Those people who love to go out and get drunk, claim that it's awesome and people who don't do it are just boring. Over the last couple of weekends, I done a little bit of drinking, and even though I am someone who gets hangovers real easy, it was still bad. During the night where you're out having a a good time, at bars or clubs or wherever you go, things seem great, and that's because you are buzzed. Then the following morning comes along, and that's where you regret the night before. You wake up literally feeling like death. You feel gross, warm, dehydrated, sometimes that sort of sweaty feeling, headaches, sometimes feeling sick and so on. That's the effects alcohol has on your body.
I personally woke up and felt disgusting, and made me think "how can people do this twice or more every week??". That's usually what older people say (as you get older your body can't tolerate alcohol as well), but I'm not old, I'm only 24, and yet that's what I was thinking. I had to jump straight to my 'hangover cure' - couple of hits of green tea, a banana and a couple of pints of water! and that's just for starters - the effects of a hangover lasts all day, as your body can't get rid of it that quick. To me that's not a lifestyle, even though many people say it is. If you have a birthday to go to, event, Xmas, new year, by all means, enjoy yourself, but to do something like that multiple times a week, it's just beyond me. Not only do you feel like garbage, but the effect that has on your body week in week out, late down the line your body will start showing a few problems.
That is just my own personal view, I know there are people who wake up feeling perfectly find after a night of drinking, but as I am not one of them, I can only comment on my own experience.
Flip that to the fitness lifestyle. Waking up for a morning workout on a weekend, when most people are hungover, feels awesome, it makes you feel productive and energised. Does that make you boring? not at all. Go meet some 'fitness people' and tell me if they are boring people, you won't be very successful. If you work mon-fri, why would you want to spend your weekends feeling like trash and not doing much apart from laying on the sofa? I don't fancy doing that. When you live the fitness lifestyle, getting up for workouts in the mornings, you feel great, you feel like you've done something good (which you have) and you have the whole day to do whatever you want, knowing you got a good workout in.
Now, if any trainer or nutritionist tells you that they never drink any alcohol whatesoever and give that 'perfect impression', from my personal experience, 99% of them are lying. It's completely fine to have a drink, it's okay to get drunk EVERY NOW AND THEN, if that's what you want to do - some people don't and that is obviously a great choice, is it going to ruin your progress? no. End of the day, you have the right to enjoy yourself, but if the majority of your 'routine' is healthy and fit, that's fine. Have I been drunk before? yeah, will I get drunk in the future? yeah, but not every single week, not at all!. Some people might be thinking - "erm, you're a nutritionist and you're saying you get drunk?". I am human, I like to have a good time like anyone else, but I know what alcohol does to the body, and I rarely get drunk. Having alcohol every so often does nothing to your fitness goals. However, drinking alcohol every week will have an effect on your goals. Obviously, cutting out alcohol altogether is the best choice, but that's not always the easy thing to do. If you're at a wedding and everyone is having champagne celebrating, for you to say "no thank you, ill have water", it might be a bit of a buzz kill! Celebrating events like weddings, it's fine to have a drink.
Well, I just wanted to share that, I'm sure not everyone will agree, but if you're reading my blog I would like to think you are into health and fitness, so hopefully you would agree. If you really care about your health and fitness goals, save the drinking for special occasions, don't make it a regular thing! A lot of people don't want to give up drinking alcohol, and expect awesome fitness results with still drinking a lot, and that just won't happen. My advice? limit the alcohol consumption to, as mentioned, special occasions.
Have a super weekend!
Lee Gregory Fitness
