For someone who is planning to get in shape, there are a few crucial factors they should already have in mind. They should improve their diet and exercise. However, there is one part of a diet that isn’t always considered the same way fatty and sugary foods are: alcohol. By cutting alcohol from your diet, you can help yourself to meet your fitness goals all the more easily.
Cutting Calories
A single beer contains about 154 calories. This is much less than that of an especially low-calorie meal. However, how often do you drink a single beer at a time? If you go out for the evening and have five or six beers, you’re approaching 1,000 calories in liquid form, much of which is fat. Since alcohol isn’t filling the same way a burger or ice cream is, your stomach is much less likely to indicate how much you are ingesting. Plus, the cumulative effect can sneak up on you. Weeks, months and years of drinking beer without counting calories can add significant weight to your stomach.
Better Exercise Performance
After a night of drinking, it is common to feel unmotivated to do anything remotely physical. If you have a hangover, the idea of exerting yourself physically is laughable. (That is, if you have enough energy to laugh). When you don’t have alcohol inhibiting you, you can move more freely and easily and factors such as bright lights or loud music at a gym or fitness center will not be a bother. Whether it’s cutting it out entirely, or just limiting your intake, fewer hangovers make life a little better.
Overall Better Health
Let’s suppose you’re in ideal physical health. It’s still not a bad idea to consider cutting back on alcohol. Alcohol can have an effect on your immune system and mental processes. As you get older, the less chances you can take with your health. Alcohol, especially when consumed regularly over time, can contribute to many health problems in your future, including kidney or liver failure. You may feel invincible now, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t benefit from cutting back.
Legal Issues
Misuse of alcohol can lead to more than just health problems. You can find yourself in a number of unfortunate situations due to drinking too much, from public intoxication to DUI. You need only ask a lawyer like those at Lowry Law Firm to find out how difficult it can be to contest these kinds of charges. While you might get fit in the prison gym, it’s much more rewarding to be in shape on the other side of the bars. If you limit your intake at parties, events, or even around the house, you can keep your wits about you and make better decisions.
Drinking is often easy and fun, especially in social settings. While it may not be necessary to cut it out entirely, it’s a good idea for just about anybody to make sure they’re being responsible and healthy.
