alI just don't understand why drinking alcohol does not put on lbs?

[Mr. Pedantic]

Keep in mind, weight gain is not the only downside to drinking massive amounts of alcohol. Dehydration, vitamin deficiency, liver damage, cerebellar atrophy, malnutrition, etc can all be long term effects of getting plastered frequently.

Malnutrition is usually only because alcoholics neglect to get other energy sources, which is something OP apparently has no trouble doing. But yeah, cirrhosis is not a very nice disease to go through, there's no way to replicate the functions of a liver the way we can for a kidney. And encephalopathy isn't very fun either.

 

[Nebor]

Malnutrition is usually only because alcoholics neglect to get other energy sources, which is something OP apparently has no trouble doing. But yeah, cirrhosis is not a very nice disease to go through, there's no way to replicate the functions of a liver the way we can for a kidney. And encephalopathy isn't very fun either.

All my friends (that I drank my ass off with in college) that went to med school continued to drink hard and advised me that in order to develop cirrhosis you basically need to commit your life to drinking. IE drink whiskey all day every day. Getting hammered 2 nights a week simply won't do it.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

All my friends (that I drank my ass off with in college) that went to med school continued to drink hard and advised me that in order to develop cirrhosis you basically need to commit your life to drinking. IE drink whiskey all day every day. Getting hammered 2 nights a week simply won't do it.

It depends on the person, but essentially for most (all?) people it takes decades. Also, abstinence for about a week after a heavy drinking session is enough to full reverse any (known) damage to the liver. But, to be honest, I'd never thought about how much you have to drink across those 10-20 years to get cirrhosis, or whether distribution of drinking has any effect. If I find anything significant I'll post the findings.

But nutritional deficits are rare, even among alcoholics. You have to be going at it pretty hard to the exclusion of everything else for weeks, if not months.

And yeah, there's a lot of drinking going on in our class. Not as much as the Engineers (maybe it's the only way they get laid? 😛) but it's still a lot. Of course there's the whole spectrum, and I think the rate of abstinence or only light drinking is higher than in most other student groups, but it's still a lot to someone who only has 2-4 drinks most weeks.

 

[QueBert]

Are people in heath & fitness not all bazillionairs like the folks in ATOT? They might not drink 20 drinks a night, but they do have 1 or 2 made with a 250 year old single malt Scotch that costs $18,000 a bottle. 😀

While I don't drink on OP's level, 2 weekends ago I drank a good amount and when I weighed myself 2 days later, I had actually lost weight. Weird how the human body works sometimes lol

 

[Whisper]

Even the well drinks here are ~$5-6 most places, although there are happy hours that'll knock it down considerably.

That being said, I still make the argument that for the vast majority of people, 20+ drinks in one night would require a very concerted effort. Again, that's more than a fifth of liquor or almost a case of beer, by yourself, over the course of a few hours. I drink fairly regularly, and there's no way I'd do that more than once or twice in my life. But that's me.

 

[Smoove910]

I wouldn't be concerned as much with the caloric intake/weight gain as much as the loss of $$ from 20+ drinks a night. That's just idiotic

 

[ZOOYUKA]

Yeah I agree, unless you are drinking top shelf well drinks are like 3 bucks. Plus we usually do some pre-gaming so its not like I am straight drinking all of that at the bar.

And no I am not equating this thread to being cool ZOOYUKA, if you ever decide to go out to a bar you will realize that putting down quite a few cocktails when you are partying with friends is very easy. I was just asking a question and I do not have anything on my record so quit being a hater.

In other words you've had a DUI, but found a way out of it?

 

[Murloc]

if the night is from 9 to 5, 20 drinks looks doable to me, considering that bars cheap out on alcohol and try to put as little alcohol as they can in the glass just to spare money.

Constant drinking of stuff like beer makes you fat of course, but if you're naturally thin and don't party all the time you don't.

I heard of a 25 years old guy who died of cirrhosis, but he began drinking at 12 and got wasted twice a week since then. They didn't give him a liver transplant because he caused his own illness and the waiting list is very long.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Malnutrition is usually only because alcoholics neglect to get other energy sources, which is something OP apparently has no trouble doing. But yeah, cirrhosis is not a very nice disease to go through, there's no way to replicate the functions of a liver the way we can for a kidney. And encephalopathy isn't very fun either.

