Posted on December 03, 2014 by Jenny Cromack

As Christmas fast approaches it can only mean one thing…..PARTIES…..and this, for some people, can also only mean one thing….ALCOHOL!

Now the personal training team at motive8 North are not saying we don’t want you not to drink and have a good time, BUT if you are looking to retain your svelte figure over the Festive period or continue to make progress towards your health and fitness goals then you need to consider how alcohol effects your weight.

Here are some reasons why drinking alcohol to excess will not help you achieve your fitness goals, but only add to your waist line.

* Per gram alcohol contains 7 calories. Protein and carbohydrates only contain 4g.

* Take 50g of protein vs 50g of alcohol…….not only does the alcohol contain 350 calories compared to only 200 calories in protein but at least the calories in the protein are nutritious and can be used effectively by the body unlike the calories in alcohol which cannot be used effectively by the body.

* As alcohol is toxic to the body, all other metabolic processes cease until the alcohol is broken down.

* This means that using fat and carbohydrate as a fuel and burning these fuels effectively no longer occurs until the alcohol in your system is broken down.

* It takes around 1 hour to break down 1 unit of alcohol, so depending how many units you drink depends on how long it takes for your normal metabolic processes to resume.

* Scarily if you drank 8 units which is only 2 1/2 large glass of wine or 3-4 pints of beer, it would take 8 hours for your body to eliminate the alcohol from your system and there delay any effective usage of fats and carbohydrates.

* Drinking reduces production of growth hormone. We all know that high levels of growth hormone are needed for effective fat burning. Therefore low levels can only lead to fat storage instead.

 

* Drink on a regular basis and you can see how this can impact your weight and your waist line.

If you want to speed up the detoxification process, have a read of Chris’ blog here.