 You should never have to choose between your fitness and having a good time. Find out how you can attain that 6 pack while enjoying a 6 pack! By Craven Ah, booze. What's not to love about it? It makes unattractive people slightly less unattractive, annoying people a little more tolerable, and the ubiquitous beverage of choice for every 20 something year old looking to make some questionable decisions. To quote the great Homer Simpson, "Alcohol: The CAUSE, AND SOLUTION to all of life's problems!" Alcohol is an interesting topic that comes with a lot of controversial issues, and in this instance, I'm going to address the single most important question people who workout like to ask: "HOW WILL DRINKING AFFECT MY GAINZ, BRO!?" I get asked this question all the time, and with the all the summer activities to partake in that involve frosty brews and good company, it's easy to fall off the wagon, get hammered drunk, and imagine you're in an angel band singing lead vocals for Lynyrd Skynyrd! So let's not dilly-dally on the subject, here. Sober minds are begging to know. I'm going drop some knowledge bombs (Jager bombs?) that will come in handy the next time your buddies rope you into hitting up a pub crawl and you're worried about your fat loss and/or muscle gain en devours.  ALCOHOL MAKES YOU FAT FALSE. I've said this before in previous posts, but there is nothing you can consume that will automatically 'make you fat'. Being fat makes you fat. And to get fat, all you have to do is consume a surplus amount of calories. You can quote me when I say alcohol has no direct affect on either slowing down/stopping fat loss or causing loss of muscle mass. This bit of info may conflict with your previous thoughts of alcohol perpetuated by the "clean eaters" that put alcohol in the "unclean" category and are quick to label it as 'fattening'. In case you haven't noticed, I'm on something of a crusade (led by Dr. Layne Norton and a host of other intelligent fellas) trying to change the fitness game and help people understand that you CAN lose fat and gain muscle while still enjoying all the food and activities you love. The 'clean eaters' may ask, "bro, do you even lift?" To which I reply with "Bro, do you even science?" Then proceed to pull a 545 lb deadlift and scarf down a half dozen Krispy Kreme donuts and wake up with better abs than I had yesterday. Enjoy your brocolii and tilapia, #fitfam. (Do I seem bitter? Maybe all this ice cream I eat daily will make me sweet.) Anyway, back to the booze. Alcohol will only lead to fat gain when consumed in a diet that supplies excess calories. Here's a relate able example: Getting trashed on Thirsty Thursdays then crusing over to your favorite Whataburger joint and puttin' down a double patty melt. Sound familiar to anyone? The thing about alcohol, just like with almost everything in life, comes down to moderation. As the old saying goes, "The devil is in the dosage." From a nutritional standpoint, alcohol is very similar to sugar. Pure sugar (glucose) is void of nutrients and fine in your diet when dosage is minimal. The same goes for alcohol.  Who's down for Whatburger after the next 4 games? WHAT IF I DRINK TOO MUCH? For those of you who have ever been to college, you know the experience. When alcohol is consumed in large quantities (binge drinking), there are plenty of negative side effects that come along with that dirty little hangover the next morning. An indirect effect of getting smashed is eating more, brought on by a lack of inhibition from da' booze. An excess consumption of calories loaded on top of 8 beers and a handful of shots will undoubtedly be bad news for those 6 pack abs that were slightly starting to show in the right lighting. The direct effect of binge drinking comes in the form of suppressed fat burning. When alcohol is in your system, it takes first priority by your body to be used as fuel; thus putting the brakes on fat oxidation AND suppresses carb and protein oxidation. Basically, your metabolism (momentarily) comes to a standstill to process the alcohol. In case you didn't get the point, here it is: MODERATION IS KEY.  Probably not the best way to facilitate those gains! HOW DO I INCORPORATE ALCOHOL INTO MY DIET? I'm glad I asked! Alcohol is technically a fourth macro-nutrient (5th actually if you count fiber), and contains about 7 calories per gram. If you follow a flexible dieting routine and track your macros (I can't emphasize how imperative and EASY this is to do if you're serious about fat loss and muscle gain!) then you can do some quick number crunching to find out how much alcohol you can pour down your throat and still maintain your gains! So what do you need to do? Just divide the total calorie content of the drink by 4 if you want to count is as carbs or divide by 9 if you want to count it as fat. Example: Shot of Jack Daniels (my go-to beverage) 1 shot=78 calories. 78/4=19.5 78/9= 8.7 So this one drink could either be computed as 20 grams of carbs in your daily allowance, or 9 grams of Fat in your daily allowance. Up to you. How about a beer? A pint of Guinness has 210 calories. 210 ÷ 4 = 52.5 210÷ 9 = 23.3 So we get 53 grams of carbs or 23 grams of fat. Simple, right? If you haven't started a flexible dieting program, check out my article on Flexible dieting or contact me for a PERSONALIZED macro-nutrient breakdown and meal options. What now?
That's about all there is to it, guys! Always remember to enjoy yourself as often as possible! Take my advice, don't EVER turn down a night out with good company to stay home and "meal prep" or something you think may benefit your gym progress. The key to progress (as with anything in life) is consistency. If you're consistent with your training and nutrtion, the progress will come. If you do everything right, there's no harm in having a good time and puttin' down a few cold ones. Because when it comes down to it, it's nice having great abs and rockin biceps, but what's nicer is kickin' it with a few good friends on a Thursday evening. If you're doing it right, both your abs and buds will still be around for you in the morning. Cheers! For Personalized macro-nutrient plans, meal plans, and remote coaching, contact me at s[email protected] 
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