With 20 drinks in a night, that's not something I'd rule out as potentially happening in the long run. That is excessive either way.

 

[wheresmybacon]

I was having a discussion with my buddies here in Austin. With the amount of drinking we do we should all be like 300 + lbs but we all remain in relatively good shape. With all the calories in alcohol why are we not putting on weight? Its not like I am skipping many meals and I am still as strong as I ever was, I just don't understand it. And this includes drinking beer, wine, and mixed drinks (I love my whiskey cokes). I can easily put down 20 plus drinks in a night going out. Maybe cause I am still in my late 20s?

I used to drink like this, and I also remained fit. When I turned 34 something happened to my metabolism, and needless to say the days of carefree drinking to excess are over.

 

[Gheris]

I used to drink like this, and I also remained fit. When I turned 34 something happened to my metabolism, and needless to say the days of carefree drinking to excess are over.

Same here. Although it didn't hurt that I played soccer in college and burned off calories playing and training. Turned 34 in May and not only have I noticed a metabolic change but I heal much slower than I remember. So that studs up tackle I took from the keeper in Monday's men's league game is still hurting as I type this.

Moral of my story? Getting old sucks.

 

[killster1]

If I'm not mistaken, ethanol is preferentially metabolized as it comes into the system. Because of this, a fair amount is burned right then and there for calories plus a lot of those calories are lost during thermogenesis. Keep in mind, weight gain is not the only downside to drinking massive amounts of alcohol. Dehydration, vitamin deficiency, liver damage, cerebellar atrophy, malnutrition, etc can all be long term effects of getting plastered frequently.

you forgot a important one, everyone forgets.. drinking causes BRAIN DAMAGE HAHAHAHA, check out brain scans of alcoholic and a normal person.. ur brain is TORE up..

sounds like a fake brag thread.. who drinks 20 drinks a night? must be complete idiot.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

you forgot a important one, everyone forgets.. drinking causes BRAIN DAMAGE HAHAHAHA, check out brain scans of alcoholic and a normal person.. ur brain is TORE up..

sounds like a fake brag thread.. who drinks 20 drinks a night? must be complete idiot.

Cerebellar atrophy = brain damage. Cortical effects tend to happen later in the stages of alcoholism (and addiction in general).

 

[killster1]

Cerebellar atrophy = brain damage. Cortical effects tend to happen later in the stages of alcoholism (and addiction in general).

even if drink for little bit very heavy at young age.. ive seen the brain scans its crazy. Helps me not want to drink.

 

[us3rnotfound]

even if drink for little bit very heavy at young age.. ive seen the brain scans its crazy. Helps me not want to drink.

Says one who cannot competently form a sentence!

 

[killster1]

Says one who cannot competently form a sentence!

yes im sorry, i dont speak english well.. But funny im sure you know what i meant and i really didnt see what i wrote wrong. So piss off.. facts are facts.. It DOES CAUSE BRAIN DAMAGE.. tell ur self what ever you want to justify drinking.

 

[Whisper]

Cerebellar atrophy = brain damage. Cortical effects tend to happen later in the stages of alcoholism (and addiction in general).

It does usually take a fairly consistent consumption of alcohol, for a relatively long period of time, to result in significant brain damage (other substances can be much more harmful to the brain than alcohol).

That being said, when you've assessed someone with Wernicke's encephalopathy or Korsakoff's, it's enough to make you want to keep your own substance use in check. Just not worth the potential (irreversible) consequences.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Not to mention the cost of medical bills. The op has bragged before about getting so drunk that he punched a wall and broke his own hand. I am sure there is probably a DUI in the mix too.

Ugh... I did that once. I had a party at my townhouse in college and when I was wasted I thought someone stole my Ipod so I went nuts and punched the wall. Then some stupid twat girl saw a cop outside and called him over to report the theft...

Luckily I saw him coming so I got outside and talked to him so he didn't see the underagers inside. Why do women feel like they need to do problem solving when they are drunk. This was a prime example, and they always feel the need to put their heads in the way during fist fights.

Best part about the broken hand I acquired because of the stolen Ipod was that when I reached into my pocket to get my ID for the cop I found my ipod in my back pocket. A prime example of why I quit drinking excessively.