Effects of Alcohol

Nutrition
21

Hi all.
I’m new to this site and this is actually my first post but it hits close to home so I wanted to sound off (and see if my avatar works:).

To make a long story short, I was in the Navy for 4 years (just got out!) and became quite a drinker while in (drinking somewhat heavily 4-5 times a month).

In short, my gains were slow at best and I often backslid instead of making progress. Now that I’ve been out a short time and stopped drinking cold turkey, (and with little change to the rest of my diet and routine) I’m making incredible progress in the gym.

As I see it, choose one or the other… unless you’re one of these guys who only drinks a couple time a year.

22

Just say no. My body is a temple.

Besides, drugs do the job better.

23

How bout this for effects of alcohol. My mom is in the hospital and is on the verge of dying from years of alcoholism. If she doesn’t die from that then the equal amount of years of smoking cigarettes should do her in.

24

[quote]StevenF wrote:
How bout this for effects of alcohol. My mom is in the hospital and is on the verge of dying from years of alcoholism. If she doesn’t die from that then the equal amount of years of smoking cigarettes should do her in. [/quote]

That is pretty much the most horrible post I have ever read. I am very sorry.

25

“if the negative is decreasing protein synthesis by .1844%. Ya gotta live a little.”

lol

What about mental health? hehe. You NEED to let loose every now and then. I beat myself everytime I consume alot of alcohol which is probably once every 2 months… but it’s worth it!

26

[quote]StevenF wrote:
How bout this for effects of alcohol. My mom is in the hospital and is on the verge of dying from years of alcoholism. If she doesn’t die from that then the equal amount of years of smoking cigarettes should do her in. [/quote]

Sorry to hear that bro…that’s rough stuff and it’s not easy. I’ve seen it many times also which is why I quit many years ago.

27

http://images.t-nation.com/forum_images/./1/.1121361405501.robpuke.JPG

i am a workout and diet saint during the week, but as soon as i have that first beer on friday night, the rest of my weekend turns into a long drunken blur during which i can’t stop shotgunning beers, chugging liquor, and ruining relationships. the worst part is that i don’t even remember these things until i listen to the awful messages on my phone.

oh and last saturday night i took a piss in my hamper in my closet all over my clothes, and i didn’t realize until my mom pointed it out yesterday. i live my life to two extremes, and i can’t seem to settle in the middle. hopefully this habit dies after college hahahah

28

[quote]dev wrote:
Matgic wrote:
You’re right, who get’s drunk twice a month? I usually get drunk every few months.

heh, I get drunk like twice a year. I lead a depressing life though, so your milage may vary.[/quote]

I have an amazingly exciting life and I only get drunk about two to three times a year. I mean really drunk, not a light buzz. I get a light buzz probably once a month or less.

You don’t need alcohol to live. In fact, I find that it often gets in the way.

BUT… every now and then you need to just unload or celebrate something. Doing so is healthy, just as long as you don’t do it too often. Don’t get too uptight or rigid about not drinking (unless you’re an alcholic), but keep it in moderation.

29

I totally agree that alcohol ought not be a necessity, but at high school age, and more so at the college age, drinking is one of the very few social outlets. I’ve reduced mine significantly in the last three or four weeks, to the point that I usually only have a glass of wine after work, but in my personal experience, it’s difficult to get through college socially as a non drinker. I did it for a year, and didn’t enjoy myself very much at all.

I think the best way to go about it without killing your workout progress is to try to drink to a buzz and keep it at that. Once you start to get wasted, your sleep becomes ineffectual and your muscle recovery just about stops. Also, if one, like myself, gets wasted three or four times a weeek for six or seven months, one starts getting fat. Which means you have to work that much harder to get back or stay in shape. So drink safe; the officials at school aren’t just blowing smoke up your ass.

30

Skip the drugs! Drink more instead!

31

http://images.t-nation.com/forum_images/./1/.1121362919712.beer.jpg

Cans are better than mugs!

32

Just don’t drink too much, or you could be saying this!

33

I used to be an alcoholic. Would get really drunk 3-4 times a week. It was a phase I was going through the last year in university. I got out of it in really bad shape although it was the best semester as far as academics was concerned. :stuck_out_tongue:

Once I started weight training I gave up on the spirits. Now I drink once in a while and that too in extreme moderation.

34

[quote]Aravind wrote:
I used to be an alcoholic. Would get really drunk 3-4 times a week. It was a phase I was going through the last year in university. I got out of it in really bad shape although it was the best semester as far as academics was concerned. :stuck_out_tongue:

Once I started weight training I gave up on the spirits. Now I drink once in a while and that too in extreme moderation.
[/quote]

You were drinking to excess. You weren’t an alcoholic. If you were an alcoholic, you couldn’t drink now in moderation.

