Whether we like it, love it, or loathe it, alcohol is a large part of our society. And if you’re trying to work towards health and fitness goals, asking if it will affect your efforts is more than a fair question.

I’m not one for beating around the bush, but I am one for giving you answers with the nuance and “it depends” caveats that said answers often require. So to give you the short answer to “Is alcohol really that bad for progress?”

Yes and no.

Before we go any further , I want to ask YOU some questions. Take a second to ask yourself and reflect on your responses to the prompts. There are no right or wrong answers, but it’s important to start here (and, ahem, not skip over these). I want you to answer honestly, truthfully, and with as little judgement as you can- even if judgement on yourself is your knee-jerk reaction. Your answers are going to inform how you approach navigating alcohol and your goals.

• How does alcohol affect you physically and mentally when you consume it & the following day?
  • What are some of the physical sensations you experience when you drink? What emotional sensations do you have?
  • What kind of experience do you have and how do you feel following your consumption? The day after?
• What kind of impact does alcohol have on your life overall?
  • Is it negatively affecting your life and adding stress? Is if functioning in a way that enhances your social life rather than damages it?
  • How is it impacting your marriage/relationships? Your work? Your children or other responsibilities?
• What kind of drinking do you participate in?
  • Do you drink out of habit or do you drink deliberately?
  • Do you feel like you “need a drink” after a long week or long day?
  • Do you drink to enjoy the beverage or the company?
  • Do you gravitate towards alcohol when you’re upset or struggling in order to cope?
• How frequently & heavily do you drink?
  • Is it a daily, weekly, monthly, or just occasional thing you consume?
  • When you drink, is it one to three drinks? Is it more? Less?

Finally, (last question, I promise): How do you feel about your answers?

I’m not here to tell you to never drink another drop of alcohol again (unless, of course, that is what would be best for you in your life! If that’s the case, I’ll stay sober as the next party with you.)

I’m not here to tell you that any amount of beer is going to negate any of your efforts.

And I’m not here to fear-monger you into hating wine.

I am here, however, to give you the facts, context, and perspectives you need in order to make the best choices for your life and do so with all the information you need. I am not pro-alcohol or anti-alcohol; but I am pro-educated-choices.

Let’s take a step back and look at the facts as objectively as we can:

1. Alcohol is perceived as a toxin to our body. This is why our body tries to get rid of it (whether through metabolizing, urinating, or getting sick).
2. Alcohol is a large aspect of our social landscape. It’s a present and active part of many of our lives, whether by our own choice or others.
3. Some people hate it, some people love it. Some people can have it in moderation, some people cannot consume it in moderation and develop addictive behaviors with it.

If you choose to drink and it is in fact a positive part of your life, you should know a few more objective facts about why it’s hard on progress specifically…

1. Alcohol has about 7 calories per gram (compared to 4/g in carbohydrates and proteins, and 9/g for fats). This makes alcohol fairly calorie-dense beverages by themselves.
2. Many drinks include mixers, syrups, or added sugars that increase the calorie content by fairly large amounts, upwards of 300-500 calories per drink. In addition, drinks are typically paired with more calorie-dense foods, too, like pizza, desserts, or fried foods, which tends to quickly increase calorie consumption overall when drinking alcohol.

This is a GENERAL and APPROXIMATE overview of caloric content among popular types of drinks. It can obviously vary greatly depending on the type, brand, and serving size, but the reasons listed above explain why this chart looks the way it does.

Since alcohol is 7 calories per gram, the higher the ABV, typically, the higher the calories. And because most mixers contain more sugar (carbohydrates), that means many of the mixed drinks will land on the higher end of the spectrum as well. This doesn’t mean any are off-limit by any means, but I believe it’s important for you to know and understand where your favorite drinks may fall, especially if you’re consuming them frequently!

Lastly…

3. Alcohol is metabolized a bit differently in our body compared to carbs, fats, & proteins; it actually impairs muscle-protein synthesis and typical metabolism of required nutrients, which affects how we build/maintain muscle and store body fat.

