Party season, work functions and family get-togethers tend to bring more alcohol than the rest of the year combined. Balancing drinking and fitness does not mean choosing one over the other; it just takes a bit of strategy. Here is what alcohol actually does to your body, and five practical tips to enjoy yourself without undoing months of training.
What alcohol does to your body
Alcohol is sometimes described as its own macronutrient, because it does not fit neatly into protein, fat or carbohydrate. It supplies calories (around 7 per gram, close to fat) without offering any nutritional benefit. Your body also treats alcohol as a priority: it works to clear it from your system before dealing with anything else, which means that while you are drinking, your body puts fat and carbohydrate burning on hold. Alcohol does not directly turn into fat, but it does signal your body to stop burning fuel from food, which has a similar practical effect. Research has also found that people tend to eat more after drinking, particularly after sugary mixed drinks, so the calories can add up from more than one direction.
5 tips for balancing drinking and fitness
1. Choose your drink carefully
Different drinks affect appetite differently. Beer and white wine tend to suppress appetite in the short term, while red wine and spirits mixed with sugary drinks can stimulate it (though in the long run, any alcohol tends to increase appetite, so keep that in mind). White wine generally has fewer carbohydrates than red, and spirits usually have fewer calories than beer or wine, but that advantage disappears fast if you mix them with sugary soft drink.
2. Skip the sugary mixers
Mixing alcohol with soft drink or juice adds a significant number of calories, and pairing alcohol with sugar makes your body more likely to store that sugar as fat. Spirits taken neat, or mixed with soda water or a diet mixer, are the better option for your waistline, as long as you are not lining up shot after shot. If you do mix, stick to one spirit and one mixer rather than a sugar-heavy cocktail.
3. Give your body time after training
Avoid drinking right before a workout, and it is worth avoiding it soon after one too. Research has found that drinking after resistance training can interfere with the muscle-building response, and the same applies after cardio. If you plan to drink after a session, keep it moderate, and where possible allow a day or two before your next hard training session so your body can recover properly.
4. Keep it moderate
This is the golden rule. A lighter approach to drinking gives your body a much easier job repairing and recovering afterwards. You can absolutely still enjoy the occasion without needing to go overboard.
5. It is fine to skip it altogether
If your training goals matter to you, there is nothing wrong with saying no to a drink. These occasions are about the people, not the alcohol, and there is a certain satisfaction in being up early for a session while everyone else is sleeping it off.
Keep training through the season
The best strategy for balancing drinking and fitness is simply staying consistent with your training, whatever else is going on around you. Because Hammers Gym is open 24/7, you can always find a time that works, even during the busiest weeks. If you want help planning your training or nutrition through a busy social period, our personal trainers can help.
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