Does alcohol make you fat? The age old question among lifters and anyone on a weight loss program for sure. You know that drinking makes you fat right? The beer belly is evidence of this fact… or is it? Tom Venuto, author of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle gives us 3 weight loss tips this week in regards to alcohol and weight loss. This is the first of two sets of tips regarding alcohol and they’re not only based in science, they’re based on common sense, just like any of Tom’s work.
Alcohol and Weight Loss Tips
(1) Don’t drink on a fat loss program. Although you could certainly drink and “get away with it” if you diligently maintained your calorie deficit as noted above, it certainly does not help your fat loss cause or your nutritional status.
(2) Drink in moderation during maintenance. For lifelong weight maintenance and a healthy lifestyle, if you drink, do so in moderation and only occasionally, such as on weekends or when you go out to dine in restaurants. Binge drinking and getting drunk has no place in a fitness lifestyle (not to mention hangovers aren’t very conducive to good workouts).
(3) Don’t drink daily. Moderate drinking, including daily drinking, has been associated with cardiovascular health benefits. However, I don’t recommend daily drinking because behaviors repeated daily become habits. Behaviors repeated multiple times daily become strong habits. Habitual drinking may lead to heavier drinking or full-blown addictions and can be hard to stop if you ever need to cut back.
Tom continues with some thoughts on the subject of the role alcohol plays in a fitness lifestyle
Alcohol has been implicated as a factor that may hurt your efforts to lose body fat. Whether alcohol is “fattening” has been a very controversial subject because technically speaking, alcohol is NOT stored as fat; it is oxidized ahead of other fuels.
Whether moderate drinking is healthy has also been a subject of controversy. Many studies show that cardiovascular health benefits are associated with moderate beer or wine drinking (which has been of particular interest lately with reservatrol in the news so much), while other studies show improved insulin sensitivity. Some experts however, say that alcohol has no place in a fitness lifestyle.
I invite you to read more on this subject by reading the full article Why Some People Can Drink Alcohol Without Getting Fat by Tom Venuto. Tom gives 4 more weight loss tips as well in regards to alcohol and weight loss.
We can all agree that we need more water every day. Most people are dehydrated and it’s easy to see why they gain weight when they first switch to a whole food eating program. They body is better nourished, electrolytes get balanced and your body begins to absorb more life giving water. With that water absorption comes weight and it’s why I tell people “congratulations” when they tell me they’ve gained weight after beginning to eat better. Exercise depletes the body of both water and electrolyes through sweat. If you exercise, you should be sipping more water each and every set to replace it. If not, cramps can occur. I’d like to share with you 3 advantages to drinking more water to improve all areas of your life, health and weight loss.
1. Have a glass of water first thing in the morning and last thing before bed – Simple enough rule. By having a glass of water first thing in the morning, you start the day with water. Adding a small squeeze of lemon can aid in liver detoxification as well and add a nice twist to plain drinking water. Studies have shown that drinking a glass of water upon waking and before sleeping will accelerate weight loss.
