There is a growing trend of athletes consuming alcohol after exercise. Whether it is to celebrate a win, nurse a loss, or just to let loose with teammates or friends, athletes are consuming more alcohol after exercise on a more regular basis. But it’s not only elite athletes enjoying a celebratory beverage after a game or practice, all kinds of athletes, even those who only run a couple of times a week, are indulging, and, usually, without knowing the risks.
One of the most important resources we have is glycogen. Glycogen is the stored form of glucose found in the muscle tissue and other areas of the body that is broken down into sugar and then ATP to provide the energy for our muscles to contract and for us to move. Without sufficient stores of glycogen in the muscle tissue, performance and endurance suffer. During exercise, glycogen is depleted, and the intensity of the exercise determines how quickly muscle stores are utilized. In other words, sprinting will deplete muscle glycogen much faster than jogging will. Once glycogen stores have been depleted, they need to be replenished. The most efficient way to do this is to consume a carbohydrate rich meal after exercise, when muscles absorb sugar more quickly and easily, focusing mainly on high glycemic carbohydrates which enter the bloodstream more rapidly.
While this may seem easy to do, many people struggle, sometimes because of alcohol consumption. Some studies have shown that the consumption of alcohol after exercise inhibits the muscle’s ability to take in and use sugar while also decreasing the rate at which the sugar is absorbed. Another study showed that consuming alcohol may also increase the body’s insulin response, causing the sugar to leave the blood before it can reach the muscle tissue. Overall, however, it seems that these effects are mainly short-term, as all of the studies found that the subjects’ glycogen stores were fully replenished after a 24-hour recovery period regardless of alcohol consumption.
If you choose to indulge in alcohol after you exercise, it is not likely to have any significant negative impacts on your performance or glycogen stores so long as you consume it responsibly. Some researchers have theorized that people engaging in binge drinking after exercise could suffer from depleted glycogen stores because the alcohol would replace the necessary carbohydrates they would otherwise consume. Therefore, consuming a moderate amount of alcohol, one drink per day for women and two for men, with adequate amounts of carbohydrates following a workout should have no negative effect on your performance and recovery.
Meghan Dempsey – ASU Dietetic Intern
Heather Casey MS, RD, LDN – Clinical Registered Dietitian
Burke, L. M., Collier, G. R., Broad, E. M., Davis, P. G., Martin, D. T., Sanigorski, A. J., & Hargreaves, M. (2003). Effect of alcohol intake on muscle glycogen storage after prolonged exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 95(3), 983–990. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00115.2003
Murray, B., & Rosenbloom, C. (2018). Fundamentals of glycogen metabolism for coaches and athletes. Nutrition Reviews, 76(4), 243–259. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuy001
Vella, L. D., & Cameron-Smith, D. (2010). Alcohol, Athletic Performance and Recovery. Nutrients, 2(8), 781–789. doi: 10.3390/nu2080781
Listed below are the upcoming nutrition events for March and April. Check back often for updates and more information. Schedule is subject to change.
March
Monday March 2nd – Taste Testing 10-12pm (lobby)
Monday March 9th – Lunch & Learn with Bingo
Wednesday March 11th – Taste Testing 9-11am (lobby)
Mondays March 16th – April 6th Kids Cooking Camp
Tuesday March 17th – Taste Testing (Leprechaun Muffins) – lobby
Monday March 23rd 11am Nutrition for the Aging Talk
Thursday March 26th Taste Testing (lobby)
Monday March 30th 10-12pm Taste Testing (lobby)
April
April 20th Cooking School (5:30pm)
April 27th Cooking School (5:30pm)
April 29th Nutrition for Inflammation and Arthritis Talk
If you have questions or would like more information please use the form below.
Added sugars, which are essentially extra calories with no extra nutrition, are found in many prepackaged and processed foods. High levels of added sugar can lead to weight gain and other health complications. Many foods, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy, naturally contain sugar. However, these foods also contain vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients to nourish your body, making them a better choice over added sugars. Here are 9 tips for cutting down on added sugars to improve your health and maintain a healthy weight.
- Cut out table sugar including syrup, honey, and molasses. Try cutting the usual amount of sugar you add to things like cereal or coffee by half and wean down from there.
