The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) dubbed the biggest party in sport is taking the Caribbean and the 592 by storm and some of the biggest alcoholic beverage companies in the region have partnered with the Amazon Warriors and other franchises.
Scores of fans (myself among them) have witnessed the euphoria at the National Stadium 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 would inhibit your fitness goals?
Studies have defined moderate drinking as no more than two drinks per day for men and just one for women – yet many Guyanese exceed that amount, often accidentally. Usually, this is thanks to portion distortion, with heavy-handed pours and oversized glasses causing you to serve more than a standard drink, which – for the record, is 1.5 oz hard alcohol (3 tbsp), 5 oz wine (⅓ cup), and 12 oz beer (1.5 c).
Women tend to commit sins of accidental over consumption more often than men, owing both to their lower alcohol tolerance/drink limit and choice of alcohol. More women tend to drink wine as opposed to men (who tend to prefer beer, according to a poll). While beer tends to come in single serving cans and bottles, wine is served in multi-serving units (bottles or boxes), giving users the 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 four 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 food or beverages), you could lose upwards of 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 results in fitness and muscle growth.
Tip: Feeling under the weather after a big night out? Branch chain amino acids (bcaa) will help replenish your dehydrated body so you can ditch hangovers faster.
