Alcohol and it's effects on Fat Burning/Muscle Building

Pure alcohol is not stored as fat but reduces the number of fat calories you burn by converting alcohol to acetate which takes priority as a fuel source over fat, carbohydrates and protein thus storing what ever you ate prior, as fat. ⁽¹⁾

Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram, which is almost as high as fat at 9 calories per gram. And to make it even worse alcohol is all empty calories.

Alcohol can increase your appetite so people who drink before a meal tend to have an increase in calorie intake, so drink after you eat. ⁽²⁾

Alcohol increases cortisol levels, also known as the stress hormone. Although low cortisol levels have positive effects, high levels have negative affects on your body and weight loss, such as increased abdominal fat and decrease in muscle density. ⁽³⁾

Alcohol also decreases your testosterone levels. Testosterone is important in maintaining and regulating lean body mass, visceral fat mass and total cholesterol. So by decreasing hormone levels would greatly affect your weight loss endeavors. ⁽⁴⁾

These effects are worsened even greater when you exercise as alcohol prolongs the depressant effect on testosterone secretion. ⁽⁵⁾

So drinking a large amount of alcohol especially when you are constantly physically active leads to greater fat around the waste and less overall muscle mass. ⁽⁶⁾

Moderation is key. Occasional moderate drinking has been shown to have cardiovascular health benefits and specifically moderate wine consumption has been linked to weight loss. ⁽⁷⁾

And don’t forget if you do drink do so after a healthy meal, make sure to drink plenty of water before and after drinking alcohol and most importantly drink without guilt.

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