Effect of Alcohol on energy

[ridgewalker777]

There was some free beer at the trail crossing toward the end of the day recently, of which I availed myself. It did nothing for me beneficial. I guess it would have been different if I'd taken a swim at Upper Goose Pond first. Any thoughts on beer and hiking?

[U-BOLT]

Alcohol is an energy-sapper. If you're going to drink, do it at the end of the day and in moderation. Nothing worse than waking up with a hangover or just feeling lethargic, with a tough or even not-so-tough hike ahead. Bummer.

[grrickar]

...it will dehydrate you eventually. It makes for roaring hangovers the next day, that is if you drink enough. One shouldn't hurt. I wouldn't down a sixer and expect it to do me any favors.

[Moon Monster]

Most of the calories in beer are wrapped up in the alcohol and not in free sugars. So, it's not a great carbohydrate boost. It is rich in vitamins and isoflavones which are good to counter oxidation, but it's not so good for that to outweigh the negatives of the alcohol on hydration. It's OK nutrition for slower pursuits like channel surfing, though.

Also, I noticed that on my thru-hike, my tolerance for alcohol went way down. Friends of mine who have trained for marathons and the like have experienced this also.

[grrickar]

Moon monster: Did you lose weight on your hike? I started going to the gym and after dropping 30 lbs of fat and gaining some muscle, I have found that 2-3 beers gets me buzzed, which would have never been the case before.

[Pencil Pusher]

That'd be interesting if there was a correlation between alcohol tolerance and level of physical fitness (or percentage of body fat composition). ???

[steve hiker]

That'd be interesting if there was a correlation between alcohol tolerance and level of physical fitness (or percentage of body fat composition). ???

I think there's an inverse correlation, if you're talking about aquired tolerance and not natural.

I also think there's an inverse correlation between the level of townsman tolerance of thru-hikers and the level of BUMMING in town by thru-hikers.

[Moon Monster]

Moon monster: Did you lose weight on your hike? I started going to the gym and after dropping 30 lbs of fat and gaining some muscle, I have found that 2-3 beers gets me buzzed, which would have never been the case before.

I did loose weight (fat weight...and added muscle weight probably). That's probably what does it--I've known a few big big guys who can really hold their alcohol.

But, I only had about 15 pounds to loose, and I never thought that that little weight in fat could have had such a drastic effect as what happened to my alcohol tolerance on my thru-hike. Anyway, it's an interesting side-effect.

[ffstenger]

Alcohol will dehydrate you, and after the quick rush of calories is processed by your body you have a "crash" effect of energy level. Also the higher percent of body fat you have will increase your tolerence (mentel effect) of alcohol because the fat layers absorb the alcohol and release it more slowly back into your system. Fat also has a high water content and will replace water to your system during alcohol consumtion so you don't notice the dehydration effect as much: result the more lean you are the greater negative effects of alcohol you will feel.....

[Pencil Pusher]

Good enough answer for me ffstenger. That's pretty slick, hearing how fat releases water (to some degree) so you don't feel near the hangover. I do know that beer has double the potency when you're dehydrated. That's a great way to get absolutely schlitzed on a six pack. Heck, even three cans while dehydrated puts me in la-la land.

[Blue Jay]

Yes, by all means, keep you hands off the beer left at road crossings. I hate getting there to find them all gone. Also I hate leaving them there for people who do not appreciate them.