CHEERS to ... poison?
Not to be dramatic, but alcohol is a toxin. But you knew that. This newsletter isn't going to be all doom + gloom, though we do need to cover a few less-than-fun facts right off the bat -- and then a free gift for you to lighten the mood. :-P
Most people think the reason alcohol isn't great for their waistline is the extra calories. That's not really it.
Alcohol is a toxin that needs to be detoxed from our body and FAST. We drink and our body immediately gets to work trying to get rid of it. Here's what happens downstream of that:
fat metabolism slows as our body is aiming to process + detox the alcohol
while alcohol itself isn't easily stored as excess body fat, everything else you eat before, during and after drinking will be
alcohol makes our blood sugar ... wonky. It could spike it up, it could come crashing down. But it's rarely in a healthy + stable place when we drink
our pre-frontal cortex is compromised -- decision-making skills are altered. This can range from choosing foods that aren't aligned with your goals to much worse
oftentimes people consume a bunch of sugar, additives, artificial dyes and the like in their drinks ... so now our body is detoxing + processing the actual alcohol AND the stuff that came along for the ride
fatty liver disease is now often caused by overeating but drinking can do this alone and certainly the combination (not just at the same time, but in general) is not a good idea
hangovers suck
alcohol will increase muscle loss and interfere with any muscle gain attempts
Alright. Let's stop there. Some of you might not drink at all. YAY! But if you do and you have any kind of health or body composition goals you're after right now (and I'm assuming you do because this would be a weird newsletter to sign up for if you didn't!), then here's my recommendation:
Drink less.
Seriously. Drink less days per week. Drink less at each sitting or event. Take a month off as a challenge. Set boundaries. Be ok saying you're not going to drink even in the presence of your friends, family and colleagues who do. That can be hard! You and your friend Mary drink every time you see each other for the last 20 years. Feels weird to order the seltzer then, right? But do it! Use it as a chance to tell Mary about your goals and how you feel so much better when you drink less. Don't make it about weight. If you say, "I'm not going to drink b/c I'm trying to lose weight.", many people will reply with, "Oh, diet starts Monday. Come on!" But if you say, "I feel incredible when I skip it!", I highly doubt Mary will say, "Oh, you can feel incredible on Monday instead." It's hard to argue with wanting to feel incredible.
And if you plan to drink less but still occasionally, remember you can stop at half a drink or 1 or 1.5. And the lesser of the evils will be to order liquor (not liqueor) with a non-sweet mixer (like water, seltzer, club soda or over rocks) and if you need a little flavor, something not sweet like muddled lemon or lemon juice, lime juice, mint, cinnamon, rosemary.
If you're hosting or visiting this holiday season and want to have some fun mocktail options to make, here's a little collection of recipes for you. Of course most are indulgences as they are sweet, but feel free to skip the sweetener or keep it simple with sparkling water, and a handful of cranberries on top with rosemary and a few dried orange slices. It's pretty and will add a little flavor without being too sweet.
Hope you enjoy!!
XO,
Tara
P.S. The next round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind -- my 28-day metabolism-boosting course -- will begin in January. It makes a great gift for someone who just wants to feel better, achieve their health + body composition goals, heal and have a great relationship with food and their body. If you would like to purchase this as a gift for someone, let me know. Gift certificates are available.
P.P.S. Gift certificates are also available for my 1:1 coaching. Email me if you'd like to find out more - Tara@TaraAllenHealth.com