Alcohol: The effects last much longer than you think...

Have you ever wondered how long alcohol has an effect on you?

How much does alcohol impact fat loss?

Something I have been saying for years (and also have data to back up) is that alcohol has an effect for at least 5 days after one night of drinking. Women also happen to be much more sensitive to alcohol than men do in terms of ECW (extracellular water or bloat) than men.

5 DAYS! That is a large price to pay for one night of ‘fun’.

I recently stumbled upon an article by WHOOP that supports this as well. They found athletes who drank took at least 4-5 days to recover back to baseline recovery. Recovery is a measure the WHOOP offers, and I personally have found this to be one of the most accurate markers for energy and function throughout the day. Recovery is measured using HRV during sleep. This means alcohol effects your heart for up to 5 days after one night of drinking, on average.

Interesting, this is the same thing we see when using Bio-Impedance Analysis (BIA) to assess body composition. At my office, we have seen this for years. One night of drinking will lead to a 1-4 pound increase in fluid for up to 5 days on average. This is almost exclusively extracellular water. Which taking this one step further, 1-4 lbs of extra fluid, all in the extracellular space, can be easily thought of as bloat. This is all above a baseline already established over time. To put in perspective, that is up to 1/2 gallon on average of bloat, per night drinking.

The solution to (alcohol) pollution is dilution.

How does this impact fat loss?

When your body is detoxing alcohol, it is not processing fat. It is literally that simple. If you are having trouble dropping fat pounds, cut the booze. Fat leaves the body via the urine. It literally has to be detoxed out. That is what detoxification is. It is the process of turning fat soluble substances into water soluble substances to be urinated out. If your body is processing alcohol, it is NOT processing fat.

Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy a good tequila on occasion. Alcohol has its place in social gatherings and bringing people together. Sometimes it is needed at a family event ;). The question I pose for all reading this is: when does alcohol become a problem?

Answer: When it is interfering with your health goals and negatively impacting your life. Using this as your parameter will begin to offer insight. If you want to lose 5, 10 or 50 lbs, what does drinking do for you? Data suggests it is harming your progress.

Cheers!