Ladies and gents, it is about to be September and you know what that means… college and professional football starts back up. What comes along with watching football with friends? Booze. Usually lots of booze, and hot dogs, too. So today we will dive into why alcohol is so bad for us, especially if we are trying to get into awesome shape. If you are not 21 and do not drink—you know who you are—print this e-mail, put it in an envelope, and keep it by your bedside until the morning that you do turn 21.
I hear the question all the time: “Is it okay if I have vodka and soda water when I go out? It’s less calories!” Or, “Can I have a Michelob Ultra? It’s what the athletes drink!” But it’s not necessarily the calories that are the villain here. The effects of alcohol on the body and weight loss are tremendous—alcohol can reduce the number of fat calories you burn, increase your appetite, lower your testosterone levels for up to 24 hours, and decrease your metabolism by up to 40%.

Barney (from the Simpsons, not the big purple dinosaur) is what most people think they will look like if they drink high calorie alcohol, yet you too will look like this with even vodka and water. Less than 5% of the alcohol calories you drink are turned into fat. The main down side of alcohol is its ability to reduce the amount of fat your body burns for energy. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that 8 people given 2 drinks of vodka and sugar-free lemonade (90 calories total), had their whole body lipid oxidation (a measure of how much fat your body is burning) dropped by a massive 73% for several hours afterwards. Ouch!

Also, rather than getting stored as fat, the main fate of alcohol is conversion into a substance called acetate.  What then happens is the body focuses on burning the acetate, instead of our main goal, fat.  Let’s break it down…

·         you have a few drinks (2 or 3)

·         a small portion of the alcohol is converted into fat

·         your liver then converts most of the alcohol into acetate

·         the acetate is then released into your bloodstream, and replaces fat as a source of fuel

Another reason alcohol is dangerous (wow, another one!) is that it increases your appetite. Why do you think there are pizza stands and hot dog vendors on every avenue of 6th Street? Those guys are geniuses! A recent research study in Denmark showed that when a group of men were given a meal and allowed to eat as much as they wanted, they ate more when the meal was served with beer or wine as compared to a soft drink.

Side effect #1,000 of alcohol is that it lowers your body’s ability to create testosterone (a needed hormone to create the lean muscle tissue that we work so hard on at Workshop Fitness). And for those who are crying out, “Testosterone! Who am I, Mark McGuire?!” No need to fear.

Every time we work out, we create a little bit of testosterone, which is needed to help create muscle. This increases our metabolism which helps you drop the LBs. And for those who think that since you are going out that night, you need to bust your butt in the gym (I know we all have done it)… the effects on testosterone are even worse on the days you exercise before you drink.

When it comes down to it, the odd drink here and there isn’t going to kill us… but if you are serious about trying to get into the shape you want, alcohol has to be thought of just like a chocolate-chocolate fried queso pie. TRY to stay clear from it.  If you guys have any questions or concerns about any of this information, feel free to give me a shout back. Otherwise, go HOUSTON TEXANS!!!!

Jamal Yusuf

Certified Personal Trainer
http://www.JamalYusufTraining.com