Can you drink alcohol and still stay lean?

This topic seems to be a common struggle I hear from a lot of people… They want to get lean, but they don’t want to give up drinking alcohol.

Now, I’m not talking about alcoholic type of drinking (that is obviously a problem)… we’re just talking moderate social drinking here.

First, although some people may willingly choose to give up alcohol entirely, I still think most of us can drink in moderation, and still stay perfectly healthy and lean. But there are a few tricks that can help you to not pack on the pounds… and I’ll mention those in a little bit.

As for myself, it comes down to choosing what I’m going to be strict about to maintain my fitness lifestyle and what I’m not going to be strict about.

For example, I’m pretty strict about never eating anything deep fried or made with trans fats, never eating white bread, and never drinking sodas or sweetened soft drinks of any kind… but I’ll admit that one thing I’ve chosen to not be strict about is drinking alcohol.

I’m in my 30′s now and I certainly don’t drink as frequently as I did back in my crazy college days, but I’ll certainly enjoy some cold ones when hanging out with friends, going to a bbq or dinner party, or during a night out at the bars and nightclubs.

It’s all about balance in your life, and not every aspect has to be perfect in order for you to still get the body and health that you want. You’ll drive yourself crazy if you’re trying to be perfect.

Of course, if you have no problem abstaining from alcohol, then that will certainly be the best thing for your health and your body.

However, for the rest of us, that actually do like to partake in some social drinking, here are a few tips that have helped me to stay single-digit bodyfat lean, while still drinking occasionally.

1. Obviously alcohol gives you extra empty calories on the days that you choose to drink. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram for carbs and protein, and 9 calories per gram for fats.

On nights that I know are going to involve some drinking, it helps to make sure that dinner is based only around protein and vegetables. You’re going to take in a lot of empty calories with the alcohol, so eating a good portion of appetite-satisfying protein along with nutrient-rich vegetables can help to control your appetite and give your body the nutrients it needs.

Plus, most importantly, there’s just no room for loads of carbohydrate-rich foods if you’re also going to be consuming alcohol. Carbs + alcohol is a perfect recipe for growing a beer belly!

2. If you want to save your body from adding layers of ugly fat, by all means stay away from syrupy, fruity drinks that are loaded with sugar… this is a double whammy for your gut as you’re not only getting all of the empty alcohol calories, but also loads of empty sugar calories. Big fruity drinks such as a margarita can sometimes have as much as 500-600 calories per serving!

Instead, your best bet is to stick with a clear alcohol mixed with club soda and a squeeze of lime or lemon. Vodka with club soda and extra lemon/lime squeeze is my drink of choice at the bars/nightclubs.

Stay away from tonic water mixers! Some people don’t realize this, but tonic water is loaded with almost as much sugar as regular soda pop… on the other hand, club soda has no calories at all. It’s clearly the lowest calorie way to drink.

3. If you’re going to drink beer, you’re better off choosing just 1 or 2 dark beers rather than 5 or 6 light beers. Sure, dark beers have more calories than light beers, but dark beers also have more B vitamins and antioxidants than light beers, so you actually get more nutrition from the dark beer. As long as you keep it to just 1 or 2 dark beers, you may still stay within 150-400 calories.

4. Try to get in a high intensity full body workout before your night out of drinking. At least you’ve revved up your metabolism and have your body processing calories a little faster.

Also, trying to get in some sort of exercise the morning after your night out can also help to get your body back to a good state of health. This may not be your best workouts in terms of energy, but it can help to just get your body moving and break a sweat.

5. Avoid the late-night munchies after a night of drinking! This is where most people do the biggest damage to their waistlines.

Instead, make sure to have some lean protein and vegetables quickly available at home (perhaps some pre-cooked chicken breasts, grass-fed steaks, or even tuna fish and some veggie sticks) so that you can satisfy your late night post-party appetite with lean protein instead of carbohydrates.

The worst thing for your body is loading up on pizza, ice cream, and other carb-rich junk after a night out of drinking.

6. If you drink multiple drinks socially, try to keep drinking alcohol to only 1-2 days/week maximum if you want to stay lean. On the other hand, if you never drink more than 1-2 drinks per day, I think having 1-2 drinks daily with a meal can still be part of a healthy lifestyle. As long as those calories are accounted for and you still stay within your daily caloric maintenance.

