By Neil O’Hanlon
Hey folks. I wanted to write this article as I get a lot of questions about how to get fitter, lose weight but without having to give up alcohol. If like me, you’ve probably sacrificed your post run beer at some point, because you probably feel guilty having that pint of beer or glass of wine after your workout, as you think it’s gonna sideline your training goals and affect your performance.? After all its laden with calories, right? Believe me, I felt this way in the past. What I’ve now found is that alcohol can definitely have a place in your training plan, its just knowing how to balance it for optimum results. I regularly enjoy beers, wine and the occasional single malt without sabotaging my fitness plans or waking up with a hangover from hell. I’ve managed to maintain the balance of having a social life along with getting some of the best results I’ve ever had. Yes even in my mid 40’s. I now feel very differently towards alcohol and enjoy the opportunity to socialise with friends and family and not live a life of abstinence purely so I can achieve my own fitness goals.
Beer And A Personal Best To Boot
Many years ago I used to avoid any kind of drinking if I was deep into a training plan. I believed it would negate all my efforts. What I actually found was the opposite, in moderation and using common sense of course.
I’ve had some of my best race results after imbibing in a couple of cheeky beers the night before. In fact if truth be known, my standard night before, pre-race meal, consisted of a chicken kebab with all the trimmings and normally preceded with a couple of beers. I’ve even managed to pull a 34:40 – 10K out of the bag the next day following a social occasion where I may have had that extra one too many, but hey, maybe I could have gone quicker if I totally abstained from the booze but honestly, I’m just not prepared to do that. I’m not an olympic athlete getting paid for my endeavours and the simple fact is, I love drinking beer. Anyway, normally its a just a couple of beers the night before and this was just enough to relax me without altering my sleep quality. It also meant not completely sacrificing my weekend purely to compete in a race. That said though, the post race beer was absolutely the thing to look forward to. With the race done, it’s time for a well earned pint or two.
MY KEY TIP ON THIS APPROACH IS – ‘IF YOU ALWAYS KEEP YOUR TRAINING AT THE FOREFRONT OF YOUR MIND, THEN ALCOHOL SHOULDN’T EVER GET THE CHANCE TO DAMAGE YOUR PROGRESS’.
That Means You Can Have Your Cake And Eat It
As I said above, if training is your primary focus, then of course it’s possible to incorporate alcohol into your life. It’s just a balance thing. In other words, when you’re drinking you should always be imagining that you have to exercise in the morning.
ALCOHOL, LIKE CARBS, PROTEIN AND FAT, CAN BE INCLUDED IN YOUR TRAINING AND HERE’S THE REASON WHY.
Alcohol Is The 4th Macronutrient
Now, I know what you’re thinking but bear with me. Most of us are familiar with the term macronutrients in reference to carbohydrates, fats, and protein. However, what you may not realise, is that alcohol too, is macronutrient.
Track Your Alcohol Like Any Other Calories
Ok then, so If you’re going to start tracking alcohol in your daily macros, we need to first consider the caloric content of each macronutrient as below.
- Carbs: 4 calories per gram
- Protein: 4 calories per gram
- Fats: 9 calories per gram
- Alcohol: 7 calories per gram
Swap Your Carbs For Beer
The reason I say this is simple. For most of us, carbs are typically our main macronutrient. In that respect it would make sense to swap out some of your carb macros for alcohol macros as theres bit more “wiggle room”. If you have a lot of allocated fat calories left over for the day, then feel free to swap your alcohol as an alternative to a fat source. If you have a lot of carbs left over for the day, feel free to swap it as a carb source.
What Do I Mean By This?
Simply speaking swap the cake (refined carbs) for a beer, or swap the sausages (fats) for a glass of wine. Your choice. However, I personally wouldn’t replace a Protein source due to muscle synthesis etc – but that’s for another day. Whatever items you swap around needs to be roughly the same in terms of total calories. Remember whatever you decide to do, it needs to be simple, otherwise it’s just not sustainable.
BEST OF LUCK TRYING TO CALCULATE HOW MANY GRAMS OF CARBS YOUR WINE TRANSLATES INTO, WHEN YOU’RE ON YOUR SECOND BOTTLE
Can I Drink Beer And Still Train Optimally
Speaking for myself and in moderation then its definitely Yes, that’s what works for me. BUT, If you’re letting your drinking (whether it fits into your macros or not) affect your training, performance, recovery, and overall health, then you probably should pass on the booze or at least reduce its frequency.
