A whiskey A Day Keeps The Doctor Away...

Most of us enjoy an alcoholic beverage, it’s British culture more so during lockdown, but how much if at all does it affect you and your goal?

The first point to look at is obviously the calorie contents, just like everything else you are consuming you will have to track your drinks if you want to lose weight. These are often referred to as ‘empty calories’, meaning they still count but offer next to no nutritional value.

Popular examples:

· Pint of 4% beer: 182 calories

· Small bottle (330ml) 5% beer: 142 calories

· Pint of 4.5% cider: 216 calories

· Glass (175ml) of 13% wine: 159 calories

· Glass (125ml) of 12% champagne: 89 calories

· Single shot (25ml) 40% spirit: 61 calories

· 4% Alcopop bottle (275ml): 170 calories

Reference: https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/tools/unit-and-calorie-calculator

Second point is how it affects your sleep, (I do not mean after you have blacked out on a Friday night, I mean after 2 or 3 drinks of an evening) you may be unconscious for longer that does not mean you had good quality of sleep. We all how what it is like the day after we have had a poor night of sleep, we are not as productive at work and then in our own training we do not really hit the level we are use to. You perhaps would not take any steps backwards, but you I highly doubt you will be taking any forward after a night of poor sleep.

Third point is going to be the dreaded hangover, we have all been there, Sunday morning/ afternoon being a slob craving a McDonald’s. You do not need me to tell you how much that affects your day, if you do go to the gym I doubt it will be a good session and your choices of food that day are often poor. The day is just written off as a whole.

I am certainly not saying never to drink and that all alcohol is bad! I enjoy a whisky, but if you are going out every weekend and spending a whole day in your pyjamas you are going to find it a lot harder to drop that body fat or gain any muscle.

Just like the advert, ‘Drink aware’, in every sense.