- Swap out the soda. Try swapping out your soda for sparkling water or green tea, or try cutting down on your usual number of sodas per day.
- Eat fresh, frozen, dried or canned fruits in water or natural juice. Avoid fruit canned in syrup, especially heavy syrup. Drain and rinse in a colander to remove excess syrup or juice.
- Compare food labels and choose products with the lowest amounts of added sugars. Dairy and fruit products will contain some natural sugars. Added sugars can be identified in the ingredients list.
- Add fruit. Instead of adding sugar to cereal or oatmeal, try fresh fruit (bananas, cherries or strawberries) or dried fruit (raisins, cranberries or apricots).
- Cut back on serving size. When baking cookies, brownies or cakes, cut the sugar called for in your recipe by one-third to one-half. Often, you won’t notice the difference.
- Try extracts. Instead of adding sugar in recipes, use extracts like almond, vanilla, orange or lemon to add flavor.
- Replace sugar completely. Enhance foods with spices instead of sugar. Try ginger, allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg.
- Substitute. Switch out sugar with unsweetened applesauce or mashed bananas in recipes (use equal amounts).
by Abby Wilkerson
Meeting your wellness goals can be hard. The good news is, you don’t have to do it alone. Renaissance Periodization brings science based nutrition knowledge to the palm of your hand with a fully functional app.
The RP app simplifies your weight management goals by:
1) Customizing an individualized nutrition schedule based on how YOU do life
2) Providing extensive list of acceptable foods to eat to meet YOUR goals
3) Sending notifications and reminders in support of the simple, easy to follow, nutritional plans
Take control of your weight management goals – whether it be to lose, maintain, or gain weight – with the RP APP and ongoing support from our Registered Dietician.
Enjoy the first two weeks FREE, and nearly 70% off of the monthly cost by using our affiliate discount code (stop by the front desk for details). The RP app may be downloaded via the Google Play store or from the App Store
You’ve seen the posts, posters, and flyers in and around the Wellness Center for Renaissance Periodization (RP). It’s time to take it seriously if you want to lose weight, maintain your weight, or gain weight. RP is an app that simplifies your weight management goals.
When using the RP app you will find:
- Customized nutrition schedule for you
- Extensive list of foods that you may eat
- Regular notifications of when you should eat
- Simple, easy to follow, plans
- Easy integration to your day to day life
The RP app may be downloaded via the Google Play store or from the App Store. The first two weeks are free and a discount code may be given to you at the front desk for nearly 70% off of the monthly cost. This gives you 6 weeks of a nutrition coach in your pocket for nearly 12 cents a day.
If you’re serious about your health, weight management, or learning what is best for you, this app is definitely a winner.
Click here to download the app or purchase the templates!
When most people think about fat loss, they usually think cardiovascular exercise is the only means of burning calories and losing weight. Resistance training is a great way to lose weight as well. Combining the two can be the most powerful way for fat loss success.
Advantages of Resistance Training for Fat Loss
Strength training helps your body build muscle. Having a higher muscle percentage in the body raises your resting metabolic rate. This requires your body to expend more energy throughout the day to keep your bodily systems flowing. This increases the number of calories burned per day. An important part of resistance training is helping maintain the muscle you already have. When you lose weight, you lose a combination of fat and muscle. Resistance training helps to maintain the muscle already there while burning off the excess fat.
Advantages of Cardio for Fat loss
Cardio has an advantage of allowing you to exercise at a moderate intensity for a much longer time period when compared to resistance training. This allows you to maintain exercise longer in order to burn more calories and in return, allows you to burn off fat more quickly. Cardio can also be done more frequent when compared to resistance training due to recovery time. Cardio allows you to vary the intensity more easily in order to boost your calorie burn.
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is considered one of the best cardiovascular exercises. It involves burst of strenuous exercise followed by a rest/much lower intensity period. Resistance exercises can also be added into this type of training. This training increases your excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Consuming extra oxygen in a longer recovery phase from training allows for a greater increase in energy expenditure. This will cause you to lose fat more quickly. The important thing is finding what works best for you and sticking with it. Don’t stick with cardio because you’re scared of the weight room. Sign up with one of our trainers to get a well balanced exercise program designed just for you. You’ll see fat loss in no time!
