alchohol

[snowkid10]

Ok I posted my diet plan. Let me know what you think. I am open ears to anything. Im jsut a rookie.

[Anaholic]

Alcohol decreases testosterone, a critical anabolic chemical. It increases estrogen, which makes you soft and emotional! It also interferes with sleep, eating correctly, proper hydration, and overall wellness and drive.
There are no pros and many cons--I like what I heard once--"Alcohol has no place in a bodybuilders life except preparing an intramuscular injection site." OK, I may have butchered that, but you get the idea. There's no place in a bodybuilders diet for alcohol (or recreational drugs).

He hit the nail right on the head when he made this statement,I agree 100%

[figure_champ]

Someone told me once that a night of weekend drinking undoes all the training/dieting and work you did in the week. That was enough info for me!!

[Strengthminx]

Someone told me once that a night of weekend drinking undoes all the training/dieting and work you did in the week. That was enough info for me!!

you're absolutely right- i actually participated in a study on the effects of alcohol on the metabolism. just in case it isnt common knowledge, alcohol is a poison that prevents your cells from respirating properly. you basically "smother" your metabolism. it was stated in the results of the study that ONE night of "excessive alcohol consumption" (which in the study was the equivalent of 4 one-shot drinks) can significantly impair metabolic function for up to four days for women and around 50 hours for men. so for a woman, even drinking once a week can destroy your progress; and drinking twice a week you might as well not even work out; just stay at the bar lol...
~MINX

[Megiddo]

Dude as an alcholic, quit the drinking now before it gets to the point of where I am at. You can do one of two things:
Train like a mofo or drink like a fish.

[mindstar]

ok...to piggy back on this thread, what about 1-2 4oz glasses of wine once or twice a week? I can avoid drinking to excess really easily, but wine with my cheat meal is almost a must...i've also heard that a moderate ammount of wine can help with your heart?

[snowkid10]

I also heard that wine is reallly good for your heart!

[Strengthminx]

wine is touted to be good for the heart because it contains flavenoids and antioxidants from the grapes and grapeseeds. you can get the same benefits by taking grapeseed extract. and no, one glass of wine with a cheat meal isn't gonna hurt you. just make sure it isn't the whole bottle ;)
~MINX

[mindstar]

one glass of wine with a cheat meal isn't gonna hurt you. just make sure it isn't the whole bottle ;)
~MINX

Thank the heavans!

[go Yankees]

a couple other notes on alcohol...it is (correct me if I'm wrong, someone) metabolised as a carbohydrate, but produces about 7 calories per gram. carbs and protein are 4 cal/gram, and fat is 9. also, when consumed in excess, alcohol puts a strain on your liver

[daf2]

Ok I didn't see that part about being able to stick to a real diet. Do not challenge my diet when you have no idea what it consists of. I have never posted anything about what I myself eat, but I have given out nutritional information on this site many times. That should give you an idea of my level of knowledge in that field.

I discretely mentioned this earlier, but I will make it more clear now after you have insulted my nutrition: My diet is better than yours. I know more about nutrition than you do.

Excuse me while I put rice on my tongue and wash it down with water for my PWO meal.

Yes, as I have said, my diet is better than yours.

lmao @ the rice comment...

[Coprolith]

If you want to know about the chemistry behind alcohol and why it will hurt your muscle gains and fat loss (Basically more than you could possibly ever want to know :D) here are some fairly down-to-earth articles on the subject. The third one is a pretty blatant product pimping, but it has good information just the same, so although I highly recommend SesaThin for plenty of reasons, feel free to ignore it in the article and just work on expanding your knowledge.

Alcohol Part I
Alcohol Part II
Alcohol, the liver, and you

Speaking from experience, while those are all very informative, they don't make the best topics of discussion at parties or bars. :D

[MuscleManMatt]

I know im going to get totally bashed for saying this BUT ill have Guiness 3 nights a week and I seriously do not think it has impacted anything to do with my training. I eat right, train hard and follow a good diet definately not perfect but im content with my gains and progress. I dont believe having a beer will undo my days workout. Sorry for digging up an old thread but is there anyone that feels the same way?

[BadGenCD]

For someone who just lifts recreationally and doesn't care so much, go ahead and drink once in a while, but if you are really serious about it and/or are a competing bodybuilder, i would highly recommend against it. Not only does it slow down metabolic function, but it decreases testosterone AND impairs muscle function (via dehydration), which you would notice the next day when you're not as strong.

[Control]

I won't even train guys that drink heavily. It's so counter-productive to gaining muscle and cutting fat. I'm not advocating any type of drug use, but if you held a gun to my head and made me choose between getting drunk twice a week and smoking weed twice a week, I'd take the weed. I've known guys that smoke weed and still look like bodybuilders (although most of them look like skinny hippies with pot bellies).