Discover how to stop alcohol wrecking your fat loss efforts - Craig McDonald

A common question we get asked in the fitness industry is do I need to stop or reduce drinking alcohol to assist with weight loss? Well the short answer, in an ideal world, would be yes however not many of us live in an ideal world do we?

The answer I believe lies in balance. We all have social commitments, business commitments and family gatherings that usually involve alcohol. For those of us who already enjoy a drink, it would be a pretty boring world if we stopped drinking altogether. So here are some tips I can recommend, if you’re not prepared to stop drinking alcohol, in your bid to lose weight and improve your health.

1. Alcohol provides the body with ‘empty calories’ in fact Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates and proteins and 9 calories per gram for fats. So on days or nights when you are planning a few drinks, make sure your meals are based around protein and vegetables. Avoid ‘loading up’ on carbohydrates because alcohol and carbohydrates combine as a perfect recipe for belly fat!


2. If you enjoy drinking beer, and let’s face it most of us do, try drinking 1 or 2 dark coloured beers instead of 5 or 6 light coloured beers. Dark coloured beers DO have more calories than light coloured beers, but they also have more antioxidants and more B vitamins and therefore you do actually obtain more nutritional value from a dark coloured beer.


3. Avoid syrupy, fruity drinks that are overloaded with sugar as these provide a ‘double whammy’ with empty alcohol calories plus loads of empty sugar calories. Drinks with clear alcohol mixed with soda water and lime or lemon should be your drink of choice. A word of warning though regarding tonic water as opposed to soda water, tonic water is loaded with calories whereas soda water has no calories at all so make sure you mix with soda water where possible.


4. Wine is also one of the healthier choices when it comes to alcohol as it contains a good dose of antioxidants (red wine in particular).


5. Make it only 1 or 2 drinks per night, if you drink during the week, or only a few more drinks on the weekend but alcohol free days during the week are going to serve you best if fat loss is a goal.


6. Avoid the late night ‘munchies’ after a few drinks. Pizza, Kebabs, Chips and Ice Cream are just loading your body with more and more calories on top of the empty alcohol calories. Something to note that not much happens digestion wise until all the poison (alcohol) has left the building (your system).


7. Try to schedule a full body workout prior to having a drink or two as this will help speed up your metabolism and burn those empty calories faster.

So I hope some of these tips will help you in your day to day health and weight loss challenges without hampering your lifestyle too much and remember to always drink responsibly and of course NEVER drink and drive.

Cheers Craig Mac