The Truth About Alcohol, Fat Loss And Muscle Growth
I’ve been getting tons of questions relating to alcohol and fat loss lately. Happens every time summer rolls around. Outdoor parties, clubbing, vacations and the whole shebang. Alcohol is a key ingredient. What people want to know is basically how fattening alcohol is, how it affects protein synthesis, how to make it work with their diet, and what drinks to go for at the club. I think this is very good topic to cover today, since we’re right in the middle of summer and all, because most people involved in the fitness and health game tend to miss out on a lot of fun due to avoiding alcohol. I know a lot of peeps who’d rather stay home and manage their diet than go out and have a few drinks. Sad, really, because it’s all for the wrong reasons. I don’t blame them though. Read the mags or listen to the “experts” and you’ll soon be believing that a few drinks will make your muscles fall off, make you impotent, and leave you with a big gut. It’s mostly bullshit, of course. No big surprise when we’re dealing with the alarmist fitness mainstream that can’t seem to put things in the right perspective if their life depended on it. This is a definitive primer on the effects of alcohol on all things someone interested in optimizing body composition might be interested in. At the end of this article I’m also going to show you how a hopeless drunk like myself can stay lean while drinking on a regular basis. Alcohol and thermogenesis There’s been an ongoing debate for years whether alcohol calories “count” or not. This debate has been spurred on by the fact that drinkers weigh less than non-drinkers and studies showing accelerated weight loss when fat and carbs are exchanged for an equivalent amount of calories from alcohol. The connection between a lower Continue reading >>
Cheating And You
Cheating, or eating hidden carbs, whatever you want to call it. Let’s have a brief talk. What is cheating? Cheating is, in the most simple terms, eating a lot more carbs than you would normally. There’s no hard and fast figure, suffice to say that if you had somewhere in the realm of 50g – 100g you would likely break your ketosis, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world. It also stands to reason that you would possibly not have to go through unpleasant keto-flu again. How does it happen? Cheating can happen for a number of reasons, but there seem to be two main causes. Emotions Alcohol Comfort eating is something everyone I know does, and I’ll admit to eating an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s on my own, no problems at all, when feeling down. Though those days are also long gone. You could be stressed, sad, angry, or any number of other things, and may choose to seek comfort in sugary foods. After all, they raise your mood, though it’s only short term. You’ll probably feel down that you’ve stalled your progress or simply eaten foods that aren’t great for your body. You might even drink alcohol for a range of the same reasons, or, as is very often the case, it may be a social event. A birthday, after work drinks, oh how I could go on… One thing’s for sure, too much can and will impair judgement. The last time I cheated was definitely after a few refreshments and I said “Hey, you know what, chocolate is a GREAT IDEA!” But it wasn’t really. You’ll Feel Like a Failure – But that’s OK! The worst part is knowing that you’ve failed, but you must remember that it’s ok to fail, if you don’t, then you’re probably not doing a lot of trying or learning. I recently read some great advice on failing. It stressed one point, and one point only, Continue reading >>
Atkins Diet & Alcohol
On the Atkins diet, you take in a limited amount of carbohydrates a day so you have to count them scrupulously to make sure you don’t exceed your daily quota. Although you’re allowed to drink some alcohol on both variations of this low-carb plan, doing so may hinder your weight-loss efforts. In addition, you need to count the carbs in your wine and cocktails as you would any other carbohydrate-containing food or beverage and figure them into your daily total. Ask your doctor about how alcohol fits into your diet, because it may interact with medications you are taking. Video of the Day Alcohol in the Atkins Diet Induction Phase The Atkins diet consists of two separate diet plans. Atkins 20, the classic Atkins diet, consists of four different phases. The first phase is known as "induction," and it’s the most stringent; on it you consume only 20 to 25 “net” carbs a day. That’s the number you get when you subtract the grams of fiber from the total grams of carbs in a food or beverage. During the induction phase of Atkins 20, which lasts for two weeks, your body goes into ketosis – a metabolic process in which you burn fat for fuel in the absence of carbs. The Atkins diet recommends that you not drink alcohol in these first two weeks, or you’ll risk interfering with your weight loss. Your body burns alcohol before fat; when you drink, you switch out of ketosis temporarily and postpone your progress. The goal in the induction phase is to try to reduce your cravings for foods like sugar, alcohol, wheat and grains and to stabilize your blood sugar for the best weight-loss results. Alcohol in Later Phases of Atkins If you steer clear of alcohol in the first two weeks of Atkins, you will probably make significant progress toward weight loss. In the later phases, Continue reading >>
Alcohol On A Low Carb, Keto Diet!
