Training & Nutrition - When a cyclist drinks...

Now don't get the wrong impression from the title I really didn't have an embarrassing night or anything :)

I was out last night chowing down on some pizza and drinking some brews(I know...I know),when one glass later I was having a bit of trouble holding my current conversation with my girlfriend.

So I had one of those moments of questioning in my mind. I had just gotten off the trainer about an hour ago so I couldn't feel too bad about the pizza and beer, right? Does anyone else here have a low tolerance to alcohol? I've known for a while now that I am certainly a "light weight" but would having a higher metabolism from the exercise and just being tiny and having little fat to begin with not help with that?

I'm just sitting in a coffee shop with time to kill you know :)

Umm, so you've pretty much answered your own question. Yes being tiny with little body fat will get you drunk quicker. If you drank a lot you still build up a tolerance though. And while I'm not sure if it's scientifically proven I'm pretty sure drinking after an intense ride will get you drunker as well. That's certainly my experience and I weigh 200 pounds with plenty of bodyfat.

You eat $hit, you drink $hit... you feel like $hit. Period.

You can't live like that man, well not if you want to feel good about yourself, get fit or be any good at cycling.

God, what pizza's use to do to my face. Never again.

Well yes I suppose I really did answer my own question. I guess I was just curious about exercise increasing your metabolism and thus causing you to be affected by alcohol faster? It was just one of those moments I had when I thought I made some major discovery about myself or something.

While I can agree with what you're saying *****3, I didn't mean to say I felt like ****. I actually felt very good that night. I'll go out and eat some pizza and drink some beer and feel even better about it because I do get more exercise than everyone else I'm eating and drinking with. I'm young and ride so why the hell not enjoy a little food every once in a while? Christ almighty

Donate blood, then go out to the bar.., be very careful though haha.. it won't take squat to get you on your butt.

Athletes generally metabolize the alcohol faster which means the effects won't last as long.

Sick should be mostly ignored. I mean seriously, sick, he said that after drinking barely anything he was already feeling drunk, he didn't say anything about an unhealthy lifestyle. Theres nothing wrong with a pizza and some brews once in a while. You're just a hater.

Oh... what would bruce lee do...

Used to be able to pound back the JD like it was water and now a few beers will do me in.

I throw up after a can of mountain dew : O

Two beers is enough is get my pretty sloshed. :lol:

Weight: 139 lbs

Sick should be mostly ignored. I mean seriously, sick, he said that after drinking barely anything he was already feeling drunk, he didn't say anything about an unhealthy lifestyle. Theres nothing wrong with a pizza and some brews once in a while. You're just a hater.

Oh... what would bruce lee do...


he didn't say anything about an unhealthy lifestyle.

lol... It depends where you want to get in life, especially sport orientated. I'm sorry, but you ain't getting nowhere downing pizza & alcohol especially over guys that live clean. Again, its where you want to be at.

Downing pizza & alcohol & then jumping on a trainer, it doesn't work like that.

It is probably a function of being dehydrated THEN drinking. After I play hockey, a largely anaerobic sport when done right, the beer in the cooler is extra nice and cold, but damn if I don't get buzzed right away.... I attribute that to dehydration after exercise.
If you drank each and every night, you'd build up a tolerance, but still be suseptible to the dehydration effect.

lol... It depends where you want to get in life, especially sport orientated. I'm sorry, but you ain't getting nowhere downing pizza & alcohol especially over guys that live clean. Again, its where you want to be at.

Downing pizza & alcohol & then jumping on a trainer, it doesn't work like that.

No one said downing pizza and alcohol and hoping on the trainer. Why do you always have to be completely ridiculous?
Living Clean? You really think an athlete who has a pizza and a couple of beers on his rest days or maybe even occasionally after a training day can be competitive? Really? I used to hang out with cross country runners who each ate a pizza or two everyday(and tons of other food), just to make up calories. Most of them were fairly competitive. Ever heard of hash house harriers? The drinking club with a running problem?
How many athletes live completely "clean?" Seriously? Why do you say so much crazy crap?

Its like I said, its dependant on your personal goals, what you want to achieve & how far you want to get.

Exercise will never cancel the bad affects of continuous junk food intake, period, don't kid yourself it will, but its probable getting on the trainer will do absolute nothing for you the day after & would probably do you more harm than good to your body. How efficient would my body be having beer & pizza in my gut, blocking arteries etc as opposed to living clean on green tea/water/salads/pasta/fish/fresh fruit etc. I would never reach my full potential nor would I be as efficent in every sporting aspect of athletic performance.

Where did these pizza lovin' cross country runners get in terms of the world standings???... Up against the clean living elite African distance runners???... Trust me, the runners you talk about ain't gonna touch them guys if there living clean.

Like I said, its where you want to be at & if junk food is where its at for you, your mentally weak & your never gonna reach your true potential.

I eat $hit, Ride a $hit bike, but I still drop people left and right....in their bright spandex team gear, with a lit cigar hanging out of my mouth...lol


Pizza and Beer...sounds like a good night!!! Yeah being low in bodyfat and not being a regualr drinker will in fact get you buzzed quickly.

