Effects of alcohol on fatloss

[Ivan088816]

So I've been reading through the blog on leangains.com and found the post on alcohol and how it affects fatloss to be interesting. Martin writes that the alcohol itself won't contribute to fat gain significantly so much as all of the carbs and fats that tend to go along with a night out drinking.

Basically if one were to stick to shots and keep his macros within limits he wouldn't hinder fatloss.
Did I misread this or is my rationale correct. Basically I'd be ignoring the calories from the alcohol itself.

[korykory]

So I've been reading through the blog on leangains.com and found the post on alcohol and how it affects fatloss to be interesting. Martin writes that the alcohol itself won't contribute to fat gain significantly so much as all of the carbs and fats that tend to go along with a night out drinking.

Basically if one were to stick to shots and keep his macros within limits he wouldn't hinder fatloss.
Did I misread this or is my rationale correct. Basically I'd be ignoring the calories from the alcohol itself.

I believe him despite what every other "dietitian" says... but maybe it's because I really really want to =P

In all seriousness, I found that as long as I take shots (rum & diet coke ftw) and I don't start drunk munching, I look and feel skinner the morning after. Yes it's probably because I'm dehydrated but overall drinking has not made me fatter.

I, too, ignore alcohol calories but I do try to make a caloric buffer before going out just in case.

[Ivan088816]

Thanks for the reply. Its interesting to me that alcohol is listed as 7cals per gram but which are not utilized by the body. I thought that alcohol cals were intact the first to be used.

As far as the skinnier look that definitely has to do with the dehydration. Perhaps we just formulated a new form of contest prep; binge drinking the night before to get all the extra cuts visible the next morning...

[adamj575]

Well, it doesnt matter matter either way to me....if ive cut 40 lbs in 2 months and drank virtually every saturday night..i drink beer and lots of it when i drink...lol...usually in the neighborhood of 15-18 beers on a typical saturday night....if it starts to hinder me later on then i might check it a bit...but for now i say drink up....the way i figure it...if i am at a 7000 calorie deficit by the end of the week and drink 1500 cals worth of beer im still at a 5500 cal deficit...i know they are bad cals but still.....

[tydavin]

i believe in moderation. every week once a week i will go out usually saturday night and enjoy having drinks. i will start off with a couple glasses of wine and then after that just have a few shots of straight vodka. just make sure the next day you get a good workout in!

[fiveten]

Thanks for the reply. Its interesting to me that alcohol is listed as 7cals per gram but which are not utilized by the body. I thought that alcohol cals were intact the first to be used.

As far as the skinnier look that definitely has to do with the dehydration. Perhaps we just formulated a new form of contest prep; binge drinking the night before to get all the extra cuts visible the next morning...

if you read the article properly, he explains that its more like 5 cals per gram because of the thermic effect of alcohol metabolism

so if you stick to spirits with zero cal mixers like diet cola or whatever you like then it shouldn't affect your dieting too much if you be sure to get some dancing into it :D

and yes alcohol is a potent diuretic, it does dehydrate you and make you look more defined for a few hours...

[Cape1]

So I've been reading through the blog on leangains.com and found the post on alcohol and how it affects fatloss to be interesting. Martin writes that the alcohol itself won't contribute to fat gain significantly so much as all of the carbs and fats that tend to go along with a night out drinking.

Basically if one were to stick to shots and keep his macros within limits he wouldn't hinder fatloss.
Did I misread this or is my rationale correct. Basically I'd be ignoring the calories from the alcohol itself.

Alcohol will completely screw up the process of Fat Metabolism and Protein Synthesis. I know there are guys who do it and can look/perform great. Chances are they would be even sharper without it.

Like anything else though, You have to live life. I don't know what's worse: the guy whose Fat, Drunk and Stupid; or the guy who brings rice cakes to a Party, who is affraid to ever put his precious Abs in harms way.

You have to pick your own goals. The mirror will reflect those choices. A few drinks here and there will not mess it up too bad unless your goal is competitve bodybuilding. Too much alcohol will ruin your body though. That much I can promise you. HEy, I love to drink! I don't see myself ever quiting it completely; but, then again, this is one reason I will probably never win a pro card. That's ok with me. That's the choice I made.