For years, I’ve read countless dieting books that prohibited me from drinking alcohol. Actually, it’s probably the first thing that many “diet gurus” say to cut out of your diet and for (somewhat) good reason. Alcohol gets a bad reputation because it’s basically empty calories. In an ideal world, sure. I’ll give up alcohol to lose weight. But let’s get serious. I’m 23 years old and I very much enjoy a tasty alcoholic beverage (or 5) and a wild night out on the town with my friends. The beauty of a ketogenic, low carb diet is that you can still enjoy yourself from time-to-time with alcohol and still lose weight! However, there are some guidelines as to what alcohols you can enjoy and those you should avoid. Liquor On average, one shot is the equivalent to about 1.5oz and for these spirits have a nutritional value of 0 carbs and roughly 64 calories. Of course, this will vary depending on how much is actually in your beverage (order a double? Double the nutritional stats). Approved spirits on a keto, low carb diet include: Vodka (Three Olives, Absolut, Grey Goose, etc.) Rum (Captain Morgan, etc) Gin (Tanqueray, Beefeater, etc) Tequila Whiskey (Jack Daniel’s, etc.) Scotch Brandy Cognac (Hennessy, etc.) Please note that these are for the original, unflavored versions. For flavored spirits (including flavored vodkas and some dark/coconut rums), always check up on nutritional information before consuming as they often contain carbohydrates. My spirit of choice is generally a nice gin (with soda water& lime) or cognac (with diet cola). I’ve been known to drink a fair share of Hennessy. Chasers & Mixers For mixing or chasing, you have many no sugar, no calorie options Diet sodas (Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Diet Ginger Ale) Soda water Diet tonic water Seltzer water Continue reading >>
Ketosis & Alcohol, What Are The Impacts?
When on a ketogenic diet or other low carb diets there are many people asking if it is possible to combine ketosis and Alcohol. The simple answer is yes, you can stay in ketosis even though you drink alcohol but you need to be careful what kind of alcohol you drink. You can also not drink alcohol on a regular basis since it will impact your weight loss even though it does not take you out of ketosis. The main reason that alcohol will impact your ketosis is that the body is not able to store the alcohol that you consume. Instead it will start to metabolize the calories in the alcohol first before the body uses any other energy sources. This means that you will not use fat as your main energy source until the alcohol in the body has been used up. Still does not impact ketosis, but your weight loss results. Also when drinking alcohol on ketosis there are some kinds of alcohol that are better than others. Your first choice should be vodka, whiskey or other types of strong alcohol. They contain no or very little carbohydrates. If you do not like to drink strong alcohol then some dry wine is also quite okay. It contains some more carbohydrates but still okay now and then. Beer and other kinds of alcohol you should stay away from if you want to focus on your diet. To help you to know how many calories there are in different types of alcohol you can use this keto alcohol cheat sheet from dietketo.com Red Wines Based on 5oz or 1.5dL. Merlot: 3.7g carbohydrates and 120 calories Pinot Noir: 3.4g carbohydrates and 121 calories Cabernet: 3.8g carbohydrates and 120 calories White Wines Based on 5oz or 1.5dL. Chardonnay: 3.7g carbohydrates and 118 calories Riesling: 5.5g carbohydrates and 118 calories Sparkling whites: 1.5g carbohydrates and 96 calories Beer Based on 12oz or 3.5dL. Mi Continue reading >>