Sick, please please please let us know how to pronounce your name, it's driving us all nuts.
I don't think any of my friends ever had what it takes to be world class runners, just competitive in college. I also highly doubt their diet was holding them back.
I also believe that it's entirely possible to live a good life, have some vices, and still be a good, if not great, athlete. I'm not a competitive cyclist. I like touring and I also try to get faster and train when I'm not touring. When I'm on tour I have to do whatever it takes to feed my self. Even if that means three bananas a pizza with extra salt and a 2 litre bottle of coke topped off with a pint of ice cream. In fact, I find that by the 7th day of doing 150 k's a day, that's the only thing that will leave me satisfied. And even then I lose a bit of weight(Thankfully I'm heavy guy to start with so I don't drop weight too fast while touring). If I can function on tour like that I think a racer could have a pizza and some beer once in a while without harming their training.
Also, I once did 700+ kms stopping at every pub on the way for a beer. Never felt better. I was drinking lots of water so dehydration was not an issue and the extra carbs made me feel just lovely. I even had some green tea here and there. I don't advocate this as a "healthy" training lifestyle, buuuut, if I was able to keep going with no noticeable side effects then I doubt a few beers here and there will harm anyone.

Where did these pizza lovin' cross country runners get in terms of the world standings???
So, where are you in the world standings? I assume since you eat clean 100% of the time, you're a top level pro with some fantastic endorsement deals, right? Do you really think that elite athletes eat "clean" all the time? Don't kid yourself. I'm sure you've seen the list of very "unclean" food that Michael Phelps consumes on a daily basis; and coke might as well be a food group for a lot of pro cyclists.

Drinking is just like anything else. You have to train your system to tolerate more. Mellow beer drinking for laying down a base; shots are like intervals. Keep at it and pretty soon you'll be drinking like the big boys.

Pizza is a GREAT recovery food. I highly recommend downing half a pizza after an ultra-distance ride. It's got all the key components ... protein, fat, and carbs. In fact, I've even eaten pizza mid-ride on 400Ks, 600Ks, and 1200Ks.

Read the preferences of the RAAM riders ... pizza landed in second place:
http://www.ultracycling.com/nutrition/what_raam_riders_eat.html

The only reason to eat something like salad or fruit on an ultradistance ride would just be for some variety ... lettuce just doesn't have the necessary calorie count.


That said, if you're heading out to ride a TT, you might want to avoid a liverwurst sandwich or something similar ... save it for after the ride. Voice of Experience talking here. :D


Oh, and I think the idea that pizza is bad for you is an "old-school" idea dating back to the 1970s and perhaps early 1980s.

So, where are you in the world standings? I assume since you eat clean 100% of the time, you're a top level pro with some fantastic endorsement deals, right? Do you really think that elite athletes eat "clean" all the time? Don't kid yourself. I'm sure you've seen the list of very "unclean" food that Michael Phelps consumes on a daily basis; and coke might as well be a food group for a lot of pro cyclists.

As in the soda? God, so many cyclists I know down that stuff like there's no tomorrow. I only do on occasion, but not because I live "clean" (whatever the hell that means), because my teeth don't like it on a regular basis.















....I'm really self conscious about my teeth

Sick, please please please let us know how to pronounce your name, it's driving us all nuts.
I don't think any of my friends ever had what it takes to be world class runners, just competitive in college. I also highly doubt their diet was holding them back.
I also believe that it's entirely possible to live a good life, have some vices, and still be a good, if not great, athlete. I'm not a competitive cyclist. I like touring and I also try to get faster and train when I'm not touring. When I'm on tour I have to do whatever it takes to feed my self. Even if that means three bananas a pizza with extra salt and a 2 litre bottle of coke topped off with a pint of ice cream. In fact, I find that by the 7th day of doing 150 k's a day, that's the only thing that will leave me satisfied. And even then I lose a bit of weight(Thankfully I'm heavy guy to start with so I don't drop weight too fast while touring). If I can function on tour like that I think a racer could have a pizza and some beer once in a while without harming their training.
Also, I once did 700+ kms stopping at every pub on the way for a beer. Never felt better. I was drinking lots of water so dehydration was not an issue and the extra carbs made me feel just lovely. I even had some green tea here and there. I don't advocate this as a "healthy" training lifestyle, buuuut, if I was able to keep going with no noticeable side effects then I doubt a few beers here and there will harm anyone.

You can't live like that man. (You can) but at the expense of reaching your pinnacle best.

Life is ours.

You eat $hit, you drink $hit... you feel like $hit. Period.

I dunno, pizza and beer make me feel GREAT. Ergo, your opinion is wrong.

If you had skills you'd troll the 41 or the 33, not Training & Nutrition. You're no Ryanf.

OP- Drink and eat what you want. Only you know how you really feel. If what you do makes you feel lousy, scale back or don't do it at all. I don't drink beer but have scarfed down 1/2 pizza after a short ride and swimming a mile. I could not believe I ate so much but felt good the next day. It isn't as if I eat like that everyday but when I do, I know it is because my body needs it.

Drinking is just like anything else. You have to train your system to tolerate more. Mellow beer drinking for laying down a base; shots are like intervals. Keep at it and pretty soon you'll be drinking like the big boys.

Haha! That's awesome and quote worthy :)

If you had skills you'd troll the 41 or the 33, not Training & Nutrition. You're no Ryanf.

???...

After moderate exercise, I don't notice anything. After serious exercise (say a century, yeah I'm weak) I find myself struggling after one drink. I also wonder why.

I wonder why too. Drink more! Build your tolerances up, sissies! :D

Never meet me at a bar- I get the feeling I could drink you all under the table and still fight to see the next sunrise after a mere few hours of sleep.

koffee brown

I wonder why too. Drink more! Build your tolerances up, sissies! :D

Yeah... HTFU

Yeah... HTFU

Hehehehehe.... I do this by watching Rocky movies every time it comes on tv. :D I love the Stallion, even though he beats the crap outta Mr. T! :D

koffee