Is beer good to bulk up/weight gain?

24

Replies

  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    What exactly are your goals??
    And how would alcohol fit into those goals??

    When consuming alcohol, your body will do everything it can to oxidize those calories and get them out of your system....
    So if you are consuming other foods, then the potential to store fat will be there.

    I personally don't drink alcohol....
    But if you track properly and fit it in, then you should be fine
  • Galatea_Stone
    Galatea_Stone Posts: 2,037 Member
    Thanks for your response. Then I am going to try to reduce beer: try with one pint a day (I am on two pints a day at the moment).

    Do you have any high protein substitue I can drink in the evening? Milk shake? Hot chocolate (not really the good period, it's summer here in the UK)?

    I am already having two protein shakes a day and my doctor told me it was enough and I should not drink more. For dinner, I usually trying to have a high-protein meal: tuna, eggs, chicken with some vegs (I dont eat vegs during the day).

    How many grams of protein are you getting a day? If you're getting enough, then why do you need to sub a carb treat for protein? You can substitute anything else you want to eat. Your body needs carbs when you're on a bulk. Your body needs carbs period. Balance your macros for optimal performance/results.

    When it comes to alcohol, if you're little and lean, then alcohol will have a bigger impact than if you have more lean mass on your frame. I use my husband and me as examples. I'm relatively thin and trying to keep my muscle. Alcohol consumption seems to decrease my strength the next day, so I limit it. He has a lot more lean mass, and he seems to do just fine with a beer a night. For me, it's a less frequent treat.

    That being said, I will never give it up because some days, a good IPA is worth it.

    ETA: Beer doesn't magically make fat go directly to the belly. Overindulgence, being lazy, and not working out will make fat go where you're genetically predisposed to get fat. I really hate the term "beer belly." It could just as easily be a "overindulgence in vegan treats belly" or a "cheeseburger belly." Beer's just a carb. Yes your body oxidizes it differently, but there's a huge difference between one 125-185 calorie beer and a few too many when it comes to body composition.
  • cwoyto123
    cwoyto123 Posts: 308
    Moderation my dude.
  • KariOrtiz2014
    KariOrtiz2014 Posts: 343 Member
    Really!? ????????
  • mo_lfc
    mo_lfc Posts: 4 Member
    if they were legal, would cocaine/heroin etc be fine in moderation?
  • cwoyto123
    cwoyto123 Posts: 308
    if they were legal, would cocaine/heroin etc be fine in moderation?
    Yes, in my opinion.

    Good luck doing heroine or cocaine in moderation however.
  • mo_lfc
    mo_lfc Posts: 4 Member
    But what is moderation? One glass of wine, leads to a bottle. I've seen it all too often and the effects is has on the person and their families. Even alcoholics start with just a glass.

    The same with cocaine, one snort leads to another, and with heroine, one injection leads to another.
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
    But what is moderation? One glass of wine, leads to a bottle. I've seen it all too often and the effects is has on the person and their families. Even alcoholics start with just a glass.

    The same with cocaine, one snort leads to another, and with heroine, one injection leads to another.

    Millions of people drink in moderation every day. The potential for abuse is not a good reason to abstain from something because the potential for abuse exists in everything, not just drugs and alcohol. You can make that same slippery slope argument for pretty much everything in life, which is why the slippery slope argument is largely considered one of the weakest arguments you can make.
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    Well, it will certainly make you feel good. hahaha
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    if they were legal, would cocaine/heroin etc be fine in moderation?
    Yes, in my opinion.

    Good luck doing heroine or cocaine in moderation however.

    how did we get here? and why did I miss it!!!???
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,719 Member
    But what is moderation? One glass of wine, leads to a bottle. I've seen it all too often and the effects is has on the person and their families. Even alcoholics start with just a glass.

    Whatttt?

    99.543% of the time I don't drink to get drunk.

    I LIKE wine and a good beer. An average person enjoying a glass of wine isn't an alcoholic.

    That's such an immature way to look at alcohol.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    if they were legal, would cocaine/heroin etc be fine in moderation?

    prolly....
    It is only bad because it is illegal so people trying to get it to get high tend to do stupid stuff to obtain it.....