The Ultimate Keto Alcohol Guide
Alcohol on a Low Carb Diet! Alcohol gets a bad rep, and is certainly one of the most abused substances in the world. It can become a serious problem when it interferes with your personal/social life and well-being. To enjoy it we need to exercise moderation and self-control. If you like having a couple of beers, shots or glasses of wine to relax or have a good time on weekends, you’re in good shape! But throw a low carb diet into the mix, and you may find yourself struggling with the quantity of alcohol you’re drinking. People on a keto or low carb diet notice their tolerances significantly drop. And when you realize your favorite drink contains more than 30 grams of carbs in a small serving, you may consider giving alcohol up. Before you give it up, use our Ultimate Keto Alcohol Guide to help navigate your way through your local bar and become a keto connoisseur. How and Why Alcohol Affects Us “…alcohol molecules slow down signals from the brain for actions such as walking and talking” Alcohol is actually the fourth macronutrient, providing our body with 7 calories per gram. If you aren’t familiar with macronutrients, you can read more about macronutrients here. Since alcohol is not needed for survival and is considered toxic to humans, it’s ignored under this umbrella of essential macronutrients. When we ingest alcohol (in the form of ethanol), our body begins to work to metabolize it, or destroy/break it down to get energy. Since alcohol is toxic to our bodies, we begin to metabolize it as soon as possible. The tipsy feeling we get is the alcohol being metabolized. Since alcohol molecules are water and fat soluble, they’re able to pass through and be delivered to pretty much all parts of our body, most importantly, our brain and liver. About 98% of th Continue reading >>
The Ketogenic Diet And Alcohol
Having a social life on a ketogenic diet is something that many find hard to do. There are carbs pretty much everywhere you look, and that’s especially the case when you’re in a bar. Cutting out all the beer and wine is a great start, but sticking with hard liquor is usually the best choice. Even though hard liquor is made from natural sugars, grains, potatoes, and fruits – during the fermentation and distillation process that sugar is converted into ethyl alcohol. Drinking liquor can in fact deepen your level of ketosis, but will slow weight loss down. Ingestion of alcohol has effects on liver metabolism, in which more ketones are produced as you drink more. When your liver is taking care of the alcohol you drink, it’s being converted to a triglyceride which can also positively affect the production of ketones. Be aware that many people experience a heightened level of being drunk and at a quicker rate than usual. While that may be a great thing for some, you need to be careful – especially if you’re driving. Do not drink and drive. Be very careful when on a ketogenic diet and consuming alcohol. There are plenty of people that also experience worse hangover while on a ketogenic diet, so make sure you stay hydrated. The typical advice is to drink 1 glass of water per 1 shot (or glass) of alcohol you drink. Below you’ll find short and quick versions of everything you can drink. Scroll down the page to read a more in-depth explanation on each low-carb alcohol and what you should commonly avoid. Here’s a short list on what you can drink when you want to consume low-carb alcohol. Try not to stray away too much from the suggested list, but if you want more options scroll down and you’ll see a much more comprehensive list (including brands and carb counts)! Continue reading >>
Atkins And Alcohol – Slainte*!
