Is alcohol really that bad?

[Laurataylor573]

May be a silly question but is alcohol really that bad for gaining muscle and loosing BF. I train hard and eat very healthy most of the time but my one vice is a few glasses of wine at the weekend. I have been told that in order to reduce my bodyfat further I need to stop this. I probably drink 2 bottles of wine over the weekend period I am absolutely willing to stop this if its what I need to do however will really miss it and look forward to it all week. Do most people who train hard and maintain low bodyfat never drink?

[Miranda]

it's dense in energy and tends to make people ravenous (= overeat), but other than that, there's nothing terribly 'wrong' with alcohol.

[andrerox80]

iifym. wine would never be worth it to me, but totally is to a lot of people.

[KimDuce]

Everything in moderation I also love a glass of wine on the occasion and have not noticed any problems

Cheers to that

[wakechica]

I don't drink that much at all anymore. I'll have a couple of glasses of wine with dinner very occasionally and maybe an ammaretto and FULL FAT COKE! (I count it in my macros ) or 2 (amaretto is so calorific but so nice)

I attribute my drinking at university to making me hold more fat. I hate feeling hungover so I rarely drink loads when I got out. Saves me cash too

Why don't you try cutting it down to one bottle for the weekend? Either one bottle on Friday OR Saturday or 2-3 glasses each night. See if it makes a difference?

[Beerto]

If your drinking it moderately should be fine, but Alcohol just turns into fat.

[andrerox80]

If your drinking it moderately should be fine, but Alcohol just turns into fat.

says the oh-so-wise 14 yr old. sigh.

[ClassickQC]

May be a silly question but is alcohol really that bad for gaining muscle and loosing BF. I train hard and eat very healthy most of the time but my one vice is a few glasses of wine at the weekend. I have been told that in order to reduce my bodyfat further I need to stop this. I probably drink 2 bottles of wine over the weekend period I am absolutely willing to stop this if its what I need to do however will really miss it and look forward to it all week. Do most people who train hard and maintain low bodyfat never drink?

Ha, that good glass of wine on weekends, I too, look forward to it all week.

When I was trying to lose weight, I at one point started drinkind de-alcoholized white wine because it was a LOT less calories than the regular wine. Obviously it's not the same. I then decided to fit my wine into my calories. I still do, because let's face it, a bottle of wine is around 500 calories, and well, on a friday night, over 5 hours I can easily drink it all to myself while reading a good book.

I now will drink 2 glasses max, since I would rather eat my calories than drink them

If you drink 2 bottles a weekend, keep in mind it's about 1000 calories (and quite a lot of carbs) you are taking on top of what you are eating. I am never going to say ''yes you SHOULD avoid wine at all cost if you want to drop body fat'' because I have got really good results losing weight and significantly dropping my BF while still enjoying said glass of wine and other goodies.

As others said, all in moderation

[bodymassfast]

alcohol is poison to your body, period!

[mmcgaw]

alcohol is poison to your body, period!

What everyone is failing to mention (except the quoted guy) is that even the slightest alcohol impairs your body. Drinking alcohol depletes vitamins A, C, B-complex, calcium, zinc and phosphorus. It also lowers your testosterone which is obviously crucial to building muscle not fat.
Alcohol also when broken down, impairs the liver from aiding with proper function as when alcohol is broken down it turn into more harmful instance then alchohol itself.

Alcohol also increases appetite in alot of people as well as dehydrates your body removing electrolytes that water doesn't replace.
One glass in a week kinda thing won't do anything. But 2 bottles of wine a weekend is defiantly to much and is hindering your progress.

A

[dreahere]

Oh, blah blah blah. Alcohol is a poison that humans have been ingesting for many thousands of years. And I'm sure all those people in Mediterranean countries that have a glass of wine with every meal are in much worse shape than your typical fat American They're all probably catabolizing and dehydrating and mineral-depleting as we speak.

OP, red wine is about 50 calories per ounce. Do with that information as you will When I am dieting I never have more than one glass at any time because too much drinking then leads to choosing to eat lots o' carbs and that screws with my progress.

[mmcgaw]

Oh, blah blah blah. Alcohol is a poison that humans have been ingesting for many thousands of years. And I'm sure all those people in Mediterranean countries that have a glass of wine with every meal are in much worse shape than your typical fat American They're all probably catabolizing and dehydrating and mineral-depleting as we speak.

OP, red wine is about 50 calories per ounce. Do with that information as you will When I am dieting I never have more than one glass at any time because too much drinking then leads to choosing to eat lots o' carbs and that screws with my progress.

I'm glad you mentioned some key facts! Op drinks 2 bottles ONLY on weekends. People in Europe have glass a DAY.
Then you say people in med are healthier the yanks. No ****. The American drinks more then a glass a day champ. Alcohol kills what it touches. WHICH IS WHY IT'S WATERED DOWN.