    I for one am not advocating the use of them, or that they should be legal.....
    But hey, if they were, how many drug cartels would be out of business???

    And they used to put cocaine in Coke back in the day....
  • HJO1403
    HJO1403 Posts: 188 Member
    My personal opinion - yes.

    My strength increased lots during the Euro's in 2012, out on the ale every night (not proud of it) after the gym.

    Everything increased lots - and size... including my stomach.
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    if they were legal, would cocaine/heroin etc be fine in moderation?

    prolly....
    It is only bad because it is illegal so people trying to get it to get high tend to do stupid stuff to obtain it.....

    I for one am not advocating the use of them, or that they should be legal.....
    But hey, if they were, how many drug cartels would be out of business???

    And they used to put cocaine in Coke back in the day....

    Legal or illegal, it doesn't matter. If you are an addict, you will not be able to moderate. LORD, the things you read on forums..... :noway:

    And one does not lead to another; that's utter nonsense. Unless you want it to....then by all means. Some folks have tried lots of things once. And left it as "once."
  • tycho_mx
    tycho_mx Posts: 426 Member
    Define bulking up. Is it mass (any) or muscle specifically?

    Alcohol has catabolic effects. So you are not as efficient at assimilating and resynthesizing protein while metabolizing alcohol

    http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0088384

    That said - I think we should all live a little. are you an elite bodybuilder? A tier one wrestler? Do you sleep 8 hours daily?What I'm saying is that not all we do "optimizes" our training and results. We are not just "calorie trackers". We are people.

    If you are a silver medal winner looking for that extra 0.2% to get to the top, then yeah - you do all the little things and live like an ascetic monk. For the rest of us, if you are not happy with your current weight management results, you start looking for the missing pieces. One of them might be resting more, or drinking less, or so on.

    I am not even going to deal with "one glass leads to a bottle". Following that logic, eating one chicken breast leads you to eat the whole chicken. Right?
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    if they were legal, would cocaine/heroin etc be fine in moderation?

    prolly....
    It is only bad because it is illegal so people trying to get it to get high tend to do stupid stuff to obtain it.....

    I for one am not advocating the use of them, or that they should be legal.....
    But hey, if they were, how many drug cartels would be out of business???

    And they used to put cocaine in Coke back in the day....

    Legal or illegal, it doesn't matter. If you are an addict, you will not be able to moderate. LORD, the things you read on forums..... :noway:

    And one does not lead to another; that's utter nonsense. Unless you want it to....then by all means. Some folks have tried lots of things once. And left it as "once."

    Listen, I am not advocating the use of said drug.
    But we make alcohol and tobacco legal.
    And both are addictive......

    But if the drugs are legal, and you have addicts....and they can obtain them without robbing people or costing a fortune....then what is the deal??

    I mean I don't want my kids around the stuff for sure....and I would be quite fine if they outlawed alchohol and tobacco.....but they won't....
    And so since these drugs are illegal, you get a very dark underground market going because people want them.

    Hell, let people take as much as they want and OD on them....Darwin Award winners....thins out the gene pool
  • SuperC_85
    SuperC_85 Posts: 393
    Lol MityMax so much win in your reply!

    Totally agree with you.
  • woodml1
    woodml1 Posts: 199 Member
    There are alot of runners who swear by beer as a post-workout recovery to refuel glycogen in the muscle. There's even been a few studies published on the effectiveness of beer as a recovery beverage that showed some positive results BUT the studies all used non-alcoholic beer... what's the point, really?

    If you're trying to bulk-up good muscle mass, beer is probably NOT the best way for you to go.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    But what is moderation? One glass of wine, leads to a bottle. I've seen it all too often and the effects is has on the person and their families. Even alcoholics start with just a glass.

    The same with cocaine, one snort leads to another, and with heroine, one injection leads to another.

    if that was true for every single person our world would cease to function.

    I typically have just ONE beer- or even half a beer- once a week. I do not drink weekly. And I certainly can open a bottle of wine- pour a glass for myself and that be it. Hell Friday night I didn't even finish my glass.

    The problem isn't the alcohol- it's the people.

    That's like saying spoons make people fat.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    Lol MityMax so much win in your reply!

    Totally agree with you.

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

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