And dude, the macros in the drink only matter insofar as how they impact your calorie/macro goals. The far larger problem, physiologically, is how the Alcohol disrupts your system.

[636zx6r]

A wise man once told me, "Moderation instead of prohibition".

But I agree, alcohol F**K's up your diet.
I got wasted Wed,Thur,Fri,Sat last week and feel terrible.

[doit4dame]

Daily alcohol consumption will slow or stop your results. The drawbacks are probably going to far outweigh any health benefits. Your liver can't metabolize alcohol and fat at the same time. It will always get rid of the toxic substance (alcohol) first. That means that as long as there's alcohol in your system you won't be burning any body fat. If you have one or two drinks, you might stall your fat loss for a few hours. If you have quite a few drinks, it might be as long as four days before you're metabolizing fat again.

[seifelbadrawy]

Daily alcohol consumption will slow or stop your results. The drawbacks are probably going to far outweigh any health benefits. Your liver can't metabolize alcohol and fat at the same time. It will always get rid of the toxic substance (alcohol) first. That means that as long as there's alcohol in your system you won't be burning any body fat. If you have one or two drinks, you might stall your fat loss for a few hours. If you have quite a few drinks, it might be as long as four days before you're metabolizing fat again.

this is definately not true.. alcohol is a metabolic poison and your body will try getting rid of it as fast as possible. Plenty of alcohol is wasted in your urine. I lose the most weight when i am on vacation. I'll be drinking 1000-1200 cals worth of hard liquor and diet mixed drinks a day and just have nothing but protein and a carb source for breakfast and i'd lose way more than i ever did on a sober week.

I am always self-conscious on how i look during a vacation, so i am sure what i am saying is true..

your logic makes absolutely no sense... if that was the case, then they'd give kids in somalia two shots of vodka so they wouldn't have to eat for 2 days..

[PBateman2]

alcohol will completely screw up the process of fat metabolism and protein synthesis. I know there are guys who do it and can look/perform great. Chances are they would be even sharper without it.

Like anything else though, you have to live life. I don't know what's worse: The guy whose fat, drunk and stupid; or the guy who brings rice cakes to a party, who is affraid to ever put his precious abs in harms way.

You have to pick your own goals. The mirror will reflect those choices. A few drinks here and there will not mess it up too bad unless your goal is competitve bodybuilding. Too much alcohol will ruin your body though. That much i can promise you. Hey, i love to drink! I don't see myself ever quiting it completely; but, then again, this is one reason i will probably never win a pro card. That's ok with me. That's the choice i made.

And dude, the macros in the drink only matter insofar as how they impact your calorie/macro goals. The far larger problem, physiologically, is how the alcohol disrupts your system.

^this.

[Nutshell20]

Alcohol will completely screw up the process of Fat Metabolism and Protein Synthesis. I know there are guys who do it and can look/perform great. Chances are they would be even sharper without it.

Like anything else though, You have to live life. I don't know what's worse: the guy whose Fat, Drunk and Stupid; or the guy who brings rice cakes to a Party, who is affraid to ever put his precious Abs in harms way.

You have to pick your own goals. The mirror will reflect those choices. A few drinks here and there will not mess it up too bad unless your goal is competitve bodybuilding. Too much alcohol will ruin your body though. That much I can promise you. HEy, I love to drink! I don't see myself ever quiting it completely; but, then again, this is one reason I will probably never win a pro card. That's ok with me. That's the choice I made.

And dude, the macros in the drink only matter insofar as how they impact your calorie/macro goals. The far larger problem, physiologically, is how the Alcohol disrupts your system.

Very true. Some people can't consume anything in moderation...that's when problems can start with anything in life.

[Retrotiger]

It does. I believe. Alcohol is carbo. Carbo = weight. Depends on your intake too though.

[Jacobus1919]

Depends really I think. Alcohol has its benefits. But too much of everything will always be bad. And I heard it ain't good to drink alcohol specially if you just had tons of supplements down.

[BiGnNasty]

When i drink its in moderation and i like Gentleman Jack and Coke Zero plus i drink 4-5 bottles of water and hell yes i piss a lot but oh well beats being hungover and having flatter muscles. Also after a few i usually have a blunt Ready to toke on always helps the situation. So in my opinion just Toke it up after 2-3 shots and 4 bottles of water.

