Low calorie alcohol drinks OK?

[HoldenCaulfield 420]

I've read a lot around here about alcohol being bad when you're trying to gain muscle and lose fat, but why is this exactly?

All the criticism I see here of people drinking is based on them wanting to down 10 beers or something else that'll obviously make them get fatter.

But I'm wondering if there's any reason not to drink as long as you stick to low calorie drinks such as vodka or whisky mixed with diet pop? The pop has no calories and the vodka has a very minimal number. It seems like even if you got completely hammered off of vodka/diet coke you'd only be taking down a couple hundred calories at most.

So- is it simply a matter of calories or is there something about ethanol itself that hurts your ability to gain muscle/lose fat?

 

[Double]

it has a bad influence on the hormone levels which makes it less likely to gain muscle and more likely to gain fat in the following window of time(around 24hour after some good drinking).

 

[harwell]

Its not really the calories that cause the negative effects of alcohol. It the release of cortisol that brings the negative results. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone meaning it breaks down complex molecules (muscle, protein) into there consituents (amino acids) and then uses them for fuel (glucose, blood sugar) for the body.

Other effects of alcohol are:
- decrease in protein sythesis (muscle building)
- decrease in recovery capabilities - takes longer for muscles to heal
- reduction in testoterone (B.A.C. rises, testerone falls)
- reduces the release of growth hormone at night
- nutritionless carb, only it contains 7 cal/gram instead of the regular 4; causes the release of insulin, like all carbs, and promotes fat storage

 

[AbAbber2k]

Originally posted by harwell
Its not really the calories that cause the negative effects of alcohol. It the release of cortisol that brings the negative results. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone meaning it breaks down complex molecules (muscle, protein) into there consituents (amino acids) and then uses them for fuel (glucose, blood sugar) for the body.

Other effects of alcohol are:
- decrease in protein sythesis (muscle building)
- decrease in recovery capabilities - takes longer for muscles to heal
- reduction in testoterone (B.A.C. rises, testerone falls)
- reduces the release of growth hormone at night
- nutritionless carb, only it contains 7 cal/gram instead of the regular 4; causes the release of insulin, like all carbs, and promotes fat storage

Excellent post.

As for straight calories go... even if it's just vodka + juice/pop/whatev, if you're planning on getting "hammered" as you said, that's still gonna be a lot of calories... unless you're a real lightweight. 500 calories would probably be an acceptable "minimum calories til drunk" number.

 

[Alpine]

It's all about moderation. Being t total just means you begrudge what you are doing and it makes no odds to the end result.

I typically will have 1 or two bottle of premium lager or 2 glasses of wine in an evening, usually with food. If I'm out for an eve. I have one beer and the rest of the night will be water, tonic or red bull alternated.