Yes and No. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for a balanced life, fun with friends and a nice pinot or two :), but I’m also about helping my clients achieve real health and getting them in the best shape for life.
To decide whether you can drink alcohol and get in great shape, you need to ask yourself two questions:
- What are your health and weight-loss goals?
- What is your health like at the moment?
If you are having digestive problems, you have a leaky gut, adrenal fatigue, food intolerances or you feel like crap all the time, then no, you should give your gut a chance to heal and cut alcohol out for 3-6 months to heal your gut. Otherwise you will cause more problems or exacerbate the problem.
If you don’t have digestive issues then yes, you can have alcohol, but you need to understand when and how you can have it with food. Take a look at your week’s food plan and decide when you will have alcohol. No, not every night (damn).
It also depends on what results you want. You can go out and enjoy yourself and have fun, but you can’t go and drink rum and coke, creamy cocktails and beer and expect to lose weight.
Alcohol is sugar, beer contains gluten, and this can wreck havoc on your gut and cause weight gain. Your best alcohol choice would be red wine. With red wine you get the added health benefits of resveratrol (helps reduce inflammation and lowers bad cholesterol) and antioxidants for heart health.
If you are out with your girlfriends or mates for dinner then balance out your wine with some protein, vegetables and good healthy fats. Don’t add the extra carbs like potatoes, bread and dessert; your wine is your carbs. Order a steak and a salad or vegetables to even out your blood sugar levels, drink plenty of water and enjoy that wine.
So, remember if you are happy with your weight and are sleeping well and feeling good, then enjoy your wine on the weekends. If you want to get lean or you have a few stubborn kilos to shift, you have sleep problems, digestive problems, skin problems, food intolerances or are tired upon waking, then cut the drinkies out for 6-12 weeks. You will love the difference it makes. 🙂