[bigollie2006]

http://www.criticalbench.com/muscle-alcohol.htm

good article on the effects of alcohol

[bigtrey37]

A wise man once told me, "Moderation instead of prohibition".

But I agree, alcohol F**K's up your diet.
I got wasted Wed,Thur,Fri,Sat last week and feel terrible.

This is true with anything

[Rugger7]

Calories are the main thing... lowers testosterone for us males on a side note.. on a second side note.. you only live once, have a good time while you're at it.

[TurbulentEnergy]

Alcohol in moderation is fine... but not many people really know what moderation is...

Reason why people lose weight when they drink alcohol is because alcohol inhibits antidiuretic hormone, and thus increased urine output...

When someone drinks alcohol, they can... depending on their bodies overall physiology, can urinate up to 2 liters within hours... So that can account for the dramatic weight loss..

Alcohol is a toxin and the liver goes into overdrive to break it down into a harmless substance and it is even then excreted through urine, sweat, digestion, and respiration...

But hey... with all that aside.... drink alcohol in moderation, and you shouldnt have to worry about stacking on much weight or impacting your routine.... Unless, you are a pro bodybuilder and then it will make a difference depending upon your desired results.

Have fun and keep it lean

[Tunes]

If you think you might be drinking too much you probably are. That is not to say you shouldn't be drinking at all. Just keep in mind alcohol is calories without the nutritional benefit.

[Driver86]

Alcohol itself won't hurt you. Feel free to have a drink with the boys just make sure you're drinking alcohol and not carbs. Beer=bad. Whiskey, Vodka, Gin etc = good. Anything mixed with fruit juices, mixers, red bull or anything else sugary = bad.

Also keep in mind that the body will burn the alcohol first so when you drink try to avoid eating or if you do eat then don't eat carbs. Cheese and Slim Jims = good. McDonald's french fries =bad.

[thehappypanda]

remember a shot has about 80-90 cals. for most guys we can knock down about 12-15 shots lol. although the dehydration takes effect and i usually end up lighter after a night of drinking. i stopped drinking a couple weeks ago though because i'm one of those guys who never ends up having a good night lol

[MobiusHeartbreak]

yeah beer is lethal

[veedawg82]

Alcohol itself won't hurt you. Feel free to have a drink with the boys just make sure you're drinking alcohol and not carbs. Beer=bad. Whiskey, Vodka, Gin etc = good. Anything mixed with fruit juices, mixers, red bull or anything else sugary = bad.

Also keep in mind that the body will burn the alcohol first so when you drink try to avoid eating or if you do eat then don't eat carbs. Cheese and Slim Jims = good. McDonald's french fries =bad.

Thank god! I like to sip on Bourbon every night and was wondering how bad that was for me, sounds like I can still sip and not have to worry too much LOL!

[whine]

With all this talk about alcohol not being so bad after when working out I have to disagree. Of course, if an individual is able to keep in check and casually drink a few beers then I dont see any drawbacks, but for example when I "go out" it will not stay in the few beers. Next day will propably be a hangover and I will eat ****, also things in the gym dont feel right until the halfway of the week.

Fatloss? Feels like taking 6 steps ahead and 7 back with drinking.

But isnt it so that moderation in everything is good. I just cant do it, so for me its either ON or OFF.

[martina92685]

s in the drink only matter insofar as how they impact your calorie/macro goals. The far larger problem, physiologically, is how the Alcohol disrupts your system.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!

[Inthearena]

Alcohol itself won't hurt you. Feel free to have a drink with the boys just make sure you're drinking alcohol and not carbs. Beer=bad. Whiskey, Vodka, Gin etc = good. Anything mixed with fruit juices, mixers, red bull or anything else sugary = bad.

Also keep in mind that the body will burn the alcohol first so when you drink try to avoid eating or if you do eat then don't eat carbs. Cheese and Slim Jims = good. McDonald's french fries =bad.

Alcohol pretty much shuts off all breakdown of fat. The fat in slim jims and cheese will be stored.