One of the first questions we are often asked is: “Can I drink alcohol while following this plan?”. The reason we are all so keen to know whether or not alcohol is allowed on the Atkins diet is a debate for another day! So why is alcohol one of those things that we are told not to consume while following a diet and are you allowed to drink alcohol while following the Atkins nutritional lifestyle? On Induction phase 1 alcohol is not allowed. But Induction is only for two weeks. The reason alcohol is restricted on a low carb diet, especially at the start is, when ingested into the body it is metabolized before the fat in your body, so in that case alcohol is treated (from the bodies perspective) like a macro-nutrient. This applies to almost all spirit alcohol and some wines. Beers, ales, stouts, alco-pops, flavored spirits, desert wines and sherry all contain higher level of sugars than neat spirits like whiskeys, vodkas, gins, aged brandy and scotch. Drinking spirits neat or on the rocks (with ice) or water is better than drinking spirits with mixers, with soda water being the exception. Sugar free tonic water is also fine. When you move onto OWL, alcohol in moderation is acceptable once you use the above guidelines you should be fine. To illustrate how many carbs are in a beer; a pint of draft beer (500ml) contains 8 grams of carbohydrates, considering that on OWL you should be eating between 20 and 40 grams of carbs daily then a glass of beer is far too high in carbs at this stage. The other down side of taking alcohol is that it may make some of your old cravings for high carb snacks, such as crisps and other high carb snacks that are associated with drinking alcohol return. Or it can have you heading straight to your favorite chipper or pizza place on the way bac Continue reading >>
Vodka Diet Drinks
made it | 10 reviews Almost like a lime Diet Coke, There's a thread of diet-friendly cocktails which might help you, linked below (search "cocktail" if it doesn't work). And while having *a drink* isn't going to ruin your Sep 3, 2014 If you are looking to trim your waistline, or at least maintain its current circumference, removing cocktails from your diet can seem like an easy place to cut back. For a low-carb diet, you can learn the carb counts of different types of alcohol, but often far more is used in a drink. Puja Patel. 5 oz SMIRNOFF® No. Calories in Vodka-100 Proof. One of the best features of ketogenic dieting is that you can easily drink alcohol in moderation without setting your diet goals back. Alex Keating posted One can of frozen limeade, 12 oz. Vodka, gin, or bourbon with club soda and a twist are pretty good bets, too. These Paleo drinks are all made to the specification of the Paleo diet, and in many cases will provide you with nourishment and nutrients far more than most non-Paleo “Is Vodka Paleo?” or “Can you drink Vodka on a Paleo Diet” are surprisingly common questions, so I thought I’d address the issue of Vodka and Paleo here 5 of the Healthiest Alcoholic Beverages You Can Get at you — but is it really that bad to sip a couple drinks with friends restricted to vodka While alcoholic drinks are never healthy per se, even the most health conscious among us still want to let loose and have a few to end a long week, celebrate life Vodka with diet sprite clocks in at We all know the rule that you shouldn't mix energy drinks and alcohol—but celeb trainer and author of Eat This, Not That! Fiftysomething Diet: What Alcohol Can You Drink While Dieting? Moderation is the key, and you'll be surprised to hear which drinks pack many more calories Continue reading >>
Keto Diet Alcohol Guide: Is Booze Okay If It’s Low Carb?
If you’re a boozy babe, you’re likely to ask the million dollar question: “Can I drink alcohol on the keto diet?” This keto diet alcohol guide will point you in the right direction. First, to answer your question: yes, you most certainly can have alcohol on the keto diet. That’s right, not all booze has carbohydrates in it! Most spirits have 0 carbs. Take a shot or four two of vodka, tequila, or gin and you’re still sitting well below your daily carb limit. A glass of white wine, like pinot or sauvignon blanc, only has about 3 net carbohydrates per serving. For the most part, you’re SOL with beer due to the gluten and high carb count. You’ll see in the table below that you can technically make some light beers fit your macros (IIFYM-style), but I’m going to go ahead and give beer a big thumbs down as a keto-approved beverage. In fact, I have a whole comprehensive list of alcoholic beverages sorted by carb count at the bottom of this post if you want to jump to the nitty gritty details of alcohol nutrition data. (CLICK HERE TO SKIP STRAIGHT TO THE KETO ALCOHOL LIST) But before you run off and get white girl wasted with celebratory low carb drinks, there’s a few things you should know about drinking alcohol while you’re in ketosis. I will admit right here and now that alcohol is by far my biggest vice. While my days of telling strangers I love them, sobbing uncontrollably over nothing, and woo-ing too loudly at concerts are over, I do still enjoy a good cocktail (Exhibit A: Vodka Mojito Recipe and Exhibit B: Kamikaze Shot Recipe, two of the keto diet alcohol drink recipes you’ll find on this site). This is a judgement-free zone. The upcoming lecture is just as much for myself as it is for you. The Obligatory Buzz-Kill Alcohol is not a nutrient. Boo Continue reading >>
Does Alcohol Stop Ketosis?
