Here at British Military Fitness, we want to see you getting fitter and healthier, and for you to achieve your personal health goals. We also want you to have fun, and live a balanced lifestyle. Like you, we like to have a drink, but with everything else moderation is the key
First of all, the good news is that drinking alcohol within the recommended guidelines poses no significant risk to your health (unless you are pregnant or have been advised to avoid it, or limit it for health reasons). However there is a growing concern about the amount of people who are drinking in excess of these guidelines. So what is the real effect of your drinking?
Regularly drinking over the guidelines can lead to serious health problems, from liver damage to a greater risk of getting cancer or having a heart attack. Also, don't forget that all alcohol contains calories, and so the amount you drink will contribute to weight gain or loss. Also, many people seem to lose their good intentions after a few drinks - it is very easy to eat snack foods, fast foods or other poor food choices when you are under the influence, or recovering the following day.
We’re not saying don’t drink– just aim to have less, and stick within the guidelines. Here are some ideas to help reduce your alcohol intake:
- If you tend to have a drink at a certain time of day, break the habit by doing something different at that time. If you drink every day, try to have at least two days a week when you don’t drink at all.
- Why not try pacing and spacing? Pace yourself by sipping slowly and enjoy the taste. And space your drinks out - have a soft drink or glass of water in between.
- Have a smaller bottle of beer instead of a can. Or a single measure od spirits instead of a double.
- Swap your usual for a drink with less alcohol. Choose one with less alcohol content (“ABV” - you can find this on the side of the bottle or can). There are more drinks with less alcohol available these days and some of them are cheaper too – and they often have fewer calories.
- If you like a drink at home, include food. Don’t drink on an empty stomach – having it with food means that the alcohol is absorbed into your system more slowly. Try only drinking with your main meal. Don’t have the bottle on the table, just pour one glass and put the bottle away. Or if you are going out, eat before you go out for the evening or have a meal while you are out. Even having a quick snack at work will help, like vegetable and bean soup, oat cakes or a smoothie.
- Out of house, out of mind - If it’s in the house, you’re more likely to drink it. Avoid stocking-up on alcohol when you’re doing the shopping.
- When you're out try a change of scene - try meeting somewhere that doesn’t serve alcohol. Try a café or coffee shop, or somewhere without an alcohol licence instead.
- Make a plan - set yourself a limit on how much you’re going to drink, including any drinks you have at home before you go out.
- Budget - take out a fixed amount of money to spend on alcohol. By cutting back you could save some cash
- Take your time – go out later. Break with tradition and opt out of rounds.
- Don’t feel pressured to keep up with others – there's nothing wrong with being the slowest drinker!
- Sit it out – we drink more slowly when sitting down than when standing. Find a table and put your glass down.
- Avoid salty snacks such as crisps and salted nuts because these make you thirstier (as well as being high in fat and salt)
- Don’t top up the glass before it’s finished. You'll then find it much easier to monitor the volume consumed more accurately
- Replace high calorie mixers for a lower calorie one e.g, low calorie tonic and alternate drinks with water.
- Try white wine as a spritzer mixed with sparkling water
Recommended Guidelines
Women should not regularly drink more than 2 to 3 units of alcohol a day.
Men should not regularly drink more than 3 to 4 units of alcohol a day.
What is a unit?
One unit of pure alcohol is 10ml (1cl) or 8g
For example, one unit of alcohol is about equal to:
- Half a pint of ordinary strength beer, lager or cider (three-four % alcohol by volume)
- A small pub measure (25ml) of spirits (40% alcohol by volume)
- A standard pub measure (50ml) of fortified wine such as sherry or port (20% alcohol by volume).
- There are one and a half units of alcohol in:
- A small glass (125ml) of ordinary strength wine (12% alcohol by volume),
- A standard pub measure (35ml) of spirits (40% alcohol by volume).
One gram of alcohol equates to seven calories (7kcal), compared with 9kcal per gram for fat, and 4kcal per gram for carbohydrate and protein. One unit of alcohol contains eight grams, or 10ml of alcohol which equates to 56kcal. Not to mention the other ingredients in alcoholic drinks, such as sugar, cream and fruit juice - these will all add more calories.
Here's a few of your chosen drinks, and what they equate to in calories:
- 1 small glass of wine = 89 calories
- 1 standard glass of wine = 124 calories
- 1 large glass of wine = 178 calories
- 1 pint of lager = 250 calories
- 1 pint of strong beer = 335 calories
- 1 pint of bitter = 170 calories
- 1 pint cider = 244 calories
- 1 spirit & mixer = 117 calories
- 1 double sprit & mixer = 172 calories
- 1 spirit & sugar free mixer = 56.5 calories
- 1 crème liqueur = 175 calories
If you regularly drink above the lower-risk guidelines, cutting back on alcohol can help your general well-being. Once you start cutting back, you'll probably notice the benefits quite quickly:
- Feeling better in the mornings (Always a bonus before a BMF Class!)
- Having more energy and feeling less tired during the day
- Your skin may start to look better
- Reduced weight gain – or better still, improving your weight loss efforts
On top of this, because regular drinking can affect your immune system, heavy drinkers can have more problems with infectious diseases, so if you cut down, your system will be able to fight off bugs more easily which can contribute to better general health.
So enjoying your BMF training with a balanced approach to alcohol will help ensure you enjoy training hard, your well-earned drink and not jeopardise your health or fitness goals.