So beyond just being a bit higher-calorie, it has other affects on our bodies- like the impaired protein synthesis and metabolization- well, because it’s a toxin. There’s no way around that fact, unfortunately. But again, that doesn’t mean you ‘can’t’ have it, which leads me to our next point.

So what does this all mean?

It means that, like most things, alcohol in moderation is probably not going to completely and utterly ruin your gains, your fat loss efforts, or your health, for most people.

At the same time, frequent consumption or consumption in large amounts can add up pretty quickly when it comes to calorie balance. And when it comes to overall health, frequent/large consumption can also lead to dehydration, liver issues, mental health problems, and other issues.

So how do we approach drinking when we’re trying to be conscious of our progress?

I can’t give you an exact answer because this is going to look different for different people- as it should. I can, however, share some tips on how to drink responsibly and mitigate the negative impacts it may have on your efforts.

1 – “Rethink Your Drink” Tips

• Eat protein + a full meal beforehand (or at least with your drink).
• Stay hydrated- 1 glass of water per drink.
• Drink slowly and truly enjoy it to help minimize consumption.
• If you want to be social but don’t want to drink, swap alcohol for club soda w/ lime, diet soda, or even water!

2 – Flexibly Reducing Calories

• Avoid/minimize sugary beverages like margaritas, long islands, etc.
  • Go for clear liquors, seltzers, & lighter beers as they will have less sugar & overall calories.
• Be aware of Mixers – Mix hard liquor with water and add a water enhancer (like Mio) for flavor or opt for diet sodas rather than juice or regular soda.
  • Most soda mixers will add about 80-120 calories, Totaling 180-250 per drink
  • Most juice mixers will add 50-150 calories, depending, Totaling 120-280 per drink
  • Zero-cal mixers can be a great option to keep intake lower but still enjoy your drinks, especially if you’re having multiple drinks or drinking fairly frequently!
• Use the spectrum chart from earlier in this post to assess your typical intake.
• Try out some of the ideas below for easy mixed drinks with lower calories!
  • Vodka mixed with one of the following: Sprite Zero, Water + Mio, or Club Soda
  • Tequila mixed with one of the following: Sprite Zero or Club Soda
  • Whiskey mixed with one of the following: Diet Coke, Water + Lemon Juice, or Powdered Erythritol + Bitters (aka a low-sugar old-fashioned)
  • Rum mixed with one of the following: Diet Coke or lime juice

There are plenty of posts out there that have lower-calorie recipes for your favorite cocktails, too! You just have to do a little searching!

3 – Tracking Your Intake Tips

Another, more exact- but more time-consuming- strategy to approach drinking with your goals in mind is to track the calorie intake if you’re already tracking macros. To track, you can choose to utilize some of your allotted carbohydrates or your fats, by doing the following math:

• Track as a carb: by take the total amount of calories in your beverage and divide by 4
  • 100 kcal tequila (1.5 oz shot) / 4 = 25 g carb

OR

• Track as a fat: by take the total amount of calories in your beverage and divide by 9
  • 100 kcal light beer (12 oz) / 9 = 11 g fat

Pro Tip: Add either option as a “saved food” in MyFitnessPal (or whatever app you use to track) in order to easily access and track your drinks without having to manually do the math or plug it in every time!

So all in all…

Keep in mind that there is room for enjoying anything you want, and that your choices & your health is YOURS. You are an adult, so it is your responsibility. There’s power in CHOICE and that’s a beautiful thing. This is simply to help you understand how alcohol relates to your goals and educate you on how that works, so you can make those choices armed with the education and information you need to set your expectations up properly!

If you’re struggling to put the pieces together yourself, the best next step for you very well might be hiring a one on one coach who has helped women just like you complete the puzzle- so they can feel better than ever in their body.

You can apply for KML Coaching with one of our awesome coaches HERE.