Drinking Alcohol while Losing Fat and Gaining Lean Muscle? Tell Me How!

You've probably heard stories of people getting shredded while drinking alcohol, just as often as you've heard stories of someone cutting alcohol out of their diet and immediately losing a significant amount of excess bodyfat. So, which one is it? Can we truly have our cake (iced cake vodka, whipped cream vodka and half and half-- you're welcome) and eat it too when it comes to meeting our goals without compromising on what we really enjoy?

The short answer: No. Some of you might be thinking, hey John/Everyday J.O.E., you've said not to remove entire groups of foods from your diet, or not to entirely give up on things you enjoy. You'd be absolutely correct! And I don't want you to give up alcohol entirely if you don't want to! But keep in mind that alcohol is not an essential macronutrient like fat, carbohydrates and protein are. It's also not an essential micronutrient or mineral. It does, however, pack about 7 calories per gram. The only macronutrient that's more calorically-dense than alcohol is fat. What makes it worse than fat, significantly, is that your body has to prioritize metabolizing alcohol first, but it has no immediate benefits to your metabolic system and instead gets into your bloodstream, impacting the function of your brain, kidneys, lungs and liver, relatively quickly. These are organs that we need for our successful fat loss journey!

At the same time, happiness is a food group. If you can cut alcohol out of your life entirely during your journey and not miss it, that would be ideal. If you'd like to indulge, do so reasonably, where you assign yourself a 1 or 2 drink limit before the fun begins, and you stick to it! Check out the website getdrunknotfat.com for a great list of somewhat low-calorie drinks for the individual who wants to feel a buzz and minimize the caloric impact on their diet. Another cheat code: day drinking. Yes, the majority of the negative effects are still there EXCEPT for a big one: there will be no negative impact on your sleep quality. Under normal circumstances, when we drink in the evening, it impacts our sleep architecture, the amount of REM sleep we get, and can increase our odds of having sleep apnea by around 25%. All of that equals poor sleep quality, and sleep is the second most important element of fat loss (second only to diet). Conversely, enjoying 1 or 2 drinks earlier in your day gives enough time for your body to recover from the deleterious effects and go to bed without alcohol in your system. You should still consider that day of drinking to essentially be a "wash" or a mulligan with regards to reaching your goals, but you can jump right back on your train to success the following day!

The Best Workouts for Beginners

If you are brand new to exercise, or just embarked on a fat-loss journey for the first time, you might feel overwhelmed by the amount of exercise options that exist for you. Running clubs, biking clubs, CrossFit boxes(gyms), HIIT classes, you name it-- everyone is competing for our attention and our money, and everyone claims that their method is the best method for beginners to get fit and lose fat.

But what does the science say? Well, the science says that for optimal cardiovascular health and skeletomuscular wellness, most of us need a weekly balance of resistance training and cardio training. Specifically, most of us see the best impact on our health markers by doing 3 to four days of resistance training + two to three days of cardio training in a given week, with at least one day of true rest or minimal exertion. This means that an optimal training split would allow the trainee to do multiple forms of exercise.

So, which ones are truly best for beginners? A great way to determine what's best for you is to look at any exercise modality through three lenses. One, is it accessible to you based on physical location? Two, are you drawn to the exercise as something you think you would want to consistently do a few times per week? And three, do you have the skillset or the general health to safely do the required movements right now? An individual recovering from back surgery might not be best equipped to jump into a powerlifting-based resistance program, but very well could benefit from doing bodyweight exercises while they continue their recovery.

At-home, bodyweight/low weight programs make a lot of sense for beginners to get acclimated with building muscle on resistance days, and a dedicated 40 minutes to an hour of brisk walking is more than enough to reap significant cardiovascular benefits. A good blend of both in a given week will not only help you safely transition into an active lifestyle, but will also help you lose fat from Day 1 alongside a healthy, balanced diet!

Settle the debate: what is the single best diet out there? Science gives us the answer.

Liquid diet? Grapefruit diet? Twelve hundred calorie diet?

If you're over a certain age, the chances are high that you've been exposed to several fad diets, each one claiming to be the best way for you to stay healthy or lose fat. But which diet really is the best? Spoiler alert: it's none of the ones listed in the first sentence-- the only things they're good at is leaving you severely malnourished or at risk of suffering from female athlete triad!

When it comes to what is best, that depends on what you value the most. Are you looking for the diet that is linked to the longest lifespans? Studies show us that the demographic in America with the longest lifespan is Seventh-Day Adventists, a denomination whose adherents are known to eat vegetarian or vegan diets and tend to not drink alcohol. On average, male Seventh-Day Adventists live 7 years longer than other males, while female Seventh-Day Adventists live 4 years longer than other females.

Are you looking for the best heart health? Research consistently shows over the past decade that the Mediterranean diet, high in healthy fats found in olive oils, avocados and nuts, has the greatest positive impact on heart health. Adherents to this diet typically see positive changes in their lipid or cholesterol profiles over time.

But I bet you're looking for the best diet for fat loss? This is where it gets fun. Dozens of studies have compared low-fat versus low-carb versus intermittent fasting (aka time-restricted eating) versus Paleo versus vegan... and the results are totally mixed! There are more studies showing an edge for low carb versus low fat, and there are more studies showing an edge for intermittent fasting versus low carb or low fat. Furthermore, when studies last longer than a year, vegan and vegetarian diets take the victory in many studies. What we know for certain is this: the most important 2 elements to fat loss are 1) being in a caloric deficit consistently over time, and 2) adhering to your diet. Consuming an adequate amount of macronutrients and micronutrients and adhering to the diet lifestyle you've chosen is your key to success. Cutting out an entire food group isn't sustainable for most people if your body is already accustomed to those food groups and isn't suffering any adverse effects. Pick the one that gives you the most options for happiness, and you will happily reach your fitness and wellness goals!