ALCOHOL
This section was initially not included in this guide book, but I was often getting questions around alcohol after it was read. Letting go of alcohol for at least the time it takes to create something great physically & mentally as a Coach is a no brainer.
For some people it can be tough to do so, so I thought I might explain from the Coaches perspective why not drinking alcohol or at least minimising it as much as possible is almost essential to make optimal progress when it comes to reducing body fat.
As we have learnt through reading this guide to obtain a drop in body fat there must be an energy deficit created, that deficit will vary slightly person to person but the average is usually around 4-600 calories per day, any more than this amount often leads to it being unsustainable & binge eating will occur, anything less & the results are so slow that people lose interest.
We are searching for what we call the SWEET SPOT.
If we average a true 500 calorie deficit per day for 7 days in a row our total deficit for the week is 3500 calories which will equal a body fat reduction of 1 pound or 0.5kg. With great training programming & a step target each day I usually average numbers higher than that with clients but these numbers are usually the minimum I expect to see if everything is on point.
Let me paint a situation for you, you do well all week by sticking to your 500-calorie deficit per day, the weekend lands & you end up having a few drinks both on Saturday night & Sunday arvo over lunch or dinner with friends.
Usually with alcohol poorer food choices are made which is fine occasionally but with poorer food choices comes much more calorie dense meals & your goal of a 500-calorie deficit each day ends up being a 500-calorie surplus on both Saturday & Sunday which is very easy to do & a quite small blow out.
Now let’s review the total week with & without the alcohol.
Without Alcohol: You stick to the same plan you had going during the week, maybe you eat out a little more often with friends but the 500-calorie deficit continues with sensible choices & you finish the week strong with a total energy deficit of 3500 calories.
Congratulations your body has changed!
You wake up on Monday morning FRESH, proud of the choices you have made over the last week, you got plenty of relaxation over the weekend & your sleep was solid.
You are motivated & excited to do it all over again because you can see it is working.
With Alcohol: As above, not only do you spill over your calorie deficit targets but you go 500 calories above your maintenance level, (maintenance is the energy amount where you won’t lose or put on weight) in this situation your total energy deficit for the week is now only 1500 calories at best.
Like I mention above this is a very conservative example, it is very easy to blow the entire week.
You wake up on Monday morning tired, unmotivated & in need of coffee or more sleep. You drag yourself to the gym but you are not training anywhere near the intensity you are capable of; you get home & look in the mirror but you don’t see any change.
You are now annoyed with yourself because you were doing so well, this can be a viscous cycle to get caught in, it is a cycle I know all too well.
I spent a big part of my 20’s trying to get leaner while drinking most weekends, just to write that in this guide book 20 years on is embarrassing.
I spent the best part of 10 years trying to achieve something I could have done in 6-8 weeks, the only reason I include that in here is because I know so many other people are in exactly the same boat.
It’s not even that I didn’t know how, it was purely that my priorities at the time were elsewhere, so I strongly recommend looking at your own priorities around changing your body shape before you get started, do you KINDA want to change your body shape or do you REALLY want to?
I’ll start after my birthday, or Xmas or Summer – the problem is the TRUE COMMITMENT to the goal never comes, often due to a lack of belief, excuses, self-sabotage or a coach that actually knows how to get that individual to their goal.
These days I believe very strongly in the words DO or DON’T, words like I’ll try, give it a go, do my best or see what happens just are not going to cut it in most cases. Everything in life worth having requires some sacrifice, a commitment & a plan that works.
When I set up a client’s macros (carbohydrate, fat & protein) & calorie target’s they are all set for a reason specific to the person & the style of training they are doing.
Let me explain a little further, lets say a client has been set a 50-25-25% split like in the picture.
The resaon for this split would be decided mostly by two things.
- The person it is for, which would include considering their body weight, body fat & personal preferences.
- Secondly the style of training programming I have chosen to use for them to help reach their goal.
Different training stimulus require different macronutrients to fuel the workouts properly so performance is high & to allow for adequate recovery.
When in a calorie deficit chasing fat loss, we are already under supplying our body with nutrients to keep us healthy & fuel our workouts. So, to add in a glass or two of wine every other night & stay in the energy deficit we are then going to have to take that from our 219g of carbohydrates per day (in this example) & quite often that is the difference between recovering & making progress from the last workout, sleeping soundly & feeling on top of your game to do it all again the next day.
The fresher you feel each day the eaiser it is to achieve your goal – It really is that simple!
- If you are not sleeping well it is harder to stick to a calorie deficit.
- If you are not recovering from your workouts it is harder to stick to a calorie defciit.
- If you have a higher level of stress in your life ATM it is harder to stick to a calorie deficit.
- If you drink alcohol it will be both harder to stick to a calorie deficit while drinking & the next day.
IF YOU WANT TO LOOK LIKE AN ATHLETE YOU MUST THINK & OPERATE LIKE ONE TOO! – at least until you reach your goal anyway, maintaining your body shape is a lot easier than changing it.
#commit&goallin!
Note: Todays BLOG is an addition I’ve recently made to my 30+ page NUTRITION FOR FAT LOSS GUIDE BOOK that is now available to download for FREE on this website.