Alcohol and weight

Alcohol is optional. After 40 it is also expensive: sleep, fat loss, recovery, and next-day training all take the hit.

What it actually costs

• Calories you don't notice (a few drinks can be a meal)
• Worse sleep even if you pass out faster
• Worse decisions around food
• Slower recovery from lifting

If you drink

Make it a decision:

• Not on training nights if the session mattered
• Not within 3 hours of bed if sleep is a goal
• Pick drinks, not a blur: two beers or two pours, then water
• Don't keep a "default glass of wine" every night unless you have priced that habit

If fat loss is stalled

Cut alcohol for 30 days before you cut more food. A lot of men discover the stall was the drinks.

If you can't cut it easily

That's useful information. Treat it like any other habit that is running you — not a moral failure, a pattern. Get help if stopping is harder than it should be.