Don't fool yourself about alcohol, it most definitely can stall progress. Anyone who is serious about clean eating and determined to transform understands that alcohol is counter productive. Let me paraphrase from "The Ultimate NY Body Plan" chapter on nutrition and clean eating:
"Alcohol is the absolute worst drink you can have, Think about the foods you tend to eat not only when you are drinking but als the day after.Alcohol almost always starts off a carb binge. Your body processes alcohol differently from the way it does other carbs. That's right, alcohol is a carb. Made from fermented wheat, barley, grapes or some other carbohydrate ingredient, alcohol contains more sugar than most people bargain for. Yet, your body treats alcohol differently from the way it treats sugar. First of all, alcohol contains 7 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram in most carbs. Your body treats alcohol like a toxin, so your liver processes alcohol calories before all others in an attempt to clean the toxins from your system. As other calories wait in line, your body senses a rise in calories and shuttles many of them into your fat cells, which is exactly what you don't want." (pg 118)
So, in response to your original post Jane, learn to lose the alcohol if you're serious about transforming your body. I am 5'2" and have lost 12 pounds in the last 4 months....I have one cheat meal a week where I'll have 2 glasses of red wine and a dinner of my choice. I eat clean and alternate Cathe workouts of HIIT, then steady state cardio and a high rep using low weight workout.
It's all a matter of how serious you are and how much you're willing to work (and someimes give up) to achieve your goal.
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