Alcohol

Alcohol is something that is very important to be aware of when looking at your diet.

Alcohol like food contains calories.

Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram.

However, the calories we consume from alcohol are not the same. Calories we consume from alcohol cannot be stored as fat. Which may initially sound like a good thing.

But our bodies see alcohol as a poison and will burn it off for energy before it uses any other fuel source.

Which will limit the number of calories your body is burning from your fat stores and also increase how many of the calories consumed from your food is stored as fat.

So for as long as you’re burning the calories from alcohol for energy, the calories from the food you eat is being stored as fat.

Now even this doesn’t change anything. If you drink alcohol, but are still in an overall calorie deficit, including those calories from alcohol, you will make progress.

But there are other ways in which alcohol affects us, that make it much more challenging to not only maintain a calorie deficit, but also to maintain your activity levels.

Alcohol lowers our inhibitions towards food, so when you are drinking not only are you consuming calories in the form of alcohol, you’re also more likely to consume more calories from food and make less optimal choices.

Which makes you more likely to go over your calorie target.

Alcohol decreases your quality of sleep, which leaves you feeling lethargic the next day.

You are then less inclined to be active, and more inclined to reach for calorie dense foods to provide you with that extra energy.

Which makes you less likely to hit your step target and more likely to go over your calorie target.

You can drink alcohol and still make progress but doing so on a regular basis will make it more difficult.
In later courses I will share the best ways to work around these kinds of predicaments, to help you still be able to enjoy a good night out, whilst you make progress.