Let’s start by telling you something you don’t want to hear, especially if you are reading this on a Thursday, eagerly awaiting that first Friday beer.
Alcohol isn’t your friend.
Sorry to say it, and it pains us to write it too. But when it comes to losing weight and keeping healthy, there isn’t much worse for you than a massive volume of liquid calories, in a short period of time, normally loaded with sugars.
It can slash testosterone levels and can ramp up cortisol levels [1] (which can actually cause you to drink more) and generally make you behave like a bit of a dick.
It makes you fat too. Slowing the metabolism and generally causing you to store a little extra round your middle.
(We’re also first in line to admit there’s not much better than a couple of beers…but we will cover that in another article – Why Alcohol can be hilarious Spot Me Bro’s 12 Hour Study on the effects)
So, now we’ve made ourselves sound like nagging parents, let’s take a look at the issue in hand.
Taking fat burners and alcohol at the same time.
What is Alcohol?
So we have to go into this understanding a bit about what alcohol is and what it does to you.
We’re talking beyond the effects that see you stumbling up to the hottest girl in the bar only to be swatted away like a sad little fly.
Yes, Alcohol makes you feel good and gets you confident, but why?
Alcohol is a depressant. Which is weird because it provides you with that buzz you get after a few drinks. Not dissimilar to last nights 2kg dumbbell curl and resulting muscle pump.
So it’s a depressant that has a stimulant affect and works by slowing down vital functions.
Slurred speech, slow reactions and stumbling movements are all consequences of over consumption.
Whilst there is the aforementioned mental affects, we’re not really interested in that, as fat burners play a limited role in altering your mood – too much anyway.
It’s the slowing down effects of alcohol on your body that you should be taking note of when it comes to combining it with fat burners…
What are Fat Burners?
We are holding your hand a little here, if you already have a fat burner then you obviously know what one is and can skip forward.
Fat burner not in your supplement stack yet? Well here’s a brief introduction;
A fat burner is a product that normally uses a blend of herbs or other ingredients to help speed up the bodies metabolism.
Normally they work using a biological process called thermogenesis and contain a wide variety of different stimulants and extracts to do this.
Head to the muscle awards to see how one can help you…
Results and effects from fat burners vary depending on the ingredients used.
However if you pick something that is well dosed and actually backed up by scientific studies, you can really cut away fat faster than before.
What’s important to note about fat burners is they generally contain stimulants. This is how they work.
Fat Burners and Alcohol – Crossfit and Bodybuilding
So we’ve briefly established what alcohol does and what a fat burner can do.
Now when you mix them together you are inviting problems – its worth noting here we are talking about a large amount of alcohol and high stimulant fat burner.
If you asked Phil Heath to go take part in the CrossFit games, he’s going to get wheezy, out of breath, with his heart going absolutely mental.
If you are drunk your body has slowed down. You are metabolizing things slower and near enough every bodily process has begun to grind along.
Essentially putting your body down to the same speed as a bodybuilder.
When the eager crossfitter bursts into your body and tries to speed things up, they’ll start telling you 1000 times about the workout of the day. Insisting you clean and press 400 times with pull ups as a super set, you’re in trouble.
Physiologically your body will struggle and strain. In a study on alcohol and caffeinated drinks young adults drank more and that increase led to alcohol related harm [2]. Most fat burners have similar ingredients to energy drinks, or at least it’s the stimulants in them that do.
Whilst this is all going on, you are blissfully unaware because you are again focusing on slurring out some cheesy lines to that blonde at the bar and wondering where your next drink is going to come from.
This mixed bag of stimulants and depressants can cause heart issues, headaches and nausea. Most of the time it’ll lead to over drinking, which if you’ve ‘accidentally’ had 20 beers on a ‘night out’ you know the horrendous side effects of.
Love to Party but ALSO Love to be Shredded?
Right, so the effects of mixing a high stimulant fat burner with drink aren’t good.
So is there a way around it?
Well yes, it’s pretty simple too.
If you’re using a fat burner then don’t take it when you are drinking.
Basically any caffeinated product or stimulant can cause negative effects when you drink.
You may not always notice this effects, but they are taking place.
Supplementing a fat burner before could also be helping fight off some hangover symptoms by ensuring a proper supply of b-vitamins and minerals ahead of the session.
But is it really worth it?
Remember every large beer or glass of wine you have is loaded with empty calories and can really make you pile on the pounds.
If you’re using a fat burner and really want to see results, you need to be aware it’s not going to magically make a six pack appear after 6 months. Sacrifices will have to be made.
By giving up drinking for a few months it won’t even just be that you look good though, you’ll have saved a bunch of money and feel far healthier.
It’s a pretty good feeling to not spend Sunday morning on the verge of calling an ambulance. Purely because you can’t manage to get to a glass of water either.
The bottom line: You can probably get away with taking a fat burner and drinking. But why waste all those hours sweating in the gym and eating clean just to end up getting knocked back by a load of girls in a bar?
[1] Alcohol Aging and Stress Response: https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh23-4/272-283.pdf [2] A comprehensive review of the effects of mixing caffeinated energy drinks with alcohol. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25861944
