I know you must be devastated to hear this sad news but alas, all good things must come to an end. (I’m not sure who came up with that saying …but I can’t think of one good reason why reason why all good things must end!)
But the good news, it’s not forever and it is for a specific reason…. weight loss, flatter belly and a healthier me! Hands up if you want all of those things?
I’ve returned from our annual 2 week beachside holiday and it was bliss. We had fab weather, caught up with many friends, family and indulged in the good life…often.
The thing is when you go on holiday, you let for want of a better word, your ‘health’ rules relax. In fact they take their own holiday to somewhere else, deep into your subconscious…
And that is perfectly OK.
There is no need to beat yourself up about it, and think negatively everytime you over indulge. Relax, enjoy and know that on your return to ‘normalcy’ you pick up where you left off and amend your health habits accordingly.
The interesting observation about this Summer however was the increased belly bloat on my return and the number on the scales had ventured north!
My eating and daily walks remained fairly ‘normal’, the big difference in my intake was ALCOHOL. Having a drink/s in the evening was a daily occurrence, and I now have tangible evidence (squeeze my belly) that said consumption has made an impact.
I’m thinking this impact is more so than years before and that is probably to do with this wonderful peri menopausal stage of life that I and millions of other fabulous women are in! But that topic is for another blog post, this one’s about the effects of alcohol on one’s waistline!
When we talk about alcohol I think we need to start with the fact that it’s actually the second most energy rich nutrient after fat. Fat is 9 calories per gram, alcohol is 7 calories, protein and carb about 4 calories per gram. You know I’m not into calorie counting but in this case …knowledge empowers!
The thing is our body sees alcohol and its by products as a toxin and wants it out asap. So in order to achieve this, it literally stops processing the other foods you’ve eaten so it can metabolise (use as energy) the alcohol.
Then what happens to the other food you’ve consumed?
Once all alcohol is ‘burned’ your body then metabolises the remainder. In most cases it’s unlikely you need anymore energy from the food you’ve consumed (as the alcohol took care of that) so it is stored as fat for later use….bummer!
And to add insult to injury, research has shown that as few as two standard alcoholic drinks can slow down your body’s fat-burning process by a crazy 73%! So any extra food you’ve consumed or other unwanted fat you may be wanting to lose will almost come to a grinding halt!
Then there is the fact that when you consume alcohol it can make you hungrier. We know that alcohol suppresses leptin, the hormone that tells your brain you’ve had enough to eat. So you end up eating more and as you drink more your ‘healthy choices’ tend to go out the window… “where’s the triple cream brie anyone?
So for every drink you have, if you don’t want to gain weight, then you are going to have to eat ‘lighter’ or seriously exaggerate your exercise to compensate!
Or alternatively do as I’m doing and now that I’m home and ‘normalcy’ returns, AFD’s (alcohol free days) have returned and so is (almost) my waistline…
I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
p.s The beginning of a new year.. perhaps you’d like a new healthier you, is one of the best reasons ever to jumpstart your health journey and weight loss. I’m running my fabulously successful (even if I do say so myself) 14 Day Eat Clean Reset Your Body Program again starting on February 1st.
This is not a diet, it’s a Reset – giving your body a chance to recover and turn your health around.
You can actually start it whenever you want but I will be actively involved in the Feb 1 start. Click here to find out more.
Be Healthy, Happy & Amazing!
Caroline x