First off, Happy Independence Day to all the readers.
The second annual Guyana Independence Carnival has taken the 592 by storm and some of the biggest alcoholic beverage companies in the region have partnered to sponsor the numerous events.
Scores of locals, overseas-based Guyanese and foreigners have witnessed the euphoria at various venues with an alcoholic beverage in hand. The occasional social drink is OK but it’s easy to drink a little too much a little too often.
So, how much is enough and how much is too much and can inhibit your fitness goals?
A study defined moderate drinking as no more than two drinks per day for men and one for women – yet many of us exceed that amount, often accidentally. This is thanks to portion distortion, which results from heavy-handed pours and oversized glasses, causing you to serve more than a standard drink. For the record, a standard drink is 1.5 oz hard alcohol (3 tbsp), 5 oz wine (⅓ cup), and 12 oz beer (1.5 c).
Women tend to commit the sin of accidental over consumption more often than men, both owing to their lower alcohol tolerance/drink limit and due to alcohol choice. More women tend to drink wine than men (who tend to prefer beer, according to a poll). While beer tends to come in single-serving cans and bottles, wine is typically served in a multi-serving unit, which gives the host or drinker discretion to pour however much they want at any one time.
Even careful pourers tend to underestimate the amount in a single pour, thanks to curved glasses, which skew perception of serving size.
Weight loss
Alcohol is calorically dense. Per gramme, it contains seven calories, more than both carbohydrates and protein (which contain 4 calories per gramme), but not as many as fat, which contains nine calories per gramme. A standard drink contains between 100-150 calories. And remember, most drinks (especially hand-poured) tend to contain more thanks to over-pouring.
If you were to cut out a single drink each day (and not replace those calories with other foods or beverages), you could lose close to 10 pounds (9.6, to be exact) in a single year.
Muscle growth
Studies have shown that consuming alcohol in the hours after exercise inhibits muscle growth and repair. And let’s face it, how many of us have hit up happy hour after lifting or gone home for a glass of wine after spin class?
While abstinence isn’t most people’s first pick, no one wants to waste the time they’ve invested in the gym. Sure, it’s not always possible to avoid alcohol on the days that you work out, but the more you do, the more you set yourself up for great results in fitness and muscle growth.
