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| Picture courtesy of Pioneer Valley Fitness |
by Kenny Yates, CPT
I often get asked as a fitness professional, “What is a good
low calorie drink I can have that won’t negatively affect my progress?” While I am not one to tell someone that they
cannot have something, I am, however, a firm believer in providing facts and
letting you make an educated decision for yourself.
Alcohol has many effects on the body, and can impact
individuals differently depending on their level of tolerance. Some of the
primary and secondary effects of alcohol on your health
include:
- Dehydration
- Headaches and hangovers
- Increased likelihood of poor nutritional decisions
- Lack of coordination and slower reaction time
- Disruption of sleeping habits
- Increased stress on your organs
- Increased blood sugar levels
When it comes to your health and your fitness goals, if you
understand what happens when you consume alcohol, you can make your own
judgment on whether or not it should be a part of your diet plan(i).
Growth hormone:
In order to build muscle, your body releases growth hormone to stimulate
cell growth, and most of this secretion happens at night during sleep. Considering that alcohol disrupts natural
sleeping habits, you could experience up to a 70% decrease in the amount of
growth hormone released overnight.
Recovery:
In order to build muscle, your body has to recover properly from
exercise which requires an increase in energy expenditure above resting levels.
However, alcohol is a toxin to the body so energy is needed to help remove it
from the system and repair any collateral damages. This energy used is energy taken away from
your workout recovery efforts, thus delaying the recovery period and impacting
future performance.
· Dehydration:
Alcohol acts as a diuretic in the body, which creates an imbalance of
your body’s natural water balance.
Dehydration has several effects on your health including:
o Feeling
of fatigue – could affect your desire to perform at peak level
o Increased
hunger –negatively influencing your dietary decisions
o Disrupts
the ability of the muscle cells to produce ATP – which is the primary source of muscular energy
·
Aerobic Ability:
Strength is not your concern and you think alcohol is a safe bet for
you, but before you indulge, consider this.
Alcohol can cause an increase in blood pressure throughout the body and
a corresponding increase in heart rate.
Therefore, the additional stress from alcohol could increase your heart
rate above normal levels during aerobic exercise and lead to an increase in
perceived exertion and premature fatigue.
·
Body Fat:
Bottom line, alcohol consumption comes with the increased consumption of
calories, and these calories add up quickly!
Not only do drinks like beer, wine and liquors contain calories alone,
but you also have to take in consideration the calories in the mixers that
often go hand and hand with alcohol.
Then, due to the impact of these drinks on your blood sugar levels and
hormones, you now have a desire to eat more pleasure satisfying foods such as
burgers, fries, wings, nachos, etc. All
of this adds to the evening’s increased caloric intake above your body’s
required energy needs, and therefore, adding to the storage of excess body fat,
primarily in the midsection.
- Bud Light (12 oz) = 110 calories
- Budweiser (12 oz) = 146 calories
- Shot of 100 proof liquor (1.5 oz) = 124 calories
- Shot of 80 proof liquor (1.5 oz) = 97 calories
- Pina Colada Cocktail (4.5 oz) = 245 calories
- Merlot Red Wine (5 oz) = 123 calories
- Pinot Grigio (5 oz) = 123 calories
Two lite beers and two shots later, you’re looking at about
450 empty calories. For some, that is a
light night.
(i)Jeff Bayer; ask.com : Alcohol & Muscles:
http://www.askmen.com/sports/bodybuilding_200/218_fitness_tip.html
http://www.askmen.com/sports/bodybuilding_200/218_fitness_tip.html