Does alcohol stop ketosis? What happens if you eat more fat than your body needs? And will a slightly higher carb intake kick you out of ketosis? Get the answers in this week’s Q&A with Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt: Alcohol stopping ketosis? We are trying to get into ketosis and measuring blood ketones which seem to be sitting around 1.0 mmol/L. We have adjusted and readjusted our protein and carb amounts to be within the limits you suggest. Last night I had three vodkas – being no-carb alcohol, can this still affect ketosis levels or would we be doing something else wrong? Thank you, Meg Alcohol should not have any major effect on ketosis, as long as it’s no-carb alcohol like vodka (without sweet ingredients in a drink of course). If anything, pure alcohol tends to somewhat increase ketosis. For best results choose low-carb alcoholic drinks like wine or other low-carb drinks, see the guide below. Also note that many people get more sensitive to alcohol on a ketogenic diet. Be careful and never drink and drive, this is especially true on keto. Best, Andreas Eenfeldt If I eat more fat than my body needs for fuel, what happens to the excess? I understand that if one eats more carbs (glucose) and/or protein than one’s body can immediately use, the excess can be stored as fat. What happens to dietary fat if one eats more of it than can be used? Is it, too, stored, or does the body excrete it? Kathleen It’s mostly stored, though there may be a slight increase in calories burned on low carb. Don’t eat when you’re not hungry, and this should not really be an issue on a low-carb diet, as fat is very satiating. Best, Andreas Eenfeldt Will going moderate low carb >50 carbs turn brain back to using carbs for fuel instead of ketones? I think I need to up carbs for energy. I e Continue reading >>
Will This Kick Me Out Of Ketosis?
A common question people have when starting keto is “will this kick me out of ketosis?” I’m going to address as many items as I can think of and explain why it will or will not kick you out of keto. This is going to be as comprehensive as possible so either use ctrl + f to find what you’re looking for or buckle up and read on. How do humans enter ketosis in the first place? Things will become much more clear if we explain how humans enter ketosis. Mainly, liver glycogen is what determines if ketones will be produced. Specifically, glycogen in the liver signals malonyl-coa to be formed by carboxylating acetyl-coa. Acetyl-coa is used in many processes and it’s the main substrate used to be turned into ketones. The wiki on regulation of ketogenesis which applies to this scenario says “When the body has no free carbohydrates available, fat must be broken down into acetyl-CoA in order to get energy. Acetyl-CoA is not being recycled through the citric acid cycle because the citric acid cycle intermediates (mainly oxaloacetate) have been depleted to feed the gluconeogenesis pathway, and the resulting accumulation of acetyl-CoA activates ketogenesis.” Basically, when there is more acetyl-CoA than oxaloacetate, the acetyl-CoA becomes acetoacetate, a ketone body. In plain English, carbs provide oxaloacetate, so if it doesn’t have carbs, it likely isn’t going to kick you out of ketosis. I’ll state the exceptions later. Why do humans enter ketosis so readily? Humans enter ketosis faster than any animal on the planet. It usually takes 24-36 hours before we enter ketosis.This is because we have huge brains and tiny bodies. Our brains need ~400 calories/day, which for most people that equates to 20% of our total energy demands. To put this in perspective, most anim Continue reading >>
Keto Diet And Alcohol