35

[quote]jsbrook wrote:
Aravind wrote:
I used to be an alcoholic. Would get really drunk 3-4 times a week. It was a phase I was going through the last year in university. I got out of it in really bad shape although it was the best semester as far as academics was concerned. :stuck_out_tongue:

Once I started weight training I gave up on the spirits. Now I drink once in a while and that too in extreme moderation.

You were drinking to excess. You weren’t an alcoholic. If you were an alcoholic, you couldn’t drink now in moderation.
[/quote]

Agreed. Kinda like when people say they’re “starving.” when its probably appetite not even hunger.

36

Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2004 Jul;28(7):1091-1101. Related Articles, Links

Adipogenic Effect of Alcohol on Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Wezeman FH, Gong Z.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation and the Alcohol Research Program, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Illinois.

BACKGROUND:: In addition to a decrease in bone mass in alcoholics their osteopenic skeletons show an increase in bone marrow adiposity. Human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) in vivo differentiate into several phenotypes including osteogenic and adipogenic cells, both of which remain as resident populations of bone marrow. In vitro, the lineage commitment and differentiation of hMSC toward the adipogenic pathway can be promoted by alcohol.

METHODS:: Human male and female mesenchymal stem cells from joint replacement surgery were cultured. Cells were grouped as: 1) Control (no additions to the culture medium), 2) EtOH (50 mm alcohol added to the culture medium), 3) OS (osteogenic inducers added to the culture medium), and 4) OS + EtOH (osteogenic inducers and 50 mm alcohol added to the culture medium). Cultures stained with Nile Red confirmed the development of differentiated adipocytes. Population analysis was performed using fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Gene expression of early, middle, late, and terminal differentiation stage markers (PPAR)gamma2, lipoprotein lipase, adipsin, leptin, and adipocyte P2 (aP2)] was studied by Northern hybridization, and protein synthesis of aP2 was determined by Western analysis.

RESULTS:: Nile red staining confirmed increased adipocyte development 10 days after the onset of treatment with 50 mm alcohol and osteogenic induction. By day 21 the number of adipocytes increased to 13.6% of the total population. Alcohol up-regulated the gene expression of PPARgamma2 whereas no up-regulation was observed for the other genes. Protein production of aP2 was significantly increased in hMSC cells by culture in the presence of alcohol.

CONCLUSIONS:: The data suggest that alcohol’s adipogenic effect on cultured hMSC is through up-regulation of PPARgamma2 at the point of lineage commitment as well as through enhancement of lipid transport and storage through increased aP2 synthesis. The alcohol-induced expression and synthesis changes account for the increased Nile red staining of cultured hMSC.

PMID: 15252296 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Hah, another reason why alcohol is horrible for you.

37

[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
Cans are better than mugs![/quote]

i’ve gotta agree with those picture messages Nate, to the point!

38

Alright well ive gotta question to this. Im in high school, i love to train and everything…lately (like the past 5 months) EVERYBODY has been like “oh your going to regret it when your older etc etc.” they say this because well…yeah they think im going to regret that i didnt drink with friends or anything and “have fun” with them and everything…i dont smoke or anything, and dont plan to.

But what do u guys think…just drink once and try it just to get a feel for it…LOL also what would be the best time to do this…after a cycle of training…like u know when u take a week off of training or so?..and NO i am not getting pressured into it, its jsut that u guys have more experience than me so i wanna know what u think…have a drink on the off-training phase for a week and experience all that teenage stuff lol (besides smoking) OR just NAHH screw it and just i wont think about it or anything later

dl- to drink or not to drink.

39

Sigh. I don’t know how comfortable I am encouraging underage kids I don’t know to drink. Damn-I guess that means I’m getting old. I’ll only say this. I was captain of my track, cross country, and soccer team. I drank once per weekend. In the off-season more than that. I went on at the collegiate level. So I guess it didn’t hurt me much.

[quote]dl- wrote:
Alright well ive gotta question to this. Im in high school, i love to train and everything…lately (like the past 5 months) EVERYBODY has been like “oh your going to regret it when your older etc etc.” they say this because well…yeah they think im going to regret that i didnt drink with friends or anything and “have fun” with them and everything…i dont smoke or anything, and dont plan to.

But what do u guys think…just drink once and try it just to get a feel for it…LOL also what would be the best time to do this…after a cycle of training…like u know when u take a week off of training or so?..and NO i am not getting pressured into it, its jsut that u guys have more experience than me so i wanna know what u think…have a drink on the off-training phase for a week and experience all that teenage stuff lol (besides smoking) OR just NAHH screw it and just i wont think about it or anything later

dl- to drink or not to drink.[/quote]

40

Well I’m going for 2 weeks on hollyday and I’m gonna have fun…
READ: Drink, look at gorgeous chick on beech, play picigin, drink again and then have sex with Cezh girls… :wink:
Ofcourse not every day jost every second… :slight_smile: wiiiihaa…