As we attempt to cope and deal with the pressures in our
lives, alcohol consumption is becoming too much of the
norm. We release our stress sometimes via an alcoholic
beverage or two without thinking about the cause and effect
it can have on your waist line, appetite and overall health.
I am not here to bash having a drink or two, but I am going
to encourage anyone who wants to lose body fat to rethink
their drinking habits.
First and foremost, alcohol is a poison and your body must
fight to get it out of your system. It directly impairs
liver function thus severely hampering your metabolism of
fat. If fat loss is your main goal moderation is a key. I
have trained many adults who like there nightly beverage,
but they never or rarely lose body fat. I would suggest
limiting alcohol consumption to once a week if fat loss is
your goal.
When your liver is processing alcohol it will stop all
other metabolic functions. It will do so until it rids your
body of ethanol toxicity which is the by product of
alcoholic consumption. This process leads many times to
stubborn fat, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and
syndrome X.
Drinking in excess will also contribute to fat gain not
loss. If you think you are going to gain muscle mass while
drinking think again! Your liver is to0 busy doing
something it does not want to do, process alcohol instead
of amino acids. In addition, alcohol reduces testosterone.
We have not even touched on how many extra calories alcohol
consumption can add to your daily caloric intake. As my
good friend Tom Venuto states, "Those calories add up so
quickly." Think about how much you consume and the caloric
value of each drink. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram.
This is almost twice that of carbohydrates and protein and
just under the 9 grams per calorie for fat. Here is an
example: consuming 2-3 drinks a day can add up to over 400
calories extra each and every day. Multiply that by one
week and you are over 2700 calories extra. That is over a
half a pound.
According to studies drinking alcohol increases visceral
adipose tissue. This is the fat around your body organs.
NOT HEALTHY! Other studies suggest alcohol consumption
increases and stimulates appetite. I remember when I went
through my Nutrition and Lifestyle Courses, alcohol was an
afternoon subject and I recall this sobering thought, "If
you really want to piss off your entire digestive system
and set your body up for a total metabolic nightmare, drink
alcohol before you eat."
Another item I have learned from Tom Venuto was the simple
but often overlooked factor that by doing something
everyday becomes habit-forming behavior. The daily routine
of consuming an innocent evening drink will lead to the ill
affects of alcohol consumption.
Consuming alcohol again stops all fat burning, adds extra
calories, increases estrogen level (stubborn fat),
increases appetite and makes you more easily persuaded to
eat that entire cheese cake.
There are some simple guidelines you can follow that will
not only help you stay on the fat burning path, but will
encourage better overall health.
Drinking red wine is much better for you then drinking
beer. Red wine contains some good things that can benefit
your health. On the other hand consuming beer, which
contains hops and are highly estrogenic, will lead to more
fat gain and harder fat loss.
Try to stay away from extra sweet drinks with added sugars.
This will keep your blood sugar from a massive spike while
having a drink. Have you ever wondered why are these drinks
are so popular?
I would highly suggest that you read my stubborn fat
solutions report (and you think you have stubborn fat) and
to avoid alcohol for at least two weeks while your detoxify
your liver and get started on a friendly fat burning
environment.
Follow the European model; eat some fat or protein with
your wine. The more food you have in your belly the slower
the absorption. It also aids in insulin regulation. Avoid
high carbohydrates snack with alcohol. It carries many
metabolic problems like insulin elevation and high fat
levels in your blood stream.
According to nutrition author Ori Hofmelkere if you are
going to consume alcohol red wine is the best and beer is
the worst.
Some common problems with alcohol consumption are:
Reduced testosterone, developement of additional estrogen,
problems with hydration and Inability to absorb vital
nutrients
In summary, I would suggest eating an anti-estrogenic,
well- balanced diet and minimize alcohol consumption until
you reach your fat loss goals. This will also aid in your
quest for a set of six pack abs.
----------------------------------------------------
David Grisaffi is a Sports Conditining Coach and holds
multiple certifications including three from the
prestigious CHEK Institute. Plus he is also the author of
the popluar selling e book, "Firm and Flatten Your Abs,"
which teaches you how to develop a ripped abdominal region.
Lean how to shead bodyfat and eliminate low back pain and
recieve his free newsletter by visiting:
http://www.flattenyourabs.net
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