You might think this post is timely with the
holiday. Or maybe not so timely. Just depends how much
you want to drink over the Thanksgiving
holiday.;-)
Regardless, it will be helpful to know what the OK
amount of alcohol is. So keep reading and learn
something to help your weight loss efforts.
Or bookmark this and come back after Thanksgiving.
(Or the New Year if you really plan to imbibe).
Can you drink alcohol and still lose weight?
Yes, you can. But don't go and make yourself a
martini just yet. There's more to it than that.
You still have to be smart about it.
I always laugh when I see beer commercials touting
3.2 grams of carbs in beer. Or when they compare their beer to a martini served in a thimble. It's cute and obviously resonates with the weight conscious drinker. But that shouldn't concern you.
There are two things to consider when drinking
alcohol. Calories, specifically those from carbs,
and alcohol content. Which one do you think
matters more? Let's take a look at both.
Calories - All drinks have calories; beer, wine,
and liquor. But it's the cocktails that should
scare you the most. Any popular mixer will contain
most of the calories and ALL of the sugar.
Take a daiquiri for example, or any fun colored
frozen concoction. An 8 oz. glass will have almost
500 calories and over 20 grams of sugar! You can
see the damage you could do by drinking just a
couple of those.
Alcohol - It won't make you fat. Yes, read it
again. Try throwing back shots of tequila and see
if you gain weight. You won't. But add in some
sweet and sour mix, a salted rim, and 4 baskets of
chips and salsa. Now we're talking weight gain. Bienvenidos body fat!
I have an alcohol rule for losing weight. 1 drink
2x/week OR 2 drinks 1x/week. You get to choose.
Why is that my rule? Because of this one very
important fact... Concern yourself less with the
calories or sugar of what you're drinking but
think about the metabolic priority drinking does
to you.
You see, alcohol is metabolized before anything
else in the body. So have a few drinks with dinner
and you're body will go after the alcohol first
before the carbs, protein, and fat.
This is exactly the opposite of what exercise does
to your metabolism. An intense workout will create
that afterburn effect which keeps the metabolism
ramped up after the workout helping you burn calories long after your workout.
So stop thinking about carbs or even calories and
think metabolically.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when drinking.
==A glass of wine should be 5oz. A typical red
wine glass holds 12-14oz. Although you might think
you're getting lucky when the bartender tops off
your glass, you're not.
==If you're drinking a cocktail opt for real
mixers. Use real lime juice, lemon juice, and diet
tonic or soda. Most if not all pre-made drinks
will be chalk full of sugar and calories.
==If you're really trying to be aggressive with
weight loss, keep your drinks for special
occasions. Get out of the habit of having a glass
of wine with dinner or winding down for the night
with a drink. Make it more of a treat than the
norm.
The FT Team and I would like to wish you and your
family a very Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!!!
Cheers,
Tim Chudy
P.S. If you're struggling to lose weight I'd urge
you to schedule a nutrition consultation. Andrew,
our client of the month in October has lost 30lbs.
Lucinda, our client of the month this month has lost
70 total lbs! And Cindy, who'll be featured in December
has lost 32lbs in 8 weeks. This program flat out works.
Request your consultation here.