7. Wine is one of the healthier drink choices… if you must have a drink, you might as well choose wine so you at least get a good dose of antioxidants as well. Red wine is known for it’s antioxidant content, however even white wines contain antioxidants as well.

And finally, like I mentioned before, drinking alcohol just adds one more thing to your list that you have to work against in getting the body you want.

Abstaining may always be the best choice, BUT we also need to be realistic and know that social drinking is not something that most people are willing to give up entirely.

For that reason, this list of tips to help manage social drinking in a healthier way can really help you to stay leaner and healthier and still balance a little bit of social drinking into your life.

From Mike Geary of truthaboutabs.com

Just another tip today to help you eat healthier and avoid common food choice mistakes…

Most salad dressings that you buy at the grocery store or get at most restaurants are pure junk…

Although some salad dressings are high in sugar or high fructose corn syrup, probably the main problem with most salad dressings is that they are made with highly refined and processed oils… usually refined soybean oil (or other mostly polyunsaturated refined oils). These oils are inflammatory to the body and also too high in omega-6 fatty acids.

Even the dressings that claim to be “healthy” at the store are usually made with highly refined canola oil… but there’s not much healthy about that either (despite the marketing of canola oil as healthy).

The solution to this is NOT to avoid any oils at all in salad dressings… remember that healthy fats are actually important for helping you to absorb a lot of the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants from the vegetables in your salad. And I’m simply not a fan at all of most “fat-free” products as they usually have extra sugars and other junk.

The only way around this is to make your own home-made salad dressings instead of buying the junk at the grocery store, and add your own healthy oils.

Although most “fat-free” products are typically full of junk, I like to try to find an organic fat-free balsamic salad dressing or red wine vinegar dressing, and then I add half of the container to a new bottle and fill the remainder with a mixture of extra-virgin olive oil, Udo’s Choice EFA Oil (can be found at health food stores… if not, just use only olive oil), and organic balsamic or red wine vinegar (and a few extra herbs and spices if you wish).

This way, you’re in control and making a salad dressing using healthy oils instead of the processed refined soybean oils that almost all commercial salad dressings use.

Enjoy!

By Mike Geary: truthaboutabs.com

An effective component of any exercise routine is resistance bands and this includes exercises for the stomach. Resistance bands are incorporated into a lot of exercising focused on the midsection. There are a variety of difficulties for resistance bands which will normally be indicated by the bands color such as red meaning difficult or yellow being medium resistance. Pick a level of resistance that is right for you and increase it as needed. You can injure yourself by overdoing and starting with the highest resistance level you can find. Injuries are avoided by proper warm ups and talking to a professional before starting any exercise regimen.

Seated Crunch
There is reduced neck strain and no discomfort caused by this exercise when lying on the floor even though the benefits of this exercise are the same as the traditional abdominal crunch since the resistance is provided by the band instead of gravity. You need a straight back chair you can loop the resistance band through to sit in for this exercise. With feet on the floor flat and hip width apart sit up straight; contract the abdominal muscles while bending forward to an angle of forty-five degrees slowly. Repeat. The back should remain as straight as possible and the feet should stay on the floor.

One-Arm Band Pull
Keeping the feet apart hip width lose the chair and stand up. Hold the band approximately eighteen inches apart with your hands over your head. Leave the left hand above your head and bring the right arm to your side bending the elbow approximately ninety degrees. Contract the abdominals without moving the left arm while lowering the right arm so the hand is lined up with the chest. Hold before returning slowly. Perform one set then alternate hands. Do not lean or bend at the waist your back should be straight. Stand on one foot while doing this exercise if you need more of a challenge. Use both hands to do the exercise while standing on the right foot then do the same thing standing on the left foot.

Twisting Roll-Back
A flat surface such as the floor is needed to sit on to do this stomach exercise. Strain to the tail bone can be reduced by cushioning yourself with a towel or mat. Sit down with your heels on the floor and legs bent. The feet shouldn’t be flat you want the toes to point up. Put on end of the band in each hand and put them together after looping the other end over the feet. Lower the torso about forty-five degrees to the floor with a rolling motion. Spread your hands to the sides and twist to the right while you do this. Hold briefly before rotating to the middle and raising the torso back to the beginning position. During the entire exercise you want your heels to stay on the floor. Do a complete set before alternating sides.