The ketogenic diet is a great way to lose weight, but it is also a lifestyle change that will stay with you for life. While you won’t be eating the extremely low levels of carbs you eat while you are losing weight once you reach your goals, you will need to restrict carbs in your diet permanently to keep those results. Of course, there are some things you have to give up during the strict, initial induction phase (which makes up the first ten to twelve days of your ketogenic diet plan) that you may not want to commit to giving up for the rest of your life. A key one of these, for many people, is alcohol. How does alcohol affect ketosis? Alcohol does have an impact on weight loss through a ketogenic diet, even when you drink low carb or carb free alcoholic beverages. This is because the body can use alcohol as a source of fuel. It isn’t stored as glycogen, like carbs, so once it is burned off you will go straight back into ketosis, however this does mean you are losing some fat burning time when you drink. How much this affects your weight loss varies between individuals. Some people find their weight loss stalls if they drink anything alcoholic, whereas others find they can drink responsible amounts of wine, hard liquor or a low carb beer (they do exist) and keep losing weight. Can I drink alcohol on a Ketogenic Diet? If you enjoy alcohol then as long as you have finished induction, you can try incorporating some low carb alcoholic drinks into your ketogenic diet, and monitor the results. Some people find they can drink vodka with no problems but their weight loss stalls if they drink wine. It is a case of experimenting and seeing what works for you, and then weighing up the pros and cons of having a drink when you want to. If it is a special occasion, you might acc Continue reading >>
Keto Diet Alcohol Rules: What To Drink, What To Avoid
Boy, doesn’t that bottle of wine above look like it’s ominously laying in a casket? Alcohol is infamously known as the fourth macronutrient. If you enjoy a drink or two but aren’t sure if that fits into the keto diet alcohol guidelines, let’s shed some light on the keto diet alcohol rules so you can make an informed decision about what’s best for your goals. Let’s not sugar coat this: When you drink alcohol, your body is getting the signal that there is a toxic substance present. It will then send all it’s resources to the liver to process the toxin as quickly as possible, taking resources from other processes, one of which, is fat oxidation (re: ketone production). This means drinking alcohol slows ketone production. It’s true that partying looks a little different when you’re keto. Some people consider it (or rationalize it) that it’s their cheat meal. There are some legitimate concerns when it comes to consuming alcohol on a ketogenic diet. Here are some of the biggest things to keep in mind before reaching for your next drink. Keto Diet Alcohol Rules: What to Avoid and Why Let’s first acknowledge that not all alcoholic drinks are created equal. Of course, alcohol (ethanol) the molecule itself, is always the same. Yeast acts on a sugar compound to make both carbon dioxide and the alcohol. But the type of sugar compound used and the type of drink mixture is what determines how your body uses the alcohol. For example, let’s look at beer. It’s made from barley, hops, yeast, and water. Barley is the main ingredient broken down to the sugar maltose, which is what the yeast acts on. Beer is a dangerous drink for those going keto because the process leaves it rich in carbohydrates, which can stop or slow ketosis. In the same vein, some other drinks Continue reading >>
Paleo Vodka & Peach Lemonade
Want to see how I attempt to drink and stay healthy? Then follow me on Instagram! If you’ve seen the other recipe for the Blackberry Tequila Mojito, you will know we’re not shy about posting paleo drinks and recipes up here on the site. I know this could get me thrown in paleo prison by the paleo police, but people are going to drink. It is 2014, not 40000 BC, after all. What’s the best way to do it? Without mixers and with fresh ingredients. Without crazy amounts of corn syrup, artificial dyes and sodas and gluten and yeast. Paleo vodka & peach lemonade is the answer this time! Again, massive amounts of citrus helps to detox the alcohol and soda water helps to process the alcohol. Garnish however you’d like, but adding a rosemary sprig for a stir stick adds a nice spice as well as a fancy touch that is easy to impress. Continue reading >>
