‘Dry January’ comes to an end

After a boozy festive period, the thought of another weekend of alcohol leads to the drastic decision to cut it out for a full month, to allow your liver to recover and recover for your full December hangover.

For those motivated enough to see Dry January through, they may find that they feel more energised and might even have lost a few pounds in the process, but does this show that alcohol consumption is related to fat gain? And should you give it up all together for you to reach your ideal physique?

Despite what many would suggest, losing body fat while consuming alcohol is extremely feasible, but a whole lot of variables will control how difficult this can be.

Let’s start with the major drawbacks.

1. Alcoholic calorie consumption: When you are dieting overall calories must be restricted and trying to fit in your usual 3,000 calories of beer, wine or cocktails per week is virtually impossible to achieve while dieting. A pint can contain 300 calories, a bottle of wine anywhere up to 800 and let’s not forget the super-sweet sugar-loaded cocktails which can pack a heart breaking calorie punch.

2. Drunken/hangover eating: Eight gin and slimline tonics might not be the worst choice in terms of calories, but a king-size kebab followed by a day of crisps; snacks and one thousand steps is really going to hurt your fat loss progress. It can be super easy to bank a few calories during the week to allow for a bottle of wine, but the Walker’s Sensations and garlic dip will likely double your calories consumed. Fat loss is all about calories in versus calories out, and if you decide to take a Saturday night and a full day Sunday off track, where your calorie intake skyrockets and your steps and exercise disappear, you are leaving yourself a mountain to climb the other five and a half days per week.

3. Alcohol negatively affects your sleep quality: You’re probably thinking, how does being sleepy affect your dieting efforts and surprisingly the answer is quite a lot. Without going into too much depth there are countless studies that show that those with adequate sleep will be inclined to eat less and feel less hungry, compared to those who don’t sleep enough or have experienced poor sleep quality. With all that in mind, you might feel more hungry on days after drinking and less motivated to stick to your calories. Regardless of any of these points, you can still achieve incredible physical transformations while consuming alcohol weekly. You need to look at your dieting effort as a full seven-day effort and make sure that one night of overindulging won’t ruin six days progress.

Here are some tips on how to include alcohol while staying on track.

1. Swap drinks to save calories: Companies are making more of an effort to create reduced-calorie versions of alcoholic drinks. Things like light beers, reduced sugar ciders are a much better choice than their full-calorie versions. The easiest way to enjoy a drink while keeping calories low is to simply swap to a spirit and diet mixer. This can help you enjoy a single measure for only 75kcals compared to other high-calorie alternatives.

2. Save your calories during the week: If the only thing that gets you through the week is a bottle of wine on a Saturday night go out and earn it! Get in the gym, walk an extra few thousand steps every day and try and reduce 100-200 kcals every day Monday to Friday and this will leave you more than enough calories left to enjoy a bottle of wine guilt-free and keep your fat loss progress on track.

3. Don’t keep high-calorie snacks in your cupboards: If having a glass of Prosecco leaves you itching for the big bag of crisps in your cupboard, stop buying them altogether. If you have tempting food in your cupboard and your willpower is rubbish, stop bringing the temptation into your house.

4. Plan your food for the day after drinking: Nothing will send you straight to McDonald’s door quicker than an empty fridge after a night on the booze. It’s okay to have a few drinks on a Saturday night but having a Sunday of reckless eating is a sure way to ruin any progress you have made. Get down to the shop the day before, stock your fridge up and plan your meals as if it was a normal day. Try your best to get straight back on the wagon and don’t let one evening snowball into a few days of recovery.

I hope that has helped show you that you don’t need to be teetotal to drop a few pounds, but no doubt using calories elsewhere may make your dieting life a bit easier.

Swap to lower-calorie drinks when possible and do the work through the week to make sure you have calories spare to keep you on track. Mistakes will happen, there will be weekends it doesn’t quite go to plan, but if you make a conscious effort to practice these habits I have no doubt you will get consistent results throughout the year.

If you want more advice on how to get in shape while enjoying a non-restrictive balanced lifestyle drop us a message on www.one2onefitnessni.co.uk.