Welcome to Wellness Wednesday where in-house nutrition coach, Coach Diana Leigh, answers YOUR questions about health.
Got a question you want to see answered here? Submit it on the AMA form.
Let’s jump into it!
Q: Is having a protein shake every day bad for you? I drink one every morning for breakfast before I work out, and I feel fine… but I read some health blog that having too much powdered protein as a meal supplement is bad for your liver.
The way I coach my clients is we categorize food as eat more, eat some, and eat less. Protein powder falls under the eat some category.
Protein powder should be used as a supplement, not your primary source of protein hence the eat some categorization. By only relying on powdered supplements for your protein, you’re missing out on key nutrients from real foods. Protein is a great supplement for:
- A quick source of protein post-workout for a recovery boost
- A great low effort option to boost your protein intake when you struggle to get enough
Protein and protein supplements become harmful when we consume too much, which is pretty hard to do. The average protein recommendation is 0.8-1.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight, and clinical studies show you can safely consume up to 4.4g/kg.
What matters is the current state of your kidneys prior to increasing your protein. If you have healthy kidneys, you should be alright (especially considering the average amount of protein a given person takes in). If you already have damaged kidneys, that’s a totally different story – this is when you should be concerned about the effects of protein and protein supplements on your body, and it’s best to consult your doctor if that’s the case.
In short – keep drinking those shakes if they’re working for you!
Q: What are the effects of alcohol on strength and working out?
TLDR: Alcohol intake can negatively affect your results depending on how much you’re consuming.
Here’s what you need to know about the effects of alcohol on the body:
- Excessive drinking can negatively affect your body’s ability to absorb vitamins, minerals, and nutrients
- Excessive drinking can negatively affect your body’s hormones
- Excessive drinking can shrink muscle tissue
- Excessive drinking can increase risk of developing chronic diseases (cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes)
Notice I specifically said “excessive drinking” prior to each statement. It is important to note though that alcohol can absolutely have negative effects on your progress in the gym if you take it too far. But what is considered to be “too far” and how do we make the best decisions for ourselves?
WHAT IS MODERATION?
Moderation is loosely defined as 1-2 drinks per day or up to 30 grams of alcohol per day.
CONSIDER YOUR NUTRITION
How is your day to day nutrition? Are you currently eating a varied diet of whole foods or surviving on processed junk? Your baseline nutrition habits are going to affect whether you’re getting the best results out of your training without even considering alcohol as a factor.
When you do throw alcohol in the mix, how does it affect your nutrition? Alcohol lowers our inhibition and may cause us to make poor food choices after a few drinks. Late night tacos is a fun way to end the night, but if it’s happening on a regular basis it’s also going to have an impact on your health and goals.
You also don’t want to overcompensate for your alcohol consumption – people try to cut out food to fit in alcohol and keep their overall caloric intake in line but this can cause malnutrition because alcohol isn’t providing you the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients you need to fuel your body in the gym.
CONSIDER YOUR AGE
Remember when you were in college and you could do a weekend bender and wake up at 8am and go for a run? (No? Just me?)
Then you hit your late 20s and things just weren’t what they used to be – hangovers became much more painful and you settle for hanging on the couch eating the biggest order of Panda Express you can get (also just me?). It only gets worse as you get older because as you age, your body doesn’t process alcohol as effectively anymore and it takes its toll on your body more and more as you age.
Now let’s factor in hormones – as you age your hormones just aren’t what they used to be (especially for women as they reach perimenopause and menopause). Remember how I mentioned above excessive drinking negatively affects your hormones? Even as you age, moderate to above moderate alcohol can also affect your hormones which can then affect your overall results in the gym.
CONSIDER YOUR RECOVERY
A good night’s sleep is so instrumental to your recovery, and most people are consuming alcohol in the evening (unless you’re kicking off your morning routine with a mimosa or you’ve got an Irish coffee in hand for your first Zoom meeting of the day, I’m not here to judge). Even if you claim alcohol helps you unwind and fall asleep, it is actually negatively affecting your body’s ability to reach REM (restful) sleep which negatively affects your overall recovery which in turn can negatively affect your ability to build muscle or get stronger.
CONSIDER YOUR GOALS
Are you focused on staying healthy while enjoying life? Alcohol in moderation probably won’t have much of an effect on your goals.
Are you looking to get strong or fit? Alcohol in moderation will affect your goals if it’s ultimately affecting your effectiveness in your training sessions (hangovers and/or poor sleep don’t bode well before lifting heavy). It may or may not affect your ability to build muscle depending on your nutrition strategies.
Are you trying to get a lean physique? Alcohol can affect your body’s ability to build muscle, recover, and your overall caloric intake. In this case I would recommend below moderation for your alcohol consumption.
IN CONCLUSION
I know I provided you a lot of information here but as I hope you can see, the point I’m trying to make is IT DEPENDS. Given the above information you should be able to identify whether alcohol is getting in your way or not based on what you’re aiming to achieve. My coaching is not based on telling you right from wrong, but arming you with information to make the best decision for you based on your goals and the life you want to live.
Cheers!
Coach Diana Leigh is a Precision Nutrition certified coach who uses habit-based coaching to help her clients get stronger and feel amazing in their bodies without the restriction and overwhelm of dieting. For more helpful tips, follow her on Instagram @coachdianaleigh.
Want to work with Coach Diana Leigh? Fill out her application here.