Fat Boy

So I'm curious, what's everyone's philosophy on drinking alcohol? I have a couple drinks a week (1-3). My standard drink is tequila. I try to keep it mostly to spirits as they have fewer sugars for a given intake. I like beer, but haven't been drinking much lately.

So there's my thoughts, how about yours?

wolfchild

I drink very little alcohol, not enough desire or craving to drink often.. Few times per year I'll have a little bit of beer, wine or some vodka.

UnfilteredDregs

I like to drink. I'm a sailor as well. Wine, beer, scotch, cognac, armagnac, bourbon...etc.. I like to cook too!! In general, I find that a moderate amount of booze will definitely impact your riding the next day. It's no good in terms of metabolism in my experience. Now, a glass of red with dinner doesn't seem to be a problem; always make sure you're adequately hydrated.

What I love about cycling is the seemingly paradoxical effect it has on appetite. I rode 30 miles yesterday, and about 2 hours later I was famished but, I ate maybe a third of the amount I'd usually take in. For whatever reason it seems that I get that full feeling with far less quantity after a good ride.

Many have a drink in order to relax, loosen up, I've been very happy to swap cycling with having a drink...It has far greater effect in terms of that good worn out feeling, and the method's benefits trump alcohol consumption.

GuNoKo

I ramped up my riding this summer and have had not a drop of alcohol this year so far. I figured since I already had a recovery period after my ride, why do anything else that I need to recover from? I am considering reintroducing red wine after the new years though.

chaadster

Hahaha...timely topic; I'm COMPLETELY hung-over right now, after getting totally hammered last night in a way I've not been drunk in years. I rode home from the party, too, and crashed twice getting home. It was probably only a half-mile ride. Tore my coat, lost the tail light, scuffed my gloves... Ridiculous. How old do I have to be before I get some sense?!

Anyway, I do drink regularly, though not large amounts, and mostly wine. As for my training regimen, while some drink the night before a ride doesn't seem to have a deleterious effect on my performance, having a little too much can be disruptive to my sleep quality, which is more damaging to my ride performance than the alcohol itself.

GeorgeBMac

My main fuel used to be a six pack and a pizza.

Now, both are pretty much gone from my diet. While I miss the pizza (a little), I don't miss the beer (or wine) at all.

It wasn't that I made a conscious decision to stop drinking alcohol. It just sort of happened -- and I don't miss it.

GeneO 

I get that too - I eat less rather than more after cycling.

awfulwaffle 

I generally have a beer most days with my dinner. Treat it as a regular beverage, not a means to get drunk. Have some good cognac and vodka for that, but it seldom happens.

Machka 

I didn't have my first drink till I was in my late 20s, and since then I could probably count on one hand the number of alcoholic drinks I consume a year. Some years, I'd have several fingers left over after I finished the count.

I don't like drinking my calories.

bmontgomery87

I like craft beer, really cheap beer, and bourbon. I suck with the whole moderation thing, so I don't drink very often. I'll go through a phase where I drink pretty liberally for a few months, then I pretty much avoid alcohol for a while.

Hangovers make it really hard for me to eat, which affects my weight training too much.

Gramercy

I have a drink or two maybe once a week, twice a week tops. My drink of choice is scotch, or some type of Amber colored beer. If you want to drink and not affect performance much, stay away from beer since it's gluten, and colored beverages due to the sugars. The paleo guys usually drink vodka or tequila with lemon or lime.

Fat Boy

I'm about the same. I like dark beers, like Russian Imperial Stouts or, say, Chimay Blue. I try not to drink them too often. Like Machka says, 1000 liquid calories isn't the best thing to do to yourself. A tequila, lime, club soda drink while BBQ'ing on Saturday evening is just about right, though.

McFlurrey06

I love beer. But I drink too much of it. At least for my riding

cafzali

I drink a craft beer or wine a few times a week, but I always drink in moderation, so I just factor in the calories like anything else. There's nothing inherently wrong with drinking alcohol and also engaging in some fitness activity. You just have to remember the calories and also remember to ramp up your water intake on the days you consume alcohol.

ThermionicScott 

My philosophy allows for and encourages alcohol consumption. None of my pursuits are so serious that they preclude it.

RPK79

Beer is good. I drink when I go out for dinner. I keep it limited to 1 or 2 for the most part.

MEversbergII

I do not drink. I used to, starting after I was 21, but I developed a reputation as a heavy drinker among people I knew.

The reputation was completely undeserved, as a six pack of hard cider could last me a month, but I figured if I ever needed to go for a SSBI or anything, it's probably not a good idea to have a reputation for anything negative.

Also, alcohol is objectively poison.

M.

Fat Boy

The poison is in the dose, as is often the case.

Dunbar

I average 1-2 drinks a day. The research is pretty unanimous that moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial to one's health. On occasion I'll have 3-4 drinks but, as I understand it, that's still within the "healthy drinking" guidelines.

elcruxio

I am planning on getting absolutey hammered tomorrow. I don't really drink that much these days but there are times when getting plastered is required.

two years ago I would regularly do week long drinking binges and travel Scandinavia as the representative of our student union.
Now I have a girlfriend, a steady daily rhythm and a participation place in one of the most prestigious moot court competitions in the world. The stress levels from trying to beat Harvard are kinda high and have been mounting for the last three months. Tomorrow is the deadline for the first memoranda. When it is sent I will open the first bottle of our self brewed beer and continue drinking 'till I pass out.

But yeah. I only drink to get plastered these days and maybe once a month. I don't really have time for drinking.

Machka 

I'd feel horrible if I drank that much.

And I don't think 3-4 drinks a day is considered "within the healthy drinking guidelines" ... you might want to look that up.

Have you tried a month or two without alcohol at all to see if there's a difference?

DataJunkie

I drink once a week and generally one beer at a time. I am not a big drinker as many of my relatives have drinking issues and that has made me weary of repeating their mistakes.

Drinking one strong beer and getting a buzz is rather affordable.

phoebeisis

I could probably count on 500 peoples hands the number of times I have been drunk-once a week for 10 years .
However once you get older-hangovers get less tolerable
Only serious boozers get drunk on a regular basis once they hit 35 or so.

Now I drink a drink every 5 years or so.
Periodically I'll read something that suggests tiny amounts of alcohol are good for you
so I will put vanilla extract in my milk for several weeks-but then I'll run out.

Not much point-other than for health purposes-to drink one drink. It tastes BAD-and one drink isn't enough to get a decent buzz??
No BUZZ- what is the point?
Those idiots claiming moonshine "tastes good" WTF no wonder they all look SOOOO BAD!
If I drank that s%$t I would look pretty freakin bad too!!
Pretty good don't drink public service announcement-watch moonshiners(entertaining stuff)

Dunbar

My post is pretty clear that I have 3-4 drinks on occasion - as in not every day, or even every week. I listen to Doctor Radio quite a bit on my Sirius/XM subscription. I've heard it straight from the horse's mouth. Moderate consumption = no more than 1 drink a day for women, no more than 2 for men and no more than 4 drinks per occasion for men (3 for women.) An occasion being a special occasion like a party, going out with friends etc.

Looigi

I hold with Winston Churchill's observation that there are two kinds of problem drinkers; those that drink too much, and those that drink too little. Seems to be more of the latter than the former in this thread.