How Alcohol Can Ruin Your Health and Fitness Goals

Hey, the day I wrote this it was my birthday! My wish is you don't raise your glasses in a toast to me today! Read On.

We all like to go out with our friends and have a few drinks. We also heard that when we are trying to obtain different health goals that alcohol can hinder those goals. So, How Alcohol Can Ruin Your Health and Fitness Goals really needs to be something you understand.

Here is the deal, and we are going to be real. Not all drinks and beverages are bad for you. Yes many are filled with sugar or corn syrup, and yes these will not help you reach your health goals. There are also some drinks that won’t hurt your waistline or health and fitness goals quite as much, especially if consumed in real moderation. They can actually have some benefits. Again I want to remind you that this is moderation.

How Alcohol Can Ruin Your Health and Fitness Goals

How Alcohol Can Ruin Your Health and Fitness Goals comes mostly when you over indulge, meaning more than 1-3 drinks per week, and consume mixed drinks. Mixed drinks are among the worst alcohol beverages you can drink because of the juices, sodas, and other sugary substances that make a mixed drink just that, a mixed drink. Then if consuming more than 1-3 drinks per week this can pack on a lot of calories and calories that your body has a more difficult time processing. When your body struggles with processing calories, they become sugars and can be stored as fat.

Here are some side effects of those over indulgences and mixed drinks:

1. Alcohol has more calories per gram than the macronutrients protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Therefore you are consuming less in quantity but far more calories.
2. Decreases your Inhibitions which means your decision making is decreased and you are more likely to choose foods and other things that you would not normally choose.
3. Alcohol can damage your liver, kidneys, and digestive system. All things we need running at their best to have a more balanced health.
4. Alcohol lowers testosterone levels in both men and women. It is never good to have lowered hormone levels for any reason.
5. Alcohol has been found to increase your appetite because it triggers the brain to send the signal that you are hungry. Again striking up the possibility for over indulgence of food.

It has been proven that the choice of alcohol and the amount drank will negate any efforts to lose body fat and will alter performance for the worst. The best advice would be to totally abstain to keep peak performance and hit your weight loss goals. Once your goals are obtained it would be highly recommended that you stick to the best choice which would be wine. Beer is okay, but if you consume more than 12 ounces 1-3 times per week it would be added to the How Alcohol Can Ruin Your Health and Fitness Goals list.

Here is the news that I know most of you want to hear…

You can see wine has not been mentioned as a better choice. Wine can still be on the How Alcohol Can Ruin Your Health and Fitness Goals if the consumption surpasses the 1-3 drinks per week rule, or you binge drink it, but if consumed appropriately it can have many health benefits.

If you have reached your goals, the wine could be something you add back into your life in moderation. Though it would still be recommended that if you are training for something specific, that you keep it to the bare minimum.

Red wine contains a chemical called Ellagic acid. This acid can actually slow the growth of fat cells and stop formation of new ones. It can also help burn more fatty acids in the liver cells. Now this doesn’t mean go drink a bunch of wine. We don’t want you to take this article to say that. When people do that, that is when we have a problem. Keep it in context, because creating too acidic of an environment in the body creates fat and water storage.

Even with this new research, you still need to keep it to 1-3 drinks per week and at the appropriate portion. Remember a glass of wine is really 4 ounces.

The other benefits of wine are it contains active antioxidants like quercetin which may kill cancer cells, it also may help lower risk of heart disease and stroke. Tannins in red wine that give it the red color, contain procyanidins, which have been known for protecting against heart disease. Resveratrol also found in wine can help to remove chemicals responsible for causing blood clots, help prevent cancer, aid in general heart health, lowering LDL cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol, and in the prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Clearly there are many benefits to drinking red wine. The thing to remember is the “How alcohol can ruin my health and fitness goals.” That list is the one to remember. If you keep that list in mind, choose wine over other alcohol, and maintain a higher level of moderation, you can have some alcohol without ruining your health and fitness goals.

