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Alcohol - Wasted and Wasting Your Body
By Andrew McInroy, B. Sc. Nutrition
If you think that you can train hard all week just so that you can go to the bar and get drunk and look ripped, you’re wrong. As a matter of science and fact, you are destroying your muscle gains, gaining fat, decreasing your ability to perform, increasing estrogen, decreasing sexual performance, and even having negative effects on your health. You have to ask yourself how bad you really want to achieve your goals. Is a night of drinking worth the negative effects? Do you really need to drink alcohol in order to enjoy yourself? Do you need it to fit in? Do you need it for confidence to talk to girls and to dance? If you answered yes to any of those questions then you really need to take a hard look in the mirror because you have some issues. You don’t NEED alcohol for any of those reasons. Many people can go out to the clubs sober and still have a great time and still meet hot girls without liquid confidence. But hey if you’re happy with getting less than amazing results, then you can stop reading right here. But if you want the motivation to not drink and the reasons why you shouldn’t, continue on!
Decreased Muscle Gains
Protein synthesis is biochemical process wherein you create proteins such as the building up of muscle. As a weight lifter or athlete, you want to make sure that your protein synthesis is always top notch because good protein synthesis leads to increased muscle, strength gains and faster recovery. It is well known that alcohol decreases protein synthesis. Furthermore, an important factor in muscle gains and performance is cell hydration; the more volume in a muscle cell, the more protein synthesis. It is also well known that alcohol is a potent diuretic, meaning that it causes water loss from the body and this has a myriad of negative factors that affect performance as will soon be discussed. However, the take home message is that alcohol decreases protein synthesis and in part due to loss of water from the muscles. Drinking alcohol results in smaller and weaker muscles that look flat.
Testosterone is an extremely important hormone for building muscle and generally the more you have of it, the more muscle and strength you will build. The opposite is also true: the less you have of it, the less muscle and strength you’re going to build. Excessive alcohol will lower your testosterone levels and also impair sperm function and production. Getting drunk has negative effects on your sexual performance and gym performance. Alcohol also has negative effects on the very important anabolic hormones IGF-1http://blog.paramount-supplements.com/deer-antler-stax-igf-1, HGH, and insulin.
Decreased Performance
As already stated, alcohol is a potent diuretic which causes your body to lose water. You will notice that on a night of hard drinking that you’re urinating more frequently and water loss is exactly why. Even a 2% decrease in body water levels can cause severe impairment of performance. Body water is important for nutrient transport, metabolism, vitamins, body temperature regulation, and blood volume. Dehydration can also lead to severe fatigue. If you think that you can work out on a hangover, you’re wrong.
Alcohol is Fattening
Alcohol has many negative effects but another major one is decreased fat burning. As one study showed, alcohol decreases fat burning by ~73%. Alcohol also significantly increases appetite and this can lead to poor food choices after a night of drinking as healthy food is often limited and junk food is usually available.
Estrogen is the “female hormone”. Typically men want low / healthy levels of this hormone in their body (yes we have some, too). When your estrogen levels become too high, men can experience increased fat gains and even gynecomastia which is also known as “man boobs”.
Lastly, most alcoholic beverages are loaded with low quality carbohydrates that make you fat. A can of beer usually contains ~150 calories. Think about how fast that can add up after a few beers!
Common Sense… Obviously alcohol is liver toxic and can lead to extreme disorders with the liver. But think about it, why are you out drinking in the first place? Like do you really want to be successful for your goals? Do you think that getting drunk is the best way? The reality is, as you can see, is that it is just a waste of time and money. You have two choices: You can go out and stay sober and have a good time (maybe even get in some cardio!) or you can stay in, relax, eat some good food and grow. Think about how much a night of drinking costs? You could buy some BCAA, Protein, a pre-workout, a multivitamin, or heck, even a few good meals! How about a nice big steak with a side of brown rice? What you do outside of the gym matters just as much, usually even more, than what you do in the gym when it comes to getting results. I hope this motivates you to not get drunk anymore and I wish you the best of luck in your goals. Never give up!
