9 Reasons Why Alcohol May Sabotaging Your Fat Loss
1. Alcohol increases stress levels
Alcohol causes an increase of cortisol, the stress hormone in your body. Increased cortisol leads to irritations and moodiness. Increased cortisol levels are compensated with lower testosterone levels. Lower testosterone levels ensures muscle breakdown and so lower fat burn.
2. Decrease in growth hormones
Alcohol inhibits the release of growth hormones. Growth hormones are primarly responsible for recovery, fat burn and muscle growth. Without growth hormones your training is not successful and so there is no progress.
3. Sleep deprivation
Alcohol consumption has a negative influence on the quality of your sleep. Sleep is an important part of the recovery of your muscles. Without quality sleep you can’t have optimal performance, no fat burn and no muscle growth.
4. Impair the absorption of nutrients
Alcohol contains 7,1 kcal energy per gram and so its considered as a macronutrient. The problem is that this energy has to be used directly, because a body struggles with saving and converting alcohol. This means that calories from other sources get metabolized or in other words not being used as a source of energy in that period.
5. Consuming alcohol essentially shuts off fat burning
When we talk about caloric content of alcohol, we talk about pure alcohol, and we almost never consume alcohol in direct form. We do drink it indirectly as beer, wine, coctails and more. All those drinks contain big amounts of sugar.
Because the body isn’t designed to store alcohol, it must use it as fuel before it can use other fuel sources such as glucose (sugar) or fat. This proces gets in the way of other processes, like absorbing nutrients from food and burning fat. While your body is busy with processing calories coming out of alcohol, the sugars are mostly saved as energy source in the fat cells.
It’s also important to remember that people often eat a lot before, during and after drinking alcohol (not surprising since alcohol increases apetite) and all this energy/calories are stored in the body as fat reserves.
6. Alcohol dehydrates you
Alcohol works very dehydrating. It may show up as a headache, dry mouth, thirst or a full hangover. Besides dehydration, the metabolism is also less effective and works slower if the fluids levels in the body are not on point.
7. Wrong transmission of neuro impulses
Training after drinking alcohol, even one day after may lead to slower and less coordinated performance during training. Alcohol impairs speed, balance, judgment, focus and information processing for 24 to 72 hours.
On the other hand there is a lack of important minerals as a result of dehydration. That means that the muscles function is considerably less well. Even worse: it can lead to cramps, injuries and serious muscle inflammation.
8. Weaker immunesystem
Because of the facts listed above (dehydration, lack of minerals and more) your immune system is getting weaker. Be careful with using alcohol, surely together with training. Being sick its something you probably don’t want, right?
9. Even small amounts of alcohol are harmful
Alcohol has a influence on you not only while you’re training, but also if you drink before or just after training. Even small amounts can effect your training completely.
Conclusion
Alcohol, as shown, will negate any efforts to lose body fat and will alter performance for the worst.
There is actually no benefits of drinking alcohol. Your body doesn’t need it, it doesn’t belong in a food advise. Do you have weight loss goals in mind? Then alcohol can be a serious problem.
Always ask yourself if it fits your personal goals. Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to have optimal performance? Then its better if you don’t drink.
If you want enjoy from time to time glass of wine or beer, please do. But do it with extent.
