Sugar, Saturated Fat, or Alcohol—What Actually Hurts Progress Most?

Written By Team SOTA

Feeling stuck despite working out? It’s usually not one “bad” food. Instead, it’s how certain choices add easy calories, disrupt sleep, and snowball cravings.

The Quick Take

  • Biggest derailer for busy adults: Alcohol— it fragments sleep, lowers food restraint, and leads to next-day snack binges (and extra calories) (Pabón et al., 2022; GBD 2016 Alcohol Collaborators, 2018).

  • Close second: Added sugar— especially drinks and sweets that are easy to over-pour (Huang et al., 2023).

  • More nuanced: Saturated fat— whole-food sources (e.g., yogurt, eggs, unprocessed meats) aren’t the same as fast-food combos, but fat is calorie-dense so portions matter (Astrup et al., 2020).

  • The real multiplier: Ultra-processed patterns push ~500 extra kcal/day even when macros look “matched” on paper (Hall et al., 2019).

What to Do

  1. Alcohol rule: 0–2 drinks/week, only with planned social meals, never before hard training (GBD 2016 Alcohol Collaborators, 2018; Pabón et al., 2022).

  2. Build “3P” meals: Protein + Produce + Purpose Carbs (rice, potatoes, fruit). This fills you up and squeezes out sweets (Huang et al., 2023).

  3. Swap, don’t ban: Ice cream → Greek yogurt + berries; chips → nuts + fruit. Red meat? Choose leaner cuts more often; treat cheese/oil like condiments (Astrup et al., 2020).

  4. Keep fruit, ditch juice: Fiber + water in whole fruit tame sugar spikes; juice does not (Huang et al., 2023).

  5. UPF audit: Limit meals that come in a crinkly bag or need no prep—those drive passive overeating (Hall et al., 2019).

The Bottom Line

If you change just one thing, tighten up alcohol. Then rein in added sugar and ultra-processed habits. Keep an eye on total calories with higher-fat foods, and you’ll feel the momentum fast.

Need help getting started? Click here to book a free strategy session with a coach. We design customized training and nutrition plans specifically for busy adults over 30. No fluff. Just structure, accountability, and results.

Need help getting started? Click here to book a free strategy session with a coach.

We design customized training and nutrition plans specifically for busy adults over 30. No fluff. Just structure, accountability, and results.

References

Astrup, A., et al. (2020). Saturated fats and health: A reassessment and proposal for food-based recommendations. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 76(7), 844–857.

GBD 2016 Alcohol Collaborators. (2018). Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories. The Lancet, 392(10152), 1015–1035.

Hall, K. D., et al. (2019). Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain. Cell Metabolism, 30(1), 67–77.

Huang, Y., et al. (2023). Dietary sugar consumption and health: Umbrella review. BMJ, 381, e071609.

Pabón, E., et al. (2022). Effects of alcohol on sleep and nocturnal heart rate. Sleep Science and Practice, 6, 8.

Team SOTA
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