Alcohol and fitness

IS THERE A BALANCE?

So you recently started your fitness journey and you're feeling on top of the world, radiant, healthy and pretty much invincible... And then it hits.... That one occasion/event/day where it's deemed acceptable drink alcohol. All day... St Patricks Day.

 

For many, it's not an issue but sadly for any more, it is!

 

So many girls have approached me over the last week asking my view on drinking alcohol when trying to lose weight and with questions such as;

 "Which drinks have the least calories?",

"One night won't harm my progress, will it?",

"What if I avoid the hangover food the next day?" etc.

There's no easy way for me to say this girls without sounding like a 78 year old master granny but you really don't need a drink to enjoy a special occasion! Yup I said it!

 

I enjoy a bottle of merlot as much as the next girl but I am going to be honest here, you have to decide what is important to you right now in this moment, if you are fighting with the idea of drinking tomorrow because you have made a promise to yourself to stick to a certain healthy eating and training plan then you need to stick with your promise to yourself, for yourself.

 

If you are only a few weeks into your new fitness journey, my advice is to avoid any alcohol for the first 8 weeks, preferably 12 weeks, you need that for some real changes to happen.

Once you have your health and body at a happier level, you can balance those little cheats here and there. There's no point me giving a huge lecture when all you want is some honesty.

When I first started my fitness journey a few years ago, I had already gotten over the whole alcohol thing. I had previously partied a lot in university and was quite happy to start a new, fresh journey towards a healthier body. Queue my healthy green veggie shakes I started making!

 

"Ok Lisa, get on with it, all I really wanna know is, WILL I still lose weight while I am drinking?!"Ok ok ok... Here's my answer and I'll let you make your own decision.

 

It's simply not about the calories in the alcohol, it's about the composition; the effect the alcohol has on the body and how hard it is to remove from the body to allow the body to go back to the previous healthier, happier "fat burning" mode!

Our bodies are extremely smart BUT to explain it simply, when shit hits the fan, our bodies have one goal and one goal only. That single and most important goal is to simply SURVIVE which means to BE healthy; fight poison/disease/invaders/toxins where needed. For this reason, our livers simply cannot do 2 completely different things at once, which in this case are, getting rid of fatty acids and getting rid of poison (alcohol).

 Our liver, no matter what, chooses what it feels is the most important for survival; clearing out the poisonous alcohol so it can get on with day to day functioning.

 

 So dealing with the excess body fat sits on the back burner, for longer than you would imagine, 5-6 days actually!

Yes, that one glass of Vodka and tonic will put your fat loss goals behind by a few days.

 

Not to mention how crappy you will feel the next day! Good intentions aside, we all know it's simply impossible to stick to a clean diet the day after an alcohol binge. All we want is greasy, fatty foods, or no food at all, which is just as bad!

 

Another issue is our family and friends, sad but true!

"Ah Mary why aren't ya having a wee drink?",

"Now now don't be silly, you will never have a set of abs, what's the point!",

"You're no craic when you're dieting!"

 

My advice when you come into contact with people like these is to simply ignore their efforts.

They feel bad for having a few drinks when you're not, that's their issue. Not yours.

Be responsible for your goals, this is your life. Live how you want to live, if that means making a conscious effort to be healthier each day then so be it. Don't give up on yourself just to please someone else. The worst thing you could be in this life is a sheep, stand your ground.

 Be proud of YOU and your efforts.

      You're worth it!

 

 

I hope you have a healthy, happy and fun St.Patricks Day, wherever you are in the world!

 

              Thanks for reading, see you here again soon!

 

       Love,

        Lisa Dee

      :) x