Let’s lay out some information on how alcohol affects your goals before diving in.
Alcohol is poison. When you drink, your body prioritizes processing the alcohol. This means you’re not burning fat, or any other nutrients during this time.
Other than calories, which it has plenty of, alcohol has no nutritional value. Add in sugary, high calorie mixers, and you can easily put yourself in an energy surplus. Not to mention drinking leading to lowered inhibitions, and poor food choices that can add to that surplus.
Alcohol also slows down protein synthesis, key to building and repairing muscle. Research has shown that drinking can reduce the rate of this muscle building process by up to 37%.
Drinking also negatively impacts your sleep. Primarily by reducing the amount of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, the deepest and most restorative you will get. Sleep is important for weight loss, and REM sleep is when your body burns the most fat. Sleep is also anabolic, meaning it helps your body build and repair muscle. Missing out on sleep means you’re missing out on gains.
Truth be told, if you have health and fitness goals there is no best alcoholic beverage choice, just less bad ones.
My advice, if you’ve got a goal you’re working towards, abstain from alcohol for a few months to help you reach it. I’m not telling you to quit drinking altogether (although that would be best for all of our health. It is poison, after all). I’m suggesting you set it aside for a period of time to achieve your goal.
This is something I’ve done since college and continue today. I didn’t drink during the collegiate soccer season. When I was competing in CrossFit I quit drinking from January through the end of the Open, and after brief celebrations, didn’t drink during preparation for the rest of the season’s competitions. Now, when I’m getting ready for a weightlifting meet, I don’t drink for about 3 months leading up to it. This is to maximize muscle building, repair, and recovery.
I’ve worked with countless people here at CrossFit 781 who have given up drinking for periods of time ranging from one to three months and beyond. Time and again people who quit alcohol have faster, better results. They consistently lose weight, feel better, have more energy, and improve their performance.
If you’ve got something big you’re working towards, ask yourself, “what do I want more, this drink, or my goal?”
And, if you need hand losing weight, or building muscle, click here to get started. We’re here to help!
