Does Alcohol Affect Your Fitness Goals?

You’re in college, it’s at every party, all your friends take part in it regularly… ALCOHOL. 

Especially at a college like USC, alcohol surrounds the social scene.  Have you ever thought about how many calories are in a shot of whisky? Or how much a night of drinking takes away from your killer workout that afternoon?  I guess because alcohol is so much a part of the party scene at USC, no one thinks twice about it. On late nights going out, I noticed that my body felt weaker and more sluggish the next day so I decided to find out for myself how much alcohol keeps me from reaching my fitness goals.  I am not here to tell you not to partake in consuming alcohol, but to know its affects on the body so you can make more informed decisions at parties in the future.

A misconception many people have is that by cutting out certain foods in their diets, it will make up for the 6-7 drinks they have during the course of a wild party night.  FALSE.  Alcohol is high in calories not to mention the other sodas and syrups put in your drinks.  That one Jack Daniel’s and Coke you order at the 901 Bar and Grill has over 200 calories per drink.  These empty calories slow down your body’s metabolism and get stored as pure fat.

Most importantly, alcohol leads to dehydration.  Dehydration is the primary reason for why your body feels like crap after a night on the town.  Your stamina, strength and focus for your the next couple days will be negatively affected because your body has been sucked of all the water it’s used to receiving.

If you are like me though, and don’t want to cut alcohol out completely, there are ways to minimize the negative effects of a night of partying.  Here are some helpful easy tips –

1.       Before you go out for the night, make sure you are sufficiently hydrated.  Also, when you get back home, drink a bottle of water or two before bed.  This will help your body rehydrate as you sleep.

2.       Take a couple of Multivitamins either before you go out, or before bed with water.  This will help replenish your body with the vitamins lost when alcohol is consumed.

3.       Stick to alcohol that is on the clearer side.  Darker alcohols like whisky and rum have a lot more calories than vodka.  This applies to beer too.  A Bud Light is far better for you than a Guinness.

4.       Make sure to have a full stomach of food before or while you are drinking (this doesn’t include a Victory Dog on the way to a home football game).  This not only does this help your body process the alcohol in a healthier way, it also keeps you from the temptation of eating late-night fast food!

Here is one of the articles I checked out:

 http://www.livestrong.com/article/345415-the-effects-of-alcohol-on-fitness/