Alcohol, Christmas, and Performance: Finding Balance During the Festive Season

The festive season is a time for celebration, indulgence, and often, a few extra drinks shared among family and friends. While it’s important to enjoy and unwind at this time of year, it’s equally vital to understand how alcohol affects your body, particularly if you’re focused on performance and body composition. At DHTC our aim is to help you navigate these festivities with informed choices, so you can enjoy the season without compromising your goals.

How Alcohol Impacts the Body

Alcohol is often referred to as "empty calories" because it provides energy (7 kcal per gram) without offering any nutritional benefits. Unlike carbohydrates, protein, and fat, which play essential roles in fuelling performance and recovery, alcohol doesn’t contribute to muscle repair or muscle and liver glycogen replenishment. Instead, it can hinder these processes.

Below highlights how alcohol can interfere with the rest of your diet:

Carbohydrates: Alcohol consumption can impair glycogen synthesis, which is essential for energy replenishment post-exercise. Remember we want to aim for 1 g of carbohydrate for every kilogram we weigh after a heavy session - Prioritising carbohydrates over alcohol is critical for optimal recovery and sustained performance. If you are going out in the evening after a session, be sure to refuel first. 

Protein: Protein is crucial for muscle repair and growth. Alcohol can interfere with muscle protein synthesis (MPS), delaying recovery and potentially reducing adaptation from your sessions with us at DHTC! Additionally, alcohol consumption can suppress appetite, which may inadvertently lead to reduced protein intake when your body needs it most. Remember we cannot store protein so consumption of 40 g every three hours is the best way to ensure that anabolism is promoted over catabolism. 

Fat: Alcohol is metabolised in the liver, which prioritises processing alcohol over fat oxidation. This can temporarily impair fat metabolism, which may make it more challenging to maintain or improve body composition if consumed in excess. For example we know low intensity fasted exercise increases fat oxidation. Doing this first thing after a heavy night may not yield the same benefits.

Energy Balance and Alcohol’s Role

One of the key considerations during the festive period is enjoying all the fantastic food whilst also looking to achieve either a surplus, deficit or energy balance depending upon your goals. Overeating is common at Christmas, with alcohol adding additional calories that can tip the scale. A single glass of wine or pint of beer can contain anywhere from 120 to 250 calories. Cocktails, often loaded with added sugars, can be even higher in caloric content. So even if your calories from food may be lower beware of liquid calories which can undo some of your hard work. 

While occasional indulgence is part of enjoying the Christmas break, there are two main things to consider when looking at the effects of one too many the night before:

1) Reduced motivation to exercise, especially after nights of heavy drinking.

2) Disrupted sleep, which impacts recovery and energy regulation.

Enhancing Body Composition During the Christmas break

If improving or maintaining body composition is one of your goals, you can still enjoy everything that comes with Christmas just by looking at a few tweaks. Here are some strategies to strike a balance:

1. Plan Your Drinks: Opt for lower-calorie alcohol options such as spirits with soda water, dry wines, or light beers. Avoid sugary mixers and high-calorie cocktails.

2. Prioritise Protein: Make sure your meals are protein-rich to support muscle repair and promote satiety, which can prevent overeating.

3. Hydrate Wisely: Alternate alcoholic drinks with water to stay hydrated and reduce the total amount of alcohol consumed.

4. Timing: If you’re training, aim to keep alcohol consumption away from days when you have sessions with us at DHTC. This will allow your body to recover and perform at its best when it matters most.

The Bigger Picture: Enjoyment and Balance

We hope that this short blog gave you some insight into the impacts of alcohol on performance and body composition, but at the end of the day the Christmas season is also about joy and connection. A healthy lifestyle is one that includes balance and flexibility. A few drinks or indulgent meals won’t derail your progress if approached mindfully and within the context of your overall nutrition and training plan here at DHTC. 

With that have a very Merry Christmas and look ahead to all of the success you will achieve with new health and performance goals I am sure you are all thinking about as we begin 2025.