Some people drink alcohol for fun. Other people drink it to compliment their food. And of course many drink it to unwind at the end of a long day. Those are all valid reasons.

But the truth is that drinking alcohol regularly is not great for individuals who want to live a healthy and active life. 

• In a can of beer, there are 154 calories. In a glass of wine, there are 123 calories. A shot of whiskey has 105 calories. A single pound of fat is 3,500 calories. In other words, 23 beers is a pound of fat. So is 29 glasses of wine or 35 shots of whiskey. In short, drinking a lot of alcohol makes it that much harder for you to lose weight. 
• Drinking alcohol also reduces rapid eye movement sleep. REM sleep is the restorative sleep that everyone needs at night. Without it people are more drowsy during the day and can not concentrate as well. Additionally, alcohol is known to suppress breathing during sleep, which causes sleep apnea. 
• Alcohol can do more damage than just prevent you from losing weight, though. Studies have shown that is has the potential to hinder muscle growth and slow down post-workout recovery. 

If you are as committed to staying healthy as we are, you might need to reduce your alcohol consumption.

If you're motivated to go cold turkey or make a massive reduction, that's great.

Or an easier solution is pretty simple: Drinking less alcohol will make you healthier. But how do you do this if you love a good drink? Count every alcoholic drink you have for a week. This will help you to establish a baseline. At the end of the week, when you have your total number, aim to drink a drink less the next week. The following week, reduce by another drink. And so on. 

For more clean eating tips, please contact us at your nearest Core9 Fitness location.

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