Answers

How does alcohol affect fitness?

Short answer

Alcohol can feel at odds with fitness goals. Clifford Stephen described feeling his age with regular drinking despite being physically active and nutrition-focused. Matty reported performing at a higher level, thinking more clearly and feeling more emotionally stable after quitting, while emphasizing that stopping was his personal choice.

By Dai Manuel, CrossFit L2, HYROX L2, Precision Nutrition, NeuroChange Practitioner. Last reviewed 26 September 2026.

Who this is for

For dads who train, care about nutrition and wonder whether drinking fits their fitness goals. This is archive context, not diagnosis or medical advice; take concerning symptoms or decisions about changing your drinking to a qualified health professional.

How does alcohol fit with fitness goals?

Alcohol can feel at odds with fitness goals, even when you're physically active and nutrition-focused. Clifford Stephen described exactly that tension: he played sports, cared about health and nutrition, yet felt his age with regular drinking. He described wear and tear and what he thought were some effects of alcohol. That's his experience, not proof that alcohol explains how every active dad feels.

What did quitting change for Matty?

Matty reported performing at a higher level, thinking more clearly and feeling more emotionally stable after quitting. Those were the changes he noticed, and he emphasised that stopping was his personal choice. The practical distinction matters: his account describes what changed for him. It doesn't establish what will happen to you or turn quitting into a requirement for everyone pursuing fitness.

Why can changing drinking habits feel challenging?

The archive discussion highlighted how normalised alcohol can be around sport, social occasions and business, including within the fitness industry. Clifford also described his friends sharing his drinking habits, which made that pattern feel normal. So the conversation isn't just about training or nutrition; it's also about the setting around drinking. For decisions about your own alcohol use, or symptoms that concern you, speak with a qualified health professional.

Common questions

Can alcohol feel at odds with fitness even if I exercise?
Yes, that was Clifford Stephen's reported experience. He described feeling his age with regular drinking despite being physically active and focused on nutrition.
Does quitting guarantee better performance?
The supplied accounts don't establish a guarantee. Matty reported better performance, clearer thinking and greater emotional stability after quitting, while emphasising that it was his personal choice.
Should I take a break from alcohol?
Clifford's break and Matty's decision to quit are personal accounts, not a prescription for you. This is archive context, not diagnosis or medical advice; discuss decisions about changing your drinking or concerning symptoms with a qualified health professional.

Sources

  1. Upgrade Your Life by Taking a Break from Alcohol: Clifford Stephen's Revolutionary "Booze Vacation"
  2. Upgrade Your Life by Taking a Break from Alcohol: Clifford Stephen's Revolutionary "Booze Vacation"
  3. Upgrade Your Life by Taking a Break from Alcohol: Clifford Stephen's Revolutionary "Booze Vacation"

Keep going

Where Dai has talked about this

Episodes (21)

  • Episode · jump to 13:14

    Upgrade Your Life by Taking a Break from Alcohol: Clifford Stephen's Revolutionary "Booze Vacation"

    I mean everybody can benefit from a booze vacation, um, but I like to talk about men specifically for a second, because there are some societal norms, especially in developed countries, especially in North America, where alcohol is just it's so normalized, right, and it's very prevalent everywhere. I mean, you brought up the Superbowl, like just think about sport, right? I I remember that was one of the toughest adjustments I had. I remember going to my first Canucks game and not having a beer the whole game, where I was doing at least one period before right, where that was a big adjustment but it was just so normalized.
  • Episode · jump to 1:39

    Upgrade Your Life by Taking a Break from Alcohol: Clifford Stephen's Revolutionary "Booze Vacation"

    So I know that we're sort of going to get into both of those, but that'd be a great question for us to open up with today. Yeah, you know I, after you know a little bit of my backstory, real, you know, played a lot of sports, real, physically active, real, you know, socially active, and you know kind of getting in my thirties and forties starting to kind of feel, you know, wear and tear and probably some effects of alcohol.
  • Episode · jump to 5:35