Moderation is key and 2bottles a weekend is NOT moderation.
Learn.

[sy2502]

There are plenty of studies that show benefits of drinking alcohol in moderation, so no, alcohol cannot be dismissed as "poison" and "all bad".
It is also true that it is mostly empty calories, so if attaining a certain body is your one and only concern, I guess empty calories aren't your best friend toward your goal.

[MT-mtn_girl]

I agree with everything in moderation. I'm not a wine drinker, but I do enjoy a good single barrel bourbon on the rocks. I don't use a mixer, so I tend not to have more than one. I'll enjoy one once a week or so.

[KimDuce]

The way i feel now i never want to touch a drink again... but i do, stupid.

[dariasofi]

I have cut down a lot since I started lifting more avidly, but I do drink on weekends and I drink vodka sodas. No carbs. Clean... It hasn't really stalled my progress honestly.

[ladybug164]

I think that you should enjoy it still! And wine does have some health benefits=) If I am trying to cut back I buy the mini bottles for portion control and I mix wine with seltzer to make a wine spritzer!

[Cape1]

i look at it like this. It CANT help. It can only slow things or stop them completely. Bad habit in general. I wish I never drank.

[dariasofi]

says the oh-so-wise 14 yr old. sigh.

..who can't spell "you're"

Probably the same one that gave me a negative rep in the men's forum...for NOTHING.

[BigReddHair]

I stopped drinking alcohol this year due to some issues with my liver. At first it was kinda' hard to not have a glass of wine, but honestly now I feel so much better. I feel less bloated and I never have to worry about the binge eating that accompanied my drinking, or the absolute feeling of laziness the next morning. Alcohol just had a negative effect on me period.
I know everybody reacts to it differently, but I would definitely say experiment and see how you feel without it. If you don't feel any different, then drink some for me.

[sy2502]

I stopped drinking alcohol this year due to some issues with my liver. At first it was kinda' hard to not have a glass of wine, but honestly now I feel so much better. I feel less bloated and I never have to worry about the binge eating that accompanied my drinking, or the absolute feeling of laziness the next morning. Alcohol just had a negative effect on me period.
I know everybody reacts to it differently, but I would definitely say experiment and see how you feel without it. If you don't feel any different, then drink some for me.

You know, I find it very interesting when I hear people talk of alcohol making them hungrier, because for me it's the opposite. I usually have mad cravings for sugary foods in the evening, after my dinner, I just HAVE to finish my meal with something sweet, but I don't really have them if I had a glass of wine with my dinner. Just as you said, it's pretty funny how different people are!

[ashleyrooth90]

May be a silly question but is alcohol really that bad for gaining muscle and loosing BF. I train hard and eat very healthy most of the time but my one vice is a few glasses of wine at the weekend. I have been told that in order to reduce my bodyfat further I need to stop this. I probably drink 2 bottles of wine over the weekend period I am absolutely willing to stop this if its what I need to do however will really miss it and look forward to it all week. Do most people who train hard and maintain low bodyfat never drink?

When you drink alcohol your body sees it as a poison. Your liver metabolizes everything you eat, drink, and even breathe in. Your liver also metabolizes 80 percent of your bodies fat. Over time from caffeine, alcohol, and even artificial sweeteners, your liver will start to form a fatty film around the outside causing your metabolism to slow down. Your body doesn't metabolize alcohol like it does food, and your body actually wants to get rid of the alcohol before anything else so, anything you eat an hour before you start drinking, and up to 48 hours(depending on how much you drink) later automatically gets stored as fat because the liver has no room for it. So, people that think they are being "smart" by eating right before they drink aren't being smart about their body.

[sy2502]

When you drink alcohol your body sees it as a poison. Your liver metabolizes everything you eat, drink, and even breathe in. Your liver also metabolizes 80 percent of your bodies fat. Over time from caffeine, alcohol, and even artificial sweeteners, your liver will start to form a fatty film around the outside causing your metabolism to slow down. Your body doesn't metabolize alcohol like it does food, and your body actually wants to get rid of the alcohol before anything else so, anything you eat an hour before you start drinking, and up to 48 hours(depending on how much you drink) later automatically gets stored as fat because the liver has no room for it. So, people that think they are being "smart" by eating right before they drink aren't being smart about their body.

I can't even begin to list everything that is wrong with your post. I'll start from the obvious, "Your body doesn't metabolize alcohol like it does food". This is incorrect. Alcohol is metabolized through the Kreb (citric acid) cycle, which is the same used to metabolize glucose.

