How Alcohol Can Quietly Ruin Your Gains

You train hard. You eat clean. You do most things right — but alcohol might still be slowing you down.

Even moderate, “social” drinking can interfere with your body’s ability to build muscle, recover properly, and burn fat. It’s not about demonizing alcohol — it’s about understanding how it actually affects your progress, so you can make informed choices based on your goals.

Here’s how alcohol might be holding you back more than you think:

1. It Disrupts Muscle Protein Synthesis

Muscle protein synthesis (MPS) is the process that repairs and builds new muscle after training. Alcohol directly interferes with this, even when protein is consumed post-workout.

Studies show MPS can drop by as much as 30–37% after drinking — which means you’re not getting the full return on your training investment.

2. It Interferes with Sleep (and Recovery)

You might fall asleep faster after a drink, but alcohol fragments sleep and suppresses REM cycles — the phase most responsible for hormonal regulation and tissue repair.

Even one or two drinks can lower recovery quality, leaving you feeling groggy, inflamed, and under-recovered the next day.

3. It Reduces Testosterone and Increases Estrogen

Alcohol raises aromatase activity — meaning more testosterone gets converted to estrogen. At the same time, it suppresses natural testosterone production.

Over time, this hormonal shift can reduce lean mass, increase fat retention, and make it harder to perform and recover the way you’re used to.

4. It Raises Cortisol (Stress Hormone)

Cortisol is catabolic — meaning it breaks down muscle tissue and encourages fat storage when chronically elevated. Alcohol is a known cortisol trigger, especially when combined with poor sleep and dehydration.

Even occasional over-drinking can leave you in a hormonally unfavorable state for body composition.

5. It Adds Empty Calories That Are Easily Stored

Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram — nearly as calorie-dense as fat — with no benefit to performance or recovery. And because your body prioritizes metabolizing alcohol, anything you eat around it is more likely to be stored as fat.

Those drinks (and the late-night snacks that often come with them) can easily cancel out a week's calorie deficit.

6. It Increases Hunger and Reduces Dietary Control

Alcohol increases ghrelin — the hunger hormone — and lowers inhibition. That’s a tough combo if you’re trying to stick to a nutrition plan.

It’s not just about the calories in the drink — it’s about the domino effect it sets off afterward.

Final Thoughts

No one’s saying you can’t ever enjoy a drink again. But if you’re in a focused phase — trying to lean out, build muscle, or perform at a higher level — it’s important to understand what alcohol does behind the scenes.

You don’t have to eliminate it completely, but it pays to be strategic. The fewer recovery trade-offs you make, the faster and more consistent your results will be.

Tommy's Take by Tommy Pomatico 6/2