Alcohol Diet, or How to Successfully Stall Your Fitness Progress.

As a legal drug, alcohol allows us to enjoy its intoxifying effects without the fear of getting arrested and thrown in jail! In addition, many studies have conlcuded that moderate amount of alcohol can assist relaxation and enhance heart function. So why is alcohol such a taboo in the fitness circles? Is it just because that alcohol is packed with "empty" calories or is there other reasons for not consuming it, while working towards your fitness goal? Let's take a look at the facts below and see for ourselves:

1. Calories: calorie is a calorie is a calorie, right? Not really. While the calories contained in the macronutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats and protein are used by the body for homeostasis purposes, calories contained in alcohol have absolutely no use for bodily functions. Basically, when you have alcohol in your body, it will burn through the alcohol first and THEN it will start burning the macronutrients you have consumed prior. Considering that 1 gram of alcohol has 7 calories, after a night of drinking you may not even be able to burn through all the alcohol you have consumed, meaning that carbs and fats that you have eaten beforehand will be stored by your body as fat. Not the best outcome for someone who desires to get in shape.
2. Hydration: Alcohol is very hard on your kidneys. After drinking alcohol your body water will be drawn into the kidneys, in order to assist in the alcohol breakdown. Dehydration impairs your body's energy-creating reactions, which are detrimental during the weightlifitng and aerobic sessions.
3. Protein Synthesis: Alcohol impairs the body's ability to absorb and process protein (and other substances). As you do not absorb the protein properly you will not recover the muscle tissue that has been compromised during intense training at the gym, which eventually can lead to overtraining and injury.
4. Strength Levels: Due to the aforementioned effects of alcohol your strength performance will be compromised as well, making your workouts less intense. Due to the alcohol's negative effect on the carbohydrate metabolism your energy levels will also drop and the fatigue will set off much earlier. In the long run, it will affect your fitness progress, as you will not perform to the fullest during the training sessions.

You can say that a couple of drinks will be no problem to burn off, but take in an account that even if you burn those calories from alcohol, its effects will still remain and will diminish your performance potential at the gym. My suggestion, lay off the drinks at least until you reach your goals and then enjoy them in moderation. Meanwhile, enjoy your gains at the gym and get used to feeling great, it is much more fun to be healthy!

ivankfitness.com