Too Much Deprivation? No, Its Just Balance
Too many people get into the mindset that they can’t incorporate both fitness and the occasional drink with excuses like: “I enjoy beer too much, so that stops me from being able to run at my best” or “I wish I could have your level of discipline to just have a couple”
Folks, it’s about being able to get yourself in shape whilst still having a life, surely you can enjoy a beer or two at the weekend and have the occasional blow out with friends and family if need be. It’s about creating a sustainable balance, and keeping things in perspective. Remember, we are not ‘Olympic Athletes’ who get paid for total abstinence……
Overcomplicating Things Yet Again
My aim is to just simplify things, to show you what works for me, and how it could work for you. The simplest way of putting this is “If you want to drop some fat, then you need to consume less calories than your body burns during that day”, its really that simple but so many people just massively overcomplicate it.
THE SIMPLE FACT IS, IF YOU DRINK RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS OF BOOZE ON TOP OF YOUR DAILY CALORIES THEN YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT, YOUR TRAINING WILL SUFFER AND IT COULD BE A VERY DARK HOLE TO GET OUT OFF….
What We Need Is A Simple Calorie Deficit, That Way We Can Enjoy The Best Of Both
Simply speaking, you need to create a calorie deficit, but don’t worry, I’m not going all weight watchers on you here, however you’re not going to lose weight without a slight deficit. The easiest way to create a calorie deficit is to restrict calorie intake, and increase your activity. However it’s much easier to create a deficit by reducing food intake than trying to over compensate by chronically overtraining yourself into oblivion.
I see people eating so much crap then saying ‘thats fine though as I’ll just run it off? People massively underestimate what it takes to burn calories. Lots and lots of time and lots and lots of effort. No thanks.
MUCH EASIER TO SAY NO TO THE ‘SNICKERS BAR’ SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO RUN A MARATHON TO BURN IT OFF …. SIMPLE!
Simple And Minimal Tweaks Over The Week
It’s not necessary to restrict everyday, easier to think of creating a deficit over a week. So let’s say you know that you’ve got a night out planned over the weekend, you’d like to be drinking and eating with friends without worrying. You can account for that by reducing your calorie intake during the week slightly.
Here’s An Example Of How I Would Do This
Lets say you need to consume on average 2000 calories a day to lose an average of 1Ib a week, not a great deal but sustainable which is key.
IF YOU DID THIS FOR 3 MONTHS YOU COULD LOSE A STONE IN WEIGHT
Anyway 2000 calories x 7 = 14,000 calories a week to play with, however you like. Remember I keep repeating this but, it’s just calories in vs calories out regardless of wether its alcohol, carbs, fat or protein. So, if you know you have a night out planned, or Saturday afternoon beer garden session, you could adjust your intake to 1600 calories (as opposed to the 2000 calories above) during the week. Thats a saving of 400 calories a day x 5 which gives you an extra 2000 calories over the weekend to play with.
THOSE EXTRA CALORIES AT THE WEEKEND, MEAN YOU REALLY CAN HAVE THAT BEER AND KEBAB, AND NOT WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT IT.
Intermittent Fasting To Create Your Calorie Deficit
Even if you’re thinking that 1600 calories on the lower days looks a bit measly then it’s easier than you think. The way I would do this is by Intermittent Fasting. This is something I practice 5 days a week, Monday to Friday and normally consists of 16 hours fasted and an 8 hour feeding window. I’m not too rigid on this but I skip breakfast and have lunch about 1pm, then I make sure I don’t eat anything after 9pm and the cycle repeats. So all I’m really doing is skipping breakfast, no major drama there and it saves time in the morning.
2 Meals A Day
Because you’re effectively only having 2 meals a day, your eating window is much shorter, making it harder for you to over eat. Obviously don’t eat consistently for 8 hours…….Not good!
The Takeaway
So there we go guys, don’t deprive yourself, have that beer, havethat takeaway, keep it sustainable and follow the moderation guidelines. Just plan your weekly calorie intake based on your week ahead, and account for social situations and nights out, then life really is less boring.
YOU REALLY CAN HAVE YOUR BEER AND DRINK IT