple rules that you can follow to minimize the damage done to your health and physique goals.

Aim to get your protein requirements in earlier in the day, as you are traditionally less likely to be eating protein while you drink.
Eat lower carb that day, as this will create a bit of a calorie buffer for later on.
Eat lots of vegetable, as these are a great source of vitamins and minerals, which are depleted as you process alcohol through your system.
Try not consume fatty foods around the time you are drinking, due to the way alcohol is processes these are more quickly deposited in fat stores.
Limit the your weekly alcohol exposures. Drinking excessive alcohol multiple times a week is not a good idea if health and/or physique improvements are your goal.

Maintaining hydration is important. Alcohol causes your body to lose more water than you take in. A simple method to remedy this, is to drink water when you come home from drinking, and continue to hydrate yourself the morning after. Ideally, some sort of electrolytes would be used in conjunction. Add some fruits to your water and/or try coconut water. This also can limit the affects of obtaining a hangover. Screen Shot 2016-04-06 at 3.21.27 PM

Eat before you drink is a great idea, refraining from eating is a bad idea as you’ll then indulge on alcohol (simple sugars) and then indulge on high caloric high fat foods which are transferred within your body the easiest way possible, convert it to store energy (fat). Eating before you go out drinking may allow you to make a smarter decision on what you consume and reduce the unnecessary amount of calories taken in. You’ll also save yourself some money depending what you choose to eat.

What should I eat before I go out? Great question!

consider high protein high fiber foods that provide long lasting energy. They will help stabilize your blood sugar without negatively affecting your metabolism. Some choice ideas consist of: Greek yogurt with berries, almond or hemp butter with an apple, or a protein shake.

Screen Shot 2016-01-25 at 9.16.37 PM