    Upgrade Your Life by Taking a Break from Alcohol: Clifford Stephen's Revolutionary "Booze Vacation"

    Sure, yeah, a lot of people hear booze vacation and they go, oh, that's like a lot of fun, and then they hear what it is. I don't like. I like that, which is funny in and of itself. But yeah, again to my backstory. I was proud of myself as being kind of a health and nutrition nut and definitely feeling my age with just regular alcohol use over time. I'm socially responsible, but you can go a little bit bigger on the weekends. And so, yeah, kind of had that epiphany. I wasn't looking to get smarter with my values or change my habits. All my buddies were doing it. It was a pretty proven model. But yeah, I did kind of see the writing on the wall and didn't like where things were headed.
  • Episode · jump to 14:42

    Overcoming Low Testosterone Naturally: My Journey from Feeling 84 at 34 to Optimal Health

    Dhea is a naturally occurring hormone produced by your adrenal glands, and it acts as a precursor to testosterone. So by supplementing with DHEA, you're essentially giving your body the raw materials it needs to boost testosterone production. This is backed by research, like the study in the intentional journal of reproductive biomedicine, which found that ginger can elevate testosterone levels.
  • Episode · jump to 27:32

    Finding Courage in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Conversations with Tara Robertson

    You know, like, just constantly A lot of people pleasing. I just wanted people to like me, but I believe that wouldn't like me unless I looked a certain way, you know, acted a certain way and pretty soon I believed that alcohol would allow me to be that person that they would like. And you know, sort of in this downward spiral. But when I realized was there's still that piece of me people pleaser and I'm very quick to say yes to things that aren't truly aligned with some of my goals, my visions and some of my aspirations. And so my hell, no, now is I'm actually being much more selective with where I say yes, specifically around things that require me to show up, be present and to give a lot of energy, so like speaking events and whatnot.
  • Episode · jump to 45:07

    Breaking Free from Diet Culture: Lisa Franz's Journey to Nutritional Enlightenment

    It's a slippery slope. So strength training is critical for quality of life long-term, especially as we get older. So thank you, Lisa, for sharing that and busting that myth again. Um I I'd like to have one more question with you today, because obviously we're going to have to have you back to talk more. But if you could leave our listeners with one message to carry with them away from today's conversation, what would you like to leave them with? I would. Instead of making it a sentence, I'm going to give you the three words to focus on. So number one was moderation. That I spoke about. When you think of anything, think of okay, how can I just be more moderate with that? And number two would be consistency how can I be consistent with what I'm doing, whether that's my strength training, whether it's my going within period, whether it's my protein intake, my food quality?
  • Episode · jump to 16:14

    Finding Courage in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Conversations with Tara Robertson

    You know, and I'm just curious about your thoughts, especially based on the conversation that we're having today. You know, it's funny. empathy is important to me, but what the word that comes to mind is curiosity. I'm cute, like people are fast Um, and you don't know people's story when you meet them, and you don't know their story and what they're going through day to day like, unless you're curious, unless there's trust and they're going to share it. But for me it's more about curiosity than empathy. I don't know why. I think curiosity is something I can connect to my behavior more. Empathy, feel like, and empathy is important, but it feels a little more like amorphous and like weird shape. But empathy or curiosity, I'm like oh, I can ask questions or I can observe or there's things that I can actively do to be curious, to actively be empathetic.
  • Episode · jump to 16:05

    Breaking Free from Diet Culture: Lisa Franz's Journey to Nutritional Enlightenment

    When it comes to that extreme situation, of course, they're even also pulled out of their natural environment. They're not with their families and not with their friends that encourage them to drink, they're not in their stressful work environment. So then, naturally, when they go back to all of that, it's like, okay, who am I in this? Now, I don't know, I'm just going to go and step back into those old natural patterns that I've had.

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