As for "Over time from caffeine, alcohol, and even artificial sweeteners, your liver will start to form a fatty film around the outside causing your metabolism to slow down", I'd really like to see some scientific evidence of this. In fact Fatty Liver Disease is a problem that develops over time in alcoholics (not moderate alcohol drinkers!), but also obesity and diabetes.

Now for "anything you eat an hour before you start drinking, and up to 48 hours(depending on how much you drink) later automatically gets stored as fat because the liver has no room for it." that's a misleading statement, as you imply this is a very specific and peculiar thing that only happens with alcohol. The reason alcohol is metabolized before other foods is that alcohol begins to be absorbed in the stomach, while other foods are absorbed in the intestine, and since the body simply metabolizes whatever is in the blood at the time, if you eat a piece of chicken and drink a glass of wine, the wine will be metabolized before the chicken simply because it enters the blood stream before the chicken. As for alcohol being automatically stored as fat, this can be true of anything you eat: first it goes to replenish the glycogen reserves, then whatever's left is converted to fat. Most people don't realize that energy is stored as fat and then broken down as energy throughout the day, since your liver can only store about the equivalent of 500 calories.

Please check your facts before making this kind of invented statements.

[RevSpunkwater]

May be a silly question but is alcohol really that bad for gaining muscle and loosing BF. I train hard and eat very healthy most of the time but my one vice is a few glasses of wine at the weekend. I have been told that in order to reduce my bodyfat further I need to stop this. I probably drink 2 bottles of wine over the weekend period I am absolutely willing to stop this if its what I need to do however will really miss it and look forward to it all week. Do most people who train hard and maintain low bodyfat never drink?

Drinking it in moderation is fine, but drinking excessive amounts will wreak all kinds of hell. It's loaded with carbs, it dehydrates you, and it causes you to age faster. One reason I look younger than 25, or so people tell me, is that I haven't ravaged my body with drugs and alcohol.

Anywho. If you want low bodyfat, it's easier to stop drinking altogether.

[Miranda]

The reason alcohol is metabolized before other foods is that alcohol begins to be absorbed in the stomach, while other foods are absorbed in the intestine, and since the body simply metabolizes whatever is in the blood at the time, if you eat a piece of chicken and drink a glass of wine, the wine will be metabolized before the chicken simply because it enters the blood stream before the chicken. As for alcohol being automatically stored as fat, this can be true of anything you eat

the body oxidises alcohol first because there is no storage form of alcohol. it simply HAS to burn alcohol off, it cannot be converted into anything by the body. alcohol is in its own category in that regard.

[sy2502]

the body oxidises alcohol first because there is no storage form of alcohol. it simply HAS to burn alcohol off, it cannot be converted into anything by the body. alcohol is in its own category in that regard.

Everything you put in your mouth has to be metabolized, the body can't store anything in the same form it enters the body. That's why we have a digestive system.

[Miranda]

Everything you put in your mouth has to be metabolized, the body can't store anything in the same form it enters the body. That's why we have a digestive system.

agree, but that's not what i meant. the body can store protein, fat and carbohydrate, but it cannot store alcohol. it is metabolised and oxidised straight away, because there is no storage for it. sorry if i was unclear.

[W8sB4dates]

I have cut down a lot since I started lifting more avidly, but I do drink on weekends and I drink vodka sodas. No carbs. Clean... It hasn't really stalled my progress honestly.

^^^ This Vodka and sodas keep you sexy and hangover free.......as long as its just a few I feel much better in the morning drinking theese then when I used to be a JagerBomb man!!

Drinking it in moderation is fine, but drinking excessive amounts will wreak all kinds of hell. It's loaded with carbs, it dehydrates you, and it causes you to age faster. One reason I look younger than 25, or so people tell me, is that I haven't ravaged my body with drugs and alcohol.

Anywho. If you want low bodyfat, it's easier to stop drinking altogether.

I think that probably just genetics cause I've ravished myself with drugs and alcohol from 13 to 18, then just mass ammounts of alcohol from 18-23 before I cleaned up my act and a lot of people don't belive I am 31 when I tell them.

So to the OP I don't think you should just quit the wine all together cause I feel there needs to be a balance and fun in everyones life, but maybe try to cut it back a little and see if that helps your weight loss. My GF is a wine drinker too.

[sy2502]

^^^ This Vodka and sodas keep you sexy and hangover free.......as long as its just a few I feel much better in the morning drinking theese then when I used to be a JagerBomb man!!

Also, the quality of the vodka makes a HUGE difference on how much hungover you're going to get. Personally I find Gray Goose to be the absolute best in both taste and hangover.

[W8sB4dates]

Also, the quality of the vodka makes a HUGE difference on how much hungover you're going to get. Personally I find Gray Goose to be the absolute best in both taste and hangover.

Grey Goose for me too!!