Now, what about those nights out of heavier drinking with the actual purpose of getting drunk? If you fall into this category, then just make sure that the calories are tracked and you’ll be fine.
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Moderate drinking is typically defined as no more than 2 standard drinks per day for a man and no more than 1 for a woman.
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( Study 1 | Study 2 | Study 3 | Study 4 | Study 5 | Study 6) In fact, studies have actually shown pretty consistently that moderate drinkers live longer than non-drinkers, and that small amounts of alcohol actually protect against a fairly wide range of diseases. If you’re simply a casual, light drinker who enjoys a glass of wine in the evening or a few beers with your buddies here and there, this isn’t something I’d worry about at all in terms of its effects on your muscle building or fat loss plan. Let’s discuss this by breaking it down into two main categories: light/moderate drinking versus heavier/ “higher dosed” drinking. Is it possible to do this without slowing down the rate of muscle growth or fat loss? So, in order for alcohol and bodybuilding to go together in a manner that doesn’t negatively affect your results, you need to:Ī) Treat alcohol just like any other macronutrient by taking the calories into account as part of your overall intake.ī) Ensure that your consumption of alcohol does not interfere with the consistency of your training or diet in the overall picture.Īssuming the above is taken care of, what happens if we take an otherwise properly structured and consistently implemented fitness program and then simply add some alcohol into the mix? However, these are behavioural changes that are ultimately within your control, and they’re not a result of alcohol itself negatively impacting your results in a direct physical way. In other words, if you’re allowing alcohol consumption to interfere with the consistency of your overall training and nutrition plan in the big picture, then there shouldn’t be any surprise that your progress will be impeded in some way.įor example, if a night out of drinking causes you to binge eat, skip workouts or it simply damages your overall motivation, then obviously it’s something you’ll need to carefully moderate or even abstain from for that reason. The second point is that there’s a distinct difference between alcohol’s direct effects on muscle growth/fat loss versus its indirect effects. If you’re consistently ignoring the calorie content of your drinks (especially if you’re having higher calorie varieties), then obviously that’s going to have a negative effect on your results. In any case, the bottom line is that the calories from alcoholic drinks need to be taken into account as part of your daily totals just like they are for any other food or drink item in your diet. The true value is more like 5.7 calories per gram since it does have a fairly high thermic effect, but if you aren’t tracking the thermic effect of other macronutrients then I wouldn’t bother tracking it for alcohol either.
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The first is the simple fact that alcohol contains calories.Īlcohol itself is not inherently “fattening”, but it does clock in at around 7 calories per gram. Let’s jump into it… 2 Important Points To Understand Firstīefore we go further, there are two very important points you need to understand first when it comes to the topic of alcohol and muscle growth/fat loss…
#How to cut bodybuilding body how to#
In this post I’ll be giving you the straight facts when it comes to bodybuilding and alcohol by discussing its effects on body composition as well as how to incorporate it into your diet in a way that minimizes the potential negative effects. It’s really not that cut and dry though, and the truth is that it completely depends on how much you’re specifically consuming, how often you’re doing it, and how much you allow a night out of drinking to affect your training and diet in the overall picture. The standard response you’ll hear from many fitness experts out there is that alcohol is an “evil” substance that must be avoided at all costs, as it will destroy your training performance, kill muscle growth and lead to excessive fat gain.
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I figured this was a relevant post with summer just kicking off, as it’s always the time of year when I get an influx of questions on this topic. Is it possible to go out and enjoy some drinks with your friends at that outdoor party, bar, club or on vacation without ruining your progress in the gym?