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Alcohol and Weight Loss
If you are curious as to the
effects of alcohol on the body, this could be the most eye-opening article you
will ever read. The effects of alcohol on the body are far more damaging than
can be predicted by the number of empty calories in some alcoholic beverage.
Many of us associate the effects of alcohol on the body with the heart, lungs,
liver, brain, memory, etc. Furthermore, if asked about effects of drinking
alcohol in terms of our fitness goals, most people will let you know about the
infamous beer belly. You know what I'm talking about right? Drink too much and
you end up storing too many calories as fat. Many people will choose low calorie
alcohol drinks or low carb alcoholic beverages in an attempt to avoid the fat
storage issue. They feel that by making this choice the only bad effects of
alcohol - increased fat storage - will be minimized. But what you didn't know is
that only about 5% of the calories from alcohol are stored as fat! Then it hit
me as it should hit you right about now...The effects of alcohol on the body are
far more damaging than can be predicted by the number of empty calories in some
alcoholic beverage. The truth is...
1- Alcohol really affects the
amount of fat your body can and will burn for energy! In a study done by the
American Journal of Clinical Research they concluded that just a mere 24g of
alcohol consumption showed whole-body lipid oxidation ( the rate at which your
body burns fat) decreased by a whopping 73%! When alcohol goes thru the liver,
the by-product is called Acetate. It would appear that acetate puts the
proverbial brakes on fat burning. Your body can use many types of fuel. Protein,
carbohydrates and fat. In many cases, the fuel used is dictated by its
availability. Trouble is...Your body tends to use whatever you feed it for fuel
right? As your acetate levels increase, your body burns more acetate as fuel.
What this means is...Fat burning takes a back seat! What it all boils down to is
this...
a) You consume a couple of
alcoholic drinks or more.
b) Your liver metabolizes that
into acetate.
c) Your body uses the acetate
for fat as fuel.
2- Increase in appetite. In
another American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study, there was evidence to
suggest that consumption of alcohol lead to an increase in appetite over that of
any other carbohydrate type drink. Researchers over in the Research Department
of Human Nutrition and Center for Advanced Food Studies in Denmark concluded
that consumption of alcoholic beverages, and wine in particular, may enhance
total energy intake at a meal relative to a soft drink, when served with no
restriction.
3- Decrease in Testosterone
and an Increase in Cortisol. A study of 8 healthy male volunteers observed that
after drinking alcohol, the effects of a significant decrease in testosterone
and an increase in cortisol (a muscle destroying hormone) lasted up to 24 hours!
The only real question to ask yourself is this...If you are serious about
building muscle and burning fat, you want all the free testosterone levels you
can get and you want to reduce cortisol in any way you can. That means go lite
on the drinking because it does affect your hormones. What more...is that the
effects were even worse if you exercise before drinking. This means that if you
are going out and will be drinking more than a small amount of alcohol, you
might as well skip the gym. Not shocking is a study done by the Department of
Radiology, Sahlgrenska Hospital, Goteborg, Sweden that determined increased
waist to hip ratio of alcoholics may include not only changes in adipose tissue,
but also in muscle tissue distribution. In layman's terms.. that means more fat
around the waist and less overall muscle mass.
4- Decrease in vitamin and
mineral absorption. When you consume large quantities of alcohol, your liver is
busy converting the alcohol to acetate and any vitamins and minerals that it
might process are taken up by the detoxification process. Alcohol interferes
with the metabolism of most vitamins, and with the absorption of many nutrients.
Alcohol stimulates both urinary calcium and magnesium excretion. This just means
that you'll get less of a benefit from the "healthy" meal you may be consuming.
Food in the stomach will compete with ethanol for absorption into the blood
stream. It is well known that alcohol competes and influences the processing of
nutrients in the body.
5- Decrease in protein
synthesis of type II fibers. This means the actual building of muscle is slowed
down by 20%+ or more. This included a 35% decrease in muscle insulin-like growth
factor-I (GF-I).
6- Dehydration. A common side
effect of alcohol is dehydration. Alcohol is a diuretic. Drinks containing 4%
alcohol tend to delay the recovery process. Considering how important water is
to muscle building and general health, it's clear that dehydration can put a
damper on your progress. After alcohol consumption the first thing you might
want to do is drink coffee. But that's a diuretic as well. How to avoid
dehydration? Drink more water.
7- Sleep. Alcohol consumption,
especially at the times when you would normally sleep, can have effects on the
quality of sleep. Clearly high quality sleep is extremely important to the
rebuilding and growth process of muscle. Without proper rest and recovery, your
gains will be affected. Alcohol consumption can induce sleep disorders by
disrupting the sequence and duration of sleep states and by altering total sleep
time as well as the time required to fall asleep.
8- The next
day. A rather obvious conclusion but if you plan on drinking on a Friday night
in excess then the leg workout you thought of doing on Saturday morning won't be
top notch. It takes a bit to recover, your body to detoxify and for you mentally
to be prepared to workout. Not to mention you need energy for the workout ahead.
Sure you can hit the weights but my point is...It's not going to be the best
workout you've ever experienced. At this point you might be totally discouraged
to ever drink any alcohol again. But there's some good news. Here's proof...In
the November 2004 issue of the International Journal of Obesity they did a study
on the effects of moderate consumption of white wine on weight loss. Each group
consumed 1500 calories. 150 calories came from white wine in one group and 150
calories from grape juice in another. The conclusion? An energy-restricted diet
is effective in overweight and obese subjects used to drinking moderate amounts
of alcohol. A diet with 10% of energy derived from white wine is as effective as
an isocaloric diet with 10% of energy derived from grape juice. It's simple:
Moderation is the key! (with first place being abstinence as you already know).
In any event...The effects of alcohol on your body when it comes to building
muscle and burning fat are quite clear. It is a lot more than just some extra
calories stored as fat. If you consume too much, it can derail your goals a lot
longer after your head has hit the pillow and you've gone to sleep. |
