Issue 1502 Redbrick

1. If you think you’re going to be
craving food after a night out, try
and make extra food at dinner
time and then save it to heat up
when you get home from the night
out. This is much better than buy-
ing fast food: not only will it
contain fewer calories, but it will
make you feel much better than
having Dixy’s chicken and have
far less of an impact on jeopardis-
ing your fitness goals!
Hangovers are caused by dehy-
dration. When you wake up with a
hangover not only are you craving
junk food but you are also less
likely to make it to the gym, and
more likely to make poor eating
decisions, as we crave something
that will make us feel good imme-
diately in order to suppress the
pain of a hangover.
If you do manage to workout the
day after, you are likely to have a
lower quality training session
because your liver will be work-
ing to clear toxic by-products of
alcohol from your system, mean-
ing you wont be able to clear the
lactic acid produced from exercis-
ing, making you feel tired much
quicker.
If you know you are not one to go
to the gym after a night out, then
factor that into your weeks plan
and use that day as your rest day!
This means you won’t be left feel-
ing guilty for missing a workout.
Alternatively, opt for some light
exercise, even getting out of the
house and going for a walk can
help as it will clear your hangover
and you will still be doing some
form of exercise so the day won’t
have been a complete write off.
Obviously the affects of alco-
hol cannot be eradicated com-
pletely by these ‘solutions’, but
they will help to make alcohol
slightly less harmful. Drinking
alcohol all the time would not be
beneficial and could dramatically
hinder fitness gains, however if
drunk occasionally and in moder-
ation, alcohol can be consumed
without affecting your fitness
goals too drastically. Just like
occasionally going to the gym
would not increase your fitness,
occasionally drinking alcohol will
not decrease your fitness. Meaning
going out occasionally is abso-
lutely fine. Consistency and regu-
larity is everything in fitness: for
the good or the bad.
Researchers have found alcohol
impairs muscle protein synthesis
and muscle growth, even in com-
bination with optimal nutrition,
meaning it can limit ‘gains’ made
from a session. Lack of fluid
caused by dehydration from alco-
hol can increase protein break-
down, preventing muscle growth.
Try and get a glass of water every
time you get a drink. And make
sure you drink lots of water before
bed. Everyone who drinks is like-
ly to get a hangover because of
dehydration, but drinking more
water throughout the night could
limit this and also lessen the dam-
age to your ‘gains’.
Most of us have had the case of
the munchies after a night out,
and it’s hard to resist a trip to
Dixy’s when all your friends are
going. This is not unusual, as
alcohol increases your cravings
for unhealthy food, and lowers
self-control. However, this can
have detrimental consequences
for your progress if done too
many times. Eating fast food is
the surest way to go excessively
over your daily kcal allowance.
Alcohol is full of ‘empty’ calo-
ries, meaning it contains no nutri-
tional value. Alcohol contains
seven calories per gram, making
one VK roughly 168 calories! Our
bodies see alcohol as a toxin,
causing it to facilitate fat storage.
This means our metabolism focus-
es on removing of toxic waste,
rather than burning the stored
calories from food. This means
that, when alcohol is in our sys-
tem, the calories consumed from
any food we eat (including that
greasy burger from that take-
away) are highly likely to be
stored as fat.
Be aware of how many calories
alcohol contains. This does not
mean that you cannot enjoy a
glass of wine with dinner or have
some VKs on a night out, but per-
haps try and stick to spirits, rather
than wine or beer if you’re going
to be drinking a lot. Also, beware
of mixers! Many contain lots of
carbs and sugar so opt for lower
calorie ones. Additionally, con-
sider having less snacks in the
daytime before a night out to
make up for the extra calories
you’ll consume in the evening.
Therefore, you’ll be making up
for some of the extra calories con-
sumed by drinking.
Alex Kirkup-Lee discusses the way in which alcohol affects our body, providing
solutions show how to continue enjoying alcohol without it ruining your fitness goals
Friday 8th February 2019
36
Health&Fitness: The Consequences
and Solutions of Alcohol in Fitness
SPORT
@redbricksport
Alex Kirkup-Lee
Sport Writer
Alcohol can lead to
fat gain
Drinking is a big part of uni cul-
ture, but what effect is this having
on your fitness goals? Alcohol
does negatively impact our bodies
in a number of ways, however,
this does not mean alcohol needs
to be cut from our diets entirely.
There are ways to lessen its nega-
tive impact and combine it with a
healthy lifestyle to still achieve
your fitness goals:
Alcohol can inhibit ‘gains’
Swap high calorie for low
calorie alternatives
Drink more water!
Bad decision making
Plan your workouts around
your nights out
It's the day after, too
“Our bodies
treat alcohol as
a toxin,
causing it to
facilitate fat
storage”
Pre-plan before a night
out
“Researchers
found alcohol
impairs muscle
protein
synthesis and
muscle growth”
Pint of Lager
180-200kcal
Gin &
Tonic
60-70kcal
(diet
tonic)
Rosé 175ml
140-150kcal
Budweiser
145kcal
Scott Webb Images from: Alles, Pxhere,
DelloBatista, Bavaria