Alcohol is killing you

Personal Trainer, Coach Glenn talks alcohol | 07983570574


Alcohol is killing you, there we go that’s a big statement..

Stress is bigger now than ever, we spend more time feeling stressed and in the wrong damaging nervous system (sympathetic) than we ever have  done or that some people can cope with.

It’s becoming much more common to have an evening drink on a daily basis to deal with stress.

In the last couple of years i have had a number of Personal Training clients that drink every night  to help reduce stress.  It’s not the benefit class, its hard working normal business people, working classes and medical staff.

Basically the more stressful the job, the more a glass of beer or wine seems to be needed.

I think a lot of people associate stress relief with alcohol, even if its just a glass of wine.  I will explain shortly why actually the bottle of wine is making you more stressed.

This subject is very important to me as i lost my mum to alcohol, so now i notice alcohol use in myself and others much more acutely.

It,s a topic today on the tv show this morning,  the so called expert said  about alcohol “it’s a lovely relaxant if you are in control” ????

Alcohol doesnt relax you because:

• Your body doesn’t store alcohol so the priority is to remove the alcohol through urination and sweat before any other function.  This includes fat burning or repairing our body, which means our body can feel more stressed.
  
• Some studies suggest alcohol can actually induce a stress response even if you are not stressed.
• Alcohol has a snowball effect on stress: for example you have a drink after a tough monday, have a terrible nights sleep and feel more tired and stressed for tuesday.  Tuesday you are less effective at dealing with life and work issues and therefore feel much more stressed and more likely to have another evening de-stress drink.  By friday you have had a full week of feeling stressed and your body and mind are exhausted and totally stressed.  Poor sleep and early hung over mornings produces more of the stress hormone cortisol which is known to aid fat storage.
• Some people find it impossible to deal with normal life issues when alcohol is involved, isnt it funny how most relationship arguments are implimented under the influence of alcohol.  How can it be a method of de-stressing.
• Individuals that are anxious and have low self esteem in relation to body image can turn to a drink to feel better.  Alcohol is generally high in sugary carbs, but more importantly because your body is trying to remove the foreign object (alcohol) fat burning just slows down or stops until the alcohol is gone.  You get more stressed, fatter and confidence and self esteem can all be affected.

We can still all have a drink, I am an ex soldier and love a drink so even just writing this has given me a bit of an appetite for a beer lol.

A safer better, less stressful use for alcohol could be:  “5:2 RULE BABY”

1. Dont drink in the house, unless it’s a special occasion (England winning a football match)
2. Try not to drink on a school/work night - you will just feel more tired and more stressed if you do.
3. Try and drink out in a restaurant or your local pub, its inevitably more expensive you will potentially drink slower and enjoy your night more, going out and meeting people can help with health,  stress and self confidence.
4. Try the 5:2 rule, have a healthy week of eating and alcohol and then have a few drinks on the nights where you can lay in the next day.  For me this would be friday and saturday nights, this has an added benefit because having a wee lay in can reduce the production of the stress fat storing hormone cortisol.

If you drink every night to de-stress during your working life you are much more likely to drink every day once you retire to the (insert destination).  I have seen this a great deal with the ex pats along the spanish coast line, this is excactly what happened to my late mum R.I.P Margaret Greenslade.

Glenn( be careful with your evening wine) Hill