Of course the biggest recommendation is to abstain and focus on your health and fitness goals through proper nutrition, high-quality dense nutritional supplements, portion control (not over indulging), and proper exercise and fitness.

Are Carbohydrates Bad?

This article may surprise you by the answer! An important read for everyone! Definitive.

Are Carbohydrates Bad? They make you fat right? Come on it must be true, you read articles about it all the time. So they must make you fat…right?

Here is the deal. There is one small problem, carbohydrates are very important. In fact, carbohydrates (especially the right kind) are essential to your body. They aid in muscle growth, providing energy, as well as providing your body many other benefits. So, Are Carbohydrates Bad? The answer is NO!

Now let’s be real. Lumping all carbs together into one category is like saying all quarterbacks who play in the NFL will be just like Joe Montana. It would be absurd to call all carbs bad when vegetables and fruits are also carbohydrates. With that said, I would have a hard time believing that you would think that a nutrition plan attempting to completely purge carbohydrates would be a good idea. I have a feeling you are a pretty smart cookie (oh, that would be a bad carb). So to suggest that all carbs are evil, is just plain nonsense.

Let’s take a step back and take a hard look at reality, compared to personal preference. I need to ask you a question. Are you willing to wipe the slate clean and start fresh with the truth about carbohydrates? I am going to assume you said yes, either way I am going to give you the facts.

Are Carbohydrates Bad?

 Are Carbohydrates Bad? Will bread and grains make you fat? Uh, NO! Blanket statements just don’t work. The “don’t eat carbs” or “Carbohydrates are Bad” statements are just that, Blanket Statements. Statements like these just confuse the general public. The reason people get confused, is that most don’t have a nutrition background or truly understand what qualifies as a carbohydrate. 95% of us look at food as simply that, FOOD. All blanket statements have done is cause people to adjust their diets in a way that keeps their bodies from functioning properly. This is why many people have been going out of their way to avoid certain foods, like bread, rice or potatoes. When in fact, these foods can have a place in a balanced nutrition plan and can play a role in helping you lose weight or gain lean muscle.

Now you know that carbs as a whole are not bad, BUT there are certain types of carbs that are not good for your body. Generally, these types of carbs will make you feel bloated and tired. These types of carbs often contain processed sugars, corn syrup, or are white flour based foods, and the list can go one with all the other processed crap available. If you cannot grow it, or it doesn’t come from minimally processed whole grains, it is not good. Yep, simple as that.

It comes down to the food manufactures like to confuse people. If they can get the general public to buy into what they are saying about a particular food, macronutrient, or diet, they make money and lots of it.

So back to the question at hand… Are Carbohydrates Bad?

NO, but all of us could gain a better understanding to guide our eating habits. Eating vegetables and fruit, as well as high quality, high fiber grains are an important part of healthy nutrition. If you truly want a balanced healthy nutrition plan that will aid in weight loss or muscle gains you really need to have at least 100 to 200 grams per day depending on your daily level of physical activity and exercise.

The overall message is, you cannot consume bucket-loads of refined low quality carbohydrates and chase them down with and extra-large soda and say, “well they said carbs aren’t bad”. I know you are smarter than the average bear and understand that you need to choose your carbohydrates wisely to have a healthy nutrition plan. It is about eating more good foods such as lean proteins, colorful vegetables, a variety of fruits, high-fiber grains, healthy fats, and cutting out the highly processed garbage such as candy, soda, sugar-loaded foods, poor quality breads, and boatloads of pasta.

Another important factor is choosing the correct portions of the carbs you consume. This can be as important as the kind of carbs you choose to eat. Grain and fruit carbohydrates should be smaller portions than vegetable carbs. If you need assistance with nutrition, portion sizes, and proper balance of carbs, proteins, and fats you may want to check out the 21 Day Fix on Beachbody On Demand. It has an amazing nutrition plan that creates the perfect balance of nutrients and portions. If you struggle with cutting out the crap, you definitely want to take a look at adding a total nutrition shake like Shakeology.

