Alcohol – Sleep = Weight Gain? TFLA Challenge Update Part 2

If you missed Part 1, click here. Welcome to Part 2…

Between making A) fat much easier to keep off and B) the noticeable increase in mentality acuity after a couple weeks, I’ve almost completely convinced myself on life with dramatically less alcohol.

I am now on another no booze challenge of 60 days, and this is simply to test my own willpower and resolve, and if there are any other noticeable changes.

Now that I am used to the whole “No, thanks I’m not drinking” line, I am able to have more fun with it. At a birthday party at my friend’s condo this past Saturday, everyone was raising their glasses for a photo and I decided to pick up and raise a Palmolive container instead.

[I remember cheap pitcher nights in university. Unfortunately pillow-top mountain was replaced with sprawl- across-the-bathroom-floor valley!]

The important thing is to not be the Debbie Downer of every social engagement like a lot of non-drinkers are.

All in all, what I have learned more than anything else during this challenge is that drinking is almost laughably not worth it.

That’s a lesson I wish someone would have beat into me during my early and mid-20s. It may have saved me six dozen hangovers and more than a few conversations that started with, “I did WHAT last night?!?”

But aside from vomiting in the neighbors garden, let’s remember why we’re here…FAT LOSS!!!

So follow me along this path:

Alcohol consumption + Compromised sleep quality = WEIGHT GAIN

How Alcohol Keeps You From a Healthy Sleep

It may be fun and games while getting drunk with your friends at a cottage, a BBQ, or a night out on the town, but even a few glasses or your favorite cocktail can seriously affect your sleep.

Many people believe because of alcohol’s sedative properties that it helps us sleep better, but though you may fall asleep quickly, your sleep quality is what suffers tremendously.

Studies show that a moderate dose of alcohol consumed as much as 6 hours before bedtime can increase wakefulness during the second half of sleep. By the time this effect occurs, the dose of alcohol consumed earlier has already been eliminated from the body, suggesting a relatively long-lasting change in the body’s mechanisms of sleep regulation. Full article can be found here.

This shows that your glass of wine before bed may very well be during your eight hours of “rest” into the equivalent of five hours.

How Sleep Affects Your Waistline?

Researchers from The University of Bristol in the UK conducted a study of 1,000 people, and the findings were that participants who slept less the eight hours a night were more likely to be heavier.

The study, conducted by Dr. Shahrad Taheri found that people that habitually sleep for five hours had 15% more Ghrelin, which increases feelings of hunger, and about 15% less Leptin which is an appetite suppresser. This is probably why I gained 10 pounds in Vegas; thanks a lot 6am Bellagio Buffet!

Dr. Taheri says,

“These differences are likely to increase appetite and, in societies where food is readily available, this may contribute to obesity.”

Even if you’re saying, “But I’m not obese” this may still explain why you can’t seem to lose that last 15-20 pounds, or even why you’ve recently gained 15-20 pounds.

What The 30-Day Challenge Has Done For Me?

Thankfully the TFLA Challenge has brought me back to the man I was at the age of 18. Back then, I was always the designated driver with a bottle of water in my hand, and yet still the guy on the dance floor having the time of his life.  Perhaps I am fortunate to not have to tap a Heineken keg to have an amazing night out, but at least now I have learned to embrace that and be stronger when it comes to following the herd.

This doesn’t by any means suggest doing away with alcohol forever, but it does mean that I’ve re-calibrated my priorities so my drinks are much more limited and at more appropriate times. The way I feel now, almost through another 30 days without alcohol, is better than I’ve felt in a very long time.

Not only do I encourage you try it out, but I flat out challenge everyone reading this to look away from the crowd for a moment and step up to the plate.

As Mark Twain once said:

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.”

As I’ve said before and I will continue to say, fat loss is a battle between you and the rest of the world. Everywhere you turn there is an easier way to get fatter and lazier. All I can hope is that this site becomes your personal online cheering section and support group. To walk into a bar and know you are one of vast minority that aren’t drinking is very empowering, and that feeling extends far past your drink order!