[coals]

Oh hi:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=125340301

[Arsenic]

If you are serious about losing fat. Cut out alcohol entirely. If you must have a glass of red wine with dinner(antioxidants aren't bad). The rest is up to you, because alcohol in abundance is a poison for the body and the mind and the soul. I am an alcoholic. It's in my DNA, my father was until he turned 30. I haven't had a drink since New Years. And I got so drunk that I don't remember ringing in the new year at all LMAO Good night regardless.

[kodyt21]

there is a lot of bro science out there, but the real answer is or bodies only absorb 5% of the actual calories in alcohol, so is not the amount of calories being ingested. Evidence had shown alcohol completely stops protien synthesis and fat burning, so your body only breaks down the alcohol and uses it for energy while your drinking it. 90% of drinkers go 6- 7 hours of not eating when drinking then plow a huge meal down at 3am and go to sleep..bottom line everything you eat when drinking gets thrown away or stored as fat on your body...
Y es even protien can be broken down and stored also!

[Cape1]

there is a lot of bro science out there, but the real answer is or bodies only absorb 5% of the actual calories in alcohol, so is not the amount of calories being ingested. Evidence had shown alcohol completely stops protien synthesis and fat burning, so your body only breaks down the alcohol and uses it for energy while your drinking it. 90% of drinkers go 6- 7 hours of not eating when drinking then plow a huge meal down at 3am and go to sleep..bottom line everything you eat when drinking gets thrown away or stored as fat on your body...
Y es even protien can be broken down and stored also!

^^

Good advice.

I love the idiots talking about just pounding rum/vodka and Coke Zero lest their precious Macros get screwed up. Talk about swallowing a football but being worried about choking on a peanut.

[coals]

Taken from the link i posted which noone apparently clicked.




DISCLAIMER: I am not a licensed medical practitioner. I can't even spell very well most of the time. I do not have a degree or have completed any formal education on anything discussed in this thread (still in school fail). Take everything below with a mountain of salt. Do your OWN RESEARCH. DOUBT. I am also not responsible for anything that comes out of following my non-professional advice.

Question is asked a lot particularly on this forum:



The answer is usually "calories in calories out" and for 99.99% of people on this forum this holds true for every other question but alcohol is a little different.

With regards to body building, the objective of which is to gain lean mass, spare lean mass, and reduce body fat (and/or maintain a low percentage of body fat), alcohol is one of the worst, if not the worst, things you can introduce to your body.

This is what happens when you drink:

Some alcohol is absorbed in the stomach. The amount of food in your stomach, the slower the digestion. Carbonating alcohol beverages slightly increases the absorption rate. Some people are just better. Rest goes to small intestine where it gets absorbed. This really is not the important part.

Once alcohol is in your bloodstream, digestion happens in the liver. I'm not going into chemical details, I hate to sound degrading but most people can't understand wavelength's sticky so i doubt anyone gives a hoot about some biochemistry. Basically it gets converted to a toxic compound that releases NADH (a different, highly critical metabolic compound used mostly in moving hydrogen around). NADH and it's oxidized equivalent NAD are kept in a controlled ratio in the cell to maintain proper functioning. Why does this matter to anyone?

Alcohol creates an imbalance. Too much NADH relative to NAD levels fks stuff up, i'm not going to delve into the myriad of problems that are created by alcohol, i'm not anti-alcohol I promise. What we're interested in is the fact that too much NADH shifts metabolism to promote fat molecule synthesis and inhibit breakdown of fats in the liver. It's almost like it was created as an anti-bodybuilding supplement. This directly contradicts objective #3, to reduce body fat and/or maintain a low percentage of body fat. Btw if you don't care about bodybuilding, read the big letters at the waay top left of the page, then click the x at the top right of your screen.

Now, we're done talking about that. It's waay more complicated but the cliffs of that last paragraph is alcohol = more fat created + less fat burned = bad.

Alcohol has some other nasty effects on the body. I'm going to go into less detail then i did above but to sum it up, it will reduce the absorption and levels of some key vitamins and minerals, will dehydrate your muscles, and will absolutely destroy protein synthesis as well as nutrient uptake in muscles. This contracts our other objectives, to create and maintain desired levels of lbm.