When it’s all said and done, if you are eating healthy and choosing wisely 85-90 percent of the time your body will be happy, you will have energy, and you will lose weight, gain muscle or maintain depending on your goals. You now know the truth to the question “Are Carbohydrates Bad?”

Daily Protein Requirements for Men and Women

Today's article is about healthy eating! The reason I SHARE this particular article is that it gives you the values you need to guarantee that you have enough protein (and not too much). Very interesting.

What are the Daily Protein Requirements for Men and Women? The average man in the United States consumes about 100 grams of protein per day, while the average woman takes in approximately 70 grams, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The amount of protein you need daily really is dependent on your gender and activity level, as well as your goals because this determines your total caloric intake which has an effect on the amount of protein you need to consume.

Daily Protein Requirements for Men and Women

The Institute of Health and Nutrition finding is that for general health, men should get around 56 grams of protein per day and that women should get around 46 grams. It is also important to know that the human body cannot properly utilize more than 20 grams of protein in one consumption. Therefore the grams should be spread out throughout the day in smaller doses. When consuming protein it needs to be of higher quality to ensure that you are getting the nine essential amino acids that are needed but your body cannot produce on its own. Meat, fish and poultry provide all of the amino acids, but if you are a vegetarian, you can combine foods, such as rice and beans, or whole-grain bread and peanut butter, to get a complete array of amino acids. Shakeology which is a total nutrition shake, will also provide all the nutrients you need from the protein to the amino acids. Including this shake in your daily nutrition will help you reach your protein needs without overloading the body with hard to digest animal proteins.

It is also recommended that 10 to 30 percent of your total calories comes from protein. This guideline is general and is dependent on goals. Example: 1,800 calories per day, 180 to 540 of those calories should be from protein. Each gram of protein is 4 calories. This would put your consumption at 45 to 135 grams of protein. This proves why it is dependent on gender, activity level, and personal goals.

Most People Get Too Much Protein
To avoid weight gain, water retention and extra wear and tear on your digestive system, do not take in more protein than recommended. Your body will only use the protein it needs and can process at one time. If you are consuming more than your body needs you will either store it as excess fat or eliminate it. Therefore consuming too much at one time is bad for your body and a waste of money.

Eating large amounts of meat and animal protein each day can be especially unhealthy and hard on the body. Animal products should be eaten in moderation. Plant-based proteins, such as beans, whole grains and legumes are choices that keep the protein levels where you want them and provide a lot of other nutrients. Of course eating a variety of protein sources ensures your body balanced nutrition with all the essential amino acids and prevents it from being bogged down when there is too much of one food item.

Best Result with Your Protein Consumption
Most people don’t realize this, but the muscle gains and recovery do not come from just protein. You need to have a balanced proportion of proteins with complex carbohydrates for your body to actually assimilate the protein for muscle gains and recovery. Therefore you need to consume protein in small amounts, keeping the total grams in one sitting to no more than 20, and include carbohydrates that will optimize protein utilization. This is why we mention plant-based protein sources, as they provide both protein and carbohydrates.

If you are looking at supplements for help getting good protein and carbohydrates you want to use something that is natural and does not have additives or artificial sugars and ingredients. Two of the best sources of high quality supplements are the superfood shake Shakeology, andBeachbody’s Recharge and Recover Protein from their Performance Nutrition Line. These products are clean, high quality protein sources that are perfectly balanced with carbohydrates for optimal assimilation of the protein and super nutrient dense carbohydrates to aid in the process of muscle gain and recovery. When you are providing your body the proper macronutrient quantities, you will get the greatest results. Too much or too little will keep you from having the gains and results you are looking to obtain.

With the knowledge of protein requirements and overall balanced nutrition, great things will happen for you.