By Andrew McInroy, B. Sc. Nutrition
If you think that you can train hard all week just so that you can go to the bar and get drunk and look ripped, you’re wrong. As a matter of science and fact, you are destroying your muscle gains, gaining fat, decreasing your ability to perform, increasing estrogen, decreasing sexual performance, and even having negative effects on your health. You have to ask yourself how bad you really want to achieve your goals. Is a night of drinking worth the negative effects? Do you really need to drink alcohol in order to enjoy yourself? Do you need it to fit in? Do you need it for confidence to talk to girls and to dance? If you answered yes to any of those questions then you really need to take a hard look in the mirror because you have some issues. You don’t NEED alcohol for any of those reasons. Many people can go out to the clubs sober and still have a great time and still meet hot girls without liquid confidence. But hey if you’re happy with getting less than amazing results, then you can stop reading right here. But if you want the motivation to not drink and the reasons why you shouldn’t, continue on!
Decreased Muscle Gains
Protein synthesis is biochemical process wherein you create proteins such as the building up of muscle. As a weight lifter or athlete, you want to make sure that your protein synthesis is always top notch because good protein synthesis leads to increased muscle, strength gains and faster recovery. It is well known that alcohol decreases protein synthesis. Furthermore, an important factor in muscle gains and performance is cell hydration; the more volume in a muscle cell, the more protein synthesis. It is also well known that alcohol is a potent diuretic, meaning that it causes water loss from the body and this has a myriad of negative factors that affect performance as will soon be discussed. However, the take home message is that alcohol decreases protein synthesis and in part due to loss of water from the muscles. Drinking alcohol results in smaller and weaker muscles that look flat.
Testosterone is an extremely important hormone for building muscle and generally the more you have of it, the more muscle and strength you will build. The opposite is also true: the less you have of it, the less muscle and strength you’re going to build. Excessive alcohol will lower your testosterone levels and also impair sperm function and production. Getting drunk has negative effects on your sexual performance and gym performance. Alcohol also has negative effects on the very important anabolic hormones IGF-1http://blog.paramount-supplements.com/deer-antler-stax-igf-1, HGH, and insulin.
Decreased Performance
As already stated, alcohol is a potent diuretic which causes your body to lose water. You will notice that on a night of hard drinking that you’re urinating more frequently and water loss is exactly why. Even a 2% decrease in body water levels can cause severe impairment of performance. Body water is important for nutrient transport, metabolism, vitamins, body temperature regulation, and blood volume. Dehydration can also lead to severe fatigue. If you think that you can work out on a hangover, you’re wrong.
Alcohol is Fattening
Alcohol has many negative effects but another major one is decreased fat burning. As one study showed, alcohol decreases fat burning by ~73%. Alcohol also significantly increases appetite and this can lead to poor food choices after a night of drinking as healthy food is often limited and junk food is usually available.
Estrogen is the “female hormone”. Typically men want low / healthy levels of this hormone in their body (yes we have some, too). When your estrogen levels become too high, men can experience increased fat gains and even gynecomastia which is also known as “man boobs”.
Lastly, most alcoholic beverages are loaded with low quality carbohydrates that make you fat. A can of beer usually contains ~150 calories. Think about how fast that can add up after a few beers!
Common Sense… Obviously alcohol is liver toxic and can lead to extreme disorders with the liver. But think about it, why are you out drinking in the first place? Like do you really want to be successful for your goals? Do you think that getting drunk is the best way? The reality is, as you can see, is that it is just a waste of time and money. You have two choices: You can go out and stay sober and have a good time (maybe even get in some cardio!) or you can stay in, relax, eat some good food and grow. Think about how much a night of drinking costs? You could buy some BCAA, Protein, a pre-workout, a multivitamin, or heck, even a few good meals! How about a nice big steak with a side of brown rice? What you do outside of the gym matters just as much, usually even more, than what you do in the gym when it comes to getting results. I hope this motivates you to not get drunk anymore and I wish you the best of luck in your goals. Never give up!