What it does to your hormones is unclear some studies are showing it reduces test levels over time some show theres a large spike during followed by low periods afterwards, i'm not really sure it matters in the long run. If anyone wants to point me in the right direction, i might take a look (assload of calc homework tonight so probably not).


But we head back to the original question (Scroll up if you forgot luls). With alcohol, because it's not processed as a carbohydrate or a fat or a protein, calories in vs calories out only loosely applies. DOES THAT MATTER? Well ask yourself: "Self, do you really want to go drinking tonight?" If the answer is yes go drink. If the answer is maybe, get off the damn fence. If the answer is no, don't drink. Honestly, deprivation is the stepping stone to long term diet non-adherence. Which leads to no progress. Which leads to stupid questions on the bb forums. No one here can answer that question for you.

edit: In b4 age:20 status:Nonlegal-drinker

[BlondieNY]

Shots shots shots shots shots. But really, I am trying to cut for a Miami trip and I'm worried my drinking will impede this :-( 3days/week = too much?

[daniel84uk]

Well it will slow your progress a bit obviously but won't necessarily completely draw it to a halt. If you're just having a few shots and you're seeing progress on the scale/ in the mirror then don't sweat it. If it stalls/ as you get closer to your trip then you might want to cut things back a little. It will go slower for you as you're obviously not a chunk anyway but you might need to get a bit stricter with yourself as the trip gets closer to meet whatever goals you've got.

[jamesyboi]

If your really serious about fatloss, then ditch the alcohol alltogether.

Your liver will like you much more for it.

If you do have a big night out on the town, then maybe you might be interested in taking some Milk Thistle?

My alt levels dropped from 251 to 171 in a couple months from diet and taking MT.

[Robbyrh10]

The only reason alcohol hinders my fat loss is because i get the drunk munchies.

[kmal2t]

Again its a matter of how much you want it and your priorities.

If you're trying to get lean and you want to get results faster and don't want to wait a while to get to that low bf % you're going to probably have to sacrifice and only drink a few once a week. If you drink enough it could slow your progress to almost a halt. When I drink regularly I start getting the beer gut.

If you're already lean I would think a few beers in the week wouldn't hurt you. I just wish GOOD tasting beer wasn't like 150-200 calories as opposed to those crappy 64 calorie "beers"

[grej]

its the worst thing you can do.. at least in my exp.

[gottalift78]

basically all that article is saying is starve yourself of nutritional calories/ macros and just getting them from drinking.

He tosses in some scientific terms to make it seem legit. But in reality you are just not eating your daily macros.

[Ovillaz]

Shots shots shots shots shots. But really, I am trying to cut for a Miami trip and I'm worried my drinking will impede this :-( 3days/week = too much?

alcohol phuks with ya natural hormone levels which then can slow/reverse any progress (as well as a few other things)......hold out til u get there

[OxitUsata]

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[EllieBee06]

With all this talk about alcohol not being so bad after when working out I have to disagree. Of course, if an individual is able to keep in check and casually drink a few beers then I dont see any drawbacks, but for example when I "go out" it will not stay in the few beers. Next day will propably be a hangover and I will eat ****, also things in the gym dont feel right until the halfway of the week.

Fatloss? Feels like taking 6 steps ahead and 7 back with drinking.

But isnt it so that moderation in everything is good. I just cant do it, so for me its either ON or OFF.

True that! I have to totally agree with this! Yes drinking the right stuff in the right levels at the right times is the way to go, but its not easy to have a great nite out and still be able to smash out an amazing session the next day. Yeah it takes almost a half week for me to be feeling back 100% in the gym following a blinder nite, so its kinda not worth all the effort that you put in the previous week! Yes 6 steps forward, 7 steps back! I have kinda learned to live with the fact that its better to smash soda water with lime or cranberry and stay sober! No one knows you don't have alcohol in it! Plus I'm fully hydrated for gym the next day or after the evening is done :) its a win win!

