I want to lose weight!

Should I cut out the alcohol?

If you glanced at the title of this article, you might have cringed. When it comes to fitness, nutrition, weight loss, and overall health, many of us have trouble areas. There are some individuals who have a glass of red wine with dinner every night. Others skip the drinking completely on the weekdays, then start throwing a few back on Thursday or Friday night, and keep it up until Sunday.

Still others won’t drink for two to three weeks, then have a weekend binge of a few dozen drinks or so (you know who you are!)

Finally, while there are scores of individuals out there who don’t drink any alcohol at all and really won’t find this article personally useful, I encourage you (if you are one of those people) to read it anyways, and share the information with someone you think it might help.

So…how does alcohol make you fat, especially when it doesn’t have any fat in it? To understand how this process occurs, let’s examine the consumption of a 5 ounce glass of red wine by a fictional character named Nick.

Nick takes a drink. As the alcohol enters into digestion, it is split into two compounds: fat and acetate. The fat is taken through the bloodstream and stored wherever Nick tends to deposit fat. The acetate is taken into the bloodstream and used as Nick’s primary energy fuel.

If you take anything away from this article, read that last sentence again. The acetate is used as Nick’s primary energy fuel. This means that rather than burning carbohydrates, protein, or fat as a fuel, Nick’s body relies on the acetate for energy. It completely stops burning anything else. Suddenly, Nick has a surplus of carbs, protein, and fat circulating in the body with nowhere to go. So where does it all end up? You guessed it…it’s converted to fat and deposited on Nick’s waistline.

(Food + Alcohol)

<—Food

Alcohol—>

But that’s not the only effect on Nick. Alcohol also acts as a potent appetizer. Ever heard of an aperitif? It’s an alcoholic drink taken before a meal to increase the appetite, and many restaurants realize that this is a great way to get you to order more food! Several studies show a sharp increase in caloric intake when an alcoholic drink is consumed before a meal (compared to a glass of water, or even a soda!).

So now Nick wants either:

Another glass of wine

…or…

Food (probably something salty or greasy).

That’s not all! Let’s say that Nick succumbs to his appetite and finishes the bottle. Just a single bout of heavy drinking will vastly increase the levels of the hormone cortisol, while significantly decreasing the levels of the hormone testosterone. In addition to his headache, here’s why Nick should be concerned: Cortisol causes the body to breakdown muscle and suppresses recovery from exercise, while low testosterone makes the body less likely build lean muscle or to burn fat as a fuel. So Nick’s getting a big belly, and skinny arms and legs.

Now let’s consider the actual caloric content of the glass of red wine. Before we begin, bear in mind that at most parties, social gatherings, and restaurants, a typical glass of red wine is really more like 6-8 ounces. But we’ll be conservative. So Nick’s glass of wine contains about 110 calories. Contrary to popular belief, there are very few carbohydrates in the wine – only about 5 grams. This is because when grapes are made into wine, most of the fruit sugars are converted into alcohol.

For purposes of comparison, this glass of wine has about the same amount of alcohol and calories as a 12 ounce light beer or a shot of 80 proof spirit (yes, that means a shot of tequila = about a whole glass of wine). A regular, non-light beer, is even higher in calories, since it contains over twice as many carbohydrates as light beer.

But realize that alcohol itself contains about seven calories per gram, making it almost twice as calorie-laden as carbohydrates or proteins, which contain only four calories per gram. However, these calories contain no beneficial nutrients, vitamins, or minerals. Sure – Nick gets some benefit from the compounds present from the grape skins and grape juice, but if he drinks a big glass of red wine every night with dinner, he consumes over 1000 additional calories per week, and gains a dozen extra pounds of fat a year!

I haven’t really discussed mixed drinks and won’t say too much. Basically, you can take everything I just illustrated in the case of Nick, and multiply it by 4 to 5. Margaritas, Long Island Iced Tea’s, Mudslides, and other sweet mixed drinks can do more damage to your diet than a Big Mac with cheese.

So let’s be practical and assume that you are not going to completely give up drinking but want some tips for your next social event. Here are some ideas:

o Dilute alcohol with diet soda. While there are health problems with the artificial sweeteners and chemicals in diet soda, this will reduce your overall caloric intake.

o Use lots of ice. It makes your drink seem bigger without adding actual calories.

o If you have to choose between fruit juice and soda in a mixer, choose fruit juice.

o Avoid the salty snacks. They’ll make you want to drink more.

o At the bar, restaurant, or grocery store, try to find a top shelf product or good wine that you enjoy, then pay those extra bucks and sip it slowly. Savoring a drink will reduce over-consumption.

o Drink as much water as possible. Try to have two drinks of water for every one drink of alcohol.

So as you can see, alcohol will set your fitness goals back quite a bit. However, of course I understand that you only live once, and that your life should be lived to the limit while loving it a lot. Therefore I do not want to have this writing forbid you from any weekend-fun you might occasionally have, I just want you to realize what every drink does to your system. As nobody in Texas  bicycles their self to the bar/club, I would advise all ladies to volunteer as the designated driver. Doing so you will feel amped to see your personal trainer the next day. And for guys, please refrain from justifying alcohol as ‘liquid courage’ to approach women. If you need help in this area of your life, call me and I’ll take you to school.