Is alcohol holding you back… 🍺

Ok I know this is probably not going to go down well but let’s talk about alcohol, weight loss and fitness.

I never tell clients to cut food groups from their diet but alcohol is one thing I often recommend people consider reducing. It’s the ONLY actual toxin we regularly consume and it’s classed as a ‘class A’ carconigen (together with asbestos, radiation and tobacco) meaning there is no ‘recommended’ safe amount that can be consumed without increasing your risk of cancer (and other diseases). ‘It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage’

Alcohol calories are also processed differently. The cals are used immediately to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to detoxify it. This detoxification is a labour intensive process so the liver ‘shuts down’ and stops processing fat, carbohydrates and protein because it needs to deal with alcohol. Hence why you get the munchies, because the detoxification of alcohol inhibits gluconeogensis (breaking down of our internal food stores). So not only does alcohol inhibit fat burning it also encourages over eating.

So if you’re training hard and wanting results, is alcohol one aspect that’s holding back your progress?

Aside from the impacts on fat loss studies have shown that consumption of any amount of alcohol decreases athletic performance – it’s associated with decreases in strength, power, speed and endurance. It also decreases the ability to regulate body temperature, reaction time, coordination, balance and judgement. It increases risk of dehydration, water excretion and risk of injury.

A reason people often give me to drink is that they genuinely like the taste. So if you really do enjoy the taste of beer etc but don’t want the negative effects on your performance and weight loss then it’s a no brainer really. Go for a non-alcoholic option – there are so many excellent ones on the market now!

🤗

‘I’ve had so many naughty snacks’… 🐰🥚

With Easter just behind us I’m hearing a lot of people saying how ‘naughty’ they’ve been or how they’ve been having lots of ‘naughty’ snacks. When you’re trying to lose fat it’s natural to try to avoid ‘junk’ food or foods high in sugar and fat. One such ‘naughty’ snack is the Cadbury creme egg. It’s chocolate so very often it’s perceived as a bad thing to be eating and is therefore accompanied by feelings of guilt and shame. But eating the boost ball is viewed as healthy and something to feel virtuous about. I mean how could it not – it’s covered in loads of ‘healthy (and often meaningless) buzz words like ‘low carb burners’ and terms that are perceived to equate to healthy/good for weight loss – raw, keto friendly, vegan, low sugar, gluten free.

In reality in terms of calories, sugar and fat the ‘healthy’ snack is worse than the chocolate! Yes the raw brownie ball has a more protein (which can help you feel fuller for longer), and more micronutrients, so it is a slightly more balanced snack, but that doesn’t mean the chocolate is necessarily a bad option. Contrary to what many people may think the chocolate also has less fat too (again something that is often vilified unnecessarily).

Overall calories and overall nutrition across your entire diet are what count – and if you’re trying to lose fat you need to be in a calorie deficit – in that scenario then really the creme egg might be a better choice as it has fewer calories, especially if you’re eating a balanced diet and getting protein and the other nutrients in your other meals.

Emotional well being is also important and depriving yourself of foods you enjoy and instead choosing the boost ball under the misguided impression that it’s a healthier option isn’t good for long term sustainability or a healthy approach to food.

As an additional aside – the creme egg is only approx 70p and the cacao ball is £2! So you’re saving yourself a good few pennies too!

So if you have a few Easter chocolate eggs still around at home don’t feel guilty about eating them!🤗

Enjoying a seasonal treat …. 🥚 🍫

I never tell clients to cut out any foods/drinks totally from their diet and as a big fan of Easter chocolate I certainly wouldn’t ever be ‘banning’ chocolate eggs, but if you are trying to lose weight/fat then you may just want to be aware of the calories involved.

There’s no reason you can’t have any Easter eggs you want as it ultimately comes down to whether you’re in a calorie deficit. However, with the size of some of the eggs out there now it’s very easy to rack up over a thousand calories or more, without even noticing!

For example – if you’re a mini egg fan and lucky enough to receive the Ultimate egg you’d be looking at over 1900 cals for the entire egg and accompanying bag of mini eggs (the egg alone is over 1500 cals!). That’s more than most people’s daily calorie goal 😬

In contrast you could enjoy a medium one and the mini eggs for around 993 cals. Now ok, the egg is just a milk choc egg (not full of mini egg bits like the ultimate one) but it’s still delicious and that’s still a large chunk of a day’s calories for many people.

So if Easter eggs are your thing (they are definitely mine!) then maybe just be aware of the cals in them if you’re trying to stick to your goals.

Enjoy! 🐣

Xx