[ol matey]

Me and my friends have gone on two overseas holidays, one month per trip, where we got drunk every single day. I calculated the cals per drink, our rough average of drinks per day, and figured we should all have come home with an extra 10kg of fat each. This was not the case. One girl who doesn't train at home, but follows a strict diet put on maybe 3kg, most of which I attribute to her completely foresaking her diet. My net result was simply what one would expect by ignoring my usual diet and neglecting all cardio and weights for one month , which is to say, I lost maybe 2-3kg of muscle and put on maybe 2-3kg of fat, which took around a month to reverse. My other friends remained virtually unchanged.

I do not believe for one second that alcohol is anywhere near as big an obstacle to fat loss as people make out. Those fat turds in their 40s, the ones everyone uses as an example to illustrate the "beer-gut" myth, drink full-sugar beers, eat like ****, and never exercise. Assumptions are made linking the alcohol itself to the problem. Like most assumptions, they are baseless and wrong.

[MartinRoberts]

i've got a question for anyone who can answer it. the fat you put on in one night can be lost easily enough but the muscle you burn away when drinking with no regard for your body or the morning after can burn a lot of protein/muscle so the first port of call for me is protecting my hard earned gains. protein/fat synthesis and fueling your body goes out of the window when you drink, even if you don't know this already it's been posted here enough for us to get a rough idea of what's going on (speacial thanks to coals for his post).

so, will taking a helping of ~HMB, BCAAs, glutamine, creatine, etc before, during and after a night out help save your mass? i did it myself just over a week ago after not drinking for ages and even after a third of a bottle of red wine and a pint of lagar i felt no cramps or aches that usually come with training and drinking albeit i did drink a hell of a lot of water through te night.

[Tussmann57]

basically all that article is saying is starve yourself of nutritional calories/ macros and just getting them from drinking.

He tosses in some scientific terms to make it seem legit. But in reality you are just not eating your daily macros.



That's not what he's saying at all. Reread the article with some integrity you tard. And more importantly, don't say "scientific terms," it makes you look like a ****ing moron.

[DarQ2]

[QUOTE=Ivan088816;572562571]So I've been reading through the blog on leangains.com and found the post on alcohol and how it affects fatloss to be interesting. Martin writes that the alcohol itself won't contribute to fat gain significantly so much as all of the carbs and fats that tend to go along with a night out drinking.

Basically if one were to stick to shots and keep his macros within limits he wouldn't hinder fatloss.
Did I misread this or is my rationale correct. Basically I'd be ignoring the calories from the alcohol itself.[/QUOT

I'm thinking that as long as there is still a caloric deficit that one is safe from gaining fat while drinking. I plan to have a designated day (sat nite) when I can have a few and do it in moderation.

I think a few shots with no chaser/nonmixed with one or two quality brews will prove rewarding especially after many hours eating right and working hard in the gym.

[Dutchie1972]

Alcohol, the munchies that come with it and the lack of energy the day after screwed up my progress. I stopped drinking alcohol 3 weeks ago and will continue to do so (with the exception of a few special occasions) until March.

[Anaeteintok]

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[idz21]

there is a lot of bro science out there, but the real answer is or bodies only absorb 5% of the actual calories in alcohol, so is not the amount of calories being ingested. Evidence had shown alcohol completely stops protien synthesis and fat burning, so your body only breaks down the alcohol and uses it for energy while your drinking it. 90% of drinkers go 6- 7 hours of not eating when drinking then plow a huge meal down at 3am and go to sleep..bottom line everything you eat when drinking gets thrown away or stored as fat on your body...
Y es even protien can be broken down and stored also!

can you expand on these? I thought all alcohol calories counted... Also, how does your body "throw away" cals consumed after drinking? Genuinely interested in these comments, not being a smart ass,

[linckej]

I recently lost about 44 pounds and drank beer and lots of it every weekend. I think it definitely hindered my fat loss. Eventhough I lost a lot of weight I guarentee I could have done it in less time if I quit drinking. I believe that everyone should live life to the fullest and my friends love to party, so if I would quit drinking then I would not be living life. Maybe I am only saying this because I dont have a girlfriend and I am able to go out on the town, I dont know. After losing the 44 pounds I am finding it particularly hard to lose the last 15 pounds I need to lose and most of it is in my gut/love handles. These areas seem to collect majority of my fat and I am finding that if I continue to drink alot, then I will never lose the love handles.

Remember this is just my opinion and I am not a nutritionist or life coach