Interactive Blood Alcohol Calculator!

Check out the "Drink Wheel" Below to determine what your blood alcohol level will be after you've consumed various drinks over a certain time period!

Making The Sacrifice

Now if you are a competitive bodybuilder or a person looking to take their body to the next level let's face it, you're going to have to sacrifice drinking. I mean if you want to drink lightly every once and awhile on a very special occasion it won't affect your progress very much. But you can forget about doing it every week.

Consuming alcohol dramatically decreases testosterone levels, causing them to take as much as two weeks before they return to normal! Consumption of alcohol also lowers your Growth Hormone production, and increases your estrogen production.

RELATED ARTICLE

No Drinking And Training! Today I am going to list some reasons why you should not consume alcohol, or why you should moderate your intake. This will be especially true for bodybuilders. Learn more about the effects of alcohol right here. [ Click here to learn more. ]

To put it short it is a bodybuilder's worst nightmare. Once I realized I wanted to become a competitive bodybuilder I began to cut back on my drinking and now I drink very seldom, if at all. In a college atmosphere however it is difficult to be accepted without it, so here are some tips to help avoid drinking.

Tips:

• Workout a couple of hours before the parties start that night. If you workout then your mind will be focused on your bodybuilding efforts and drinking will seem less important. I have personally found this to be very helpful.

• Be the designated driver. If you are the DD then no one is going to give you static for not drinking. I mean without you they wouldn't even be going.

• If you are on an on-campus party and you feel like you just have to look cool, or fit in then fine...put water in a mug or some kind of covered cup. Everyone will think you are drinking and if you want to take it further you can even act a little silly or play the part. I hardly ever employ this technique however as I have hard time acting like something I'm not.

College Food

When it comes to college food there is much to be desired. It usually tastes bad and it is usually not good for you. Most everything they cook is high fat or processed. However there are some things that most cafeterias carry that are good for your bodybuilding purposes.

• Subs- Get a turkey sub with tuna, lettuce, and other low fat condiments (pickles, mustard, black olives, etc) on whole wheat bread. If you construct your sub right you can get a good 30-40g of protein, 80g of carbs, and 15g of fat out of it.

• Chicken Breasts- Most college cafeterias have a grill of some sort. Don't get the fried chicken or the hamburger. Don't even get a bun. Get a grilled chicken breast and put barbeque sauce on it. Tastes good and will give you about 25g of protein.

• Eggs- For breakfast most cafeterias serve eggs. I always eat a plate full of eggs every morning as eggs have the best amino acid protein of any single protein source.

• Salad- Most colleges also have a salad bar in their cafeteria. Salad is great for you as it contains a good amount of fiber. Shy away from high fat dressings and instead opt for low fat dressings or even vinegar if you can stomach it.

• Bran cereal- Most college cafeterias have choice of cereals. Choose unprocessed cereals such as Raisin Bran.

• Cottage Cheese- Cottage Cheese contains Casein protein, which is the most anti-catabolic protein found in food. I eat 2 or 3 bowls of it per day.

• Milk- Milk is a great bodybuilding tool. It is high in protein and contains a mix of 20% whey and 80% casein protein. It is also high in calcium.

• Fruits and vegetables- Most colleges offer choices of fruits and vegetables. These are great bodybuilding foods as fruits contain valuable anti-oxidants and vegetables contain fiber and many vitamins and minerals.

More Than Just Three Meals

Three meals per day is not enough for a serious bodybuilder. If you want to gain quality muscle during college you will need to invest in a small refrigerator and some sort of cooking device such as a George Foreman grill.

You may even want to buy a hot plate so you can cook eggs. I have found these things to be enormously helpful in my bodybuilding career. There are a few things that you can buy at the grocery that are fairly inexpensive bodybuilding foods. Here is a normal grocery list for me.

Bodybuilding Grocery List*

• 10 cans of chunk light tuna- $7.00
• 3 gallons of milk- $9.50
• 4 containers of cottage cheese- $9.00
• 1 bag of chicken breast (6 pieces)- $7.00
• 5 lbs. of beef- $9.00
• 1 32 oz jar of peanut butter- $3.50
• 2 boxes of raisin bran cereal- $5.00
• 1 box of oatmeal-$2.50
• 1 3lb. container of PowerAde- $7.00
• 3 dozen eggs- $3.00
• 1 generic mustard bottle- $1.00 *All prices are estimates

Here Is A Sample Of My Daily Nutrition:

• Meal 1 (cafeteria)

  2 eggs
  3 egg whites
  1 bowl bran cereal in milk
  1 banana
  32 oz of water
  (30g protein, 80g carbs, 12g fat)

• Meal 2 (my room)

  1 can tuna mixed with mustard (tastes better)
  1-cup oatmeal
  one tbsp. of peanut butter
  16 oz of water
  (40g protein, 60g carbs, 10g fat)

• Meal 3 (cafeteria)

  1 sub with:
  turkey
  tuna
  pickles
  mustard
  black olives
  16 oz water
  (30g protein, 80g carbs, 10g fat)

• Meal 4 (Post workout at home)

  30g of whey protein mixed with 10 oz of milk (If you don't have whey protein then fix eggs or have milk that equals 30g of protein).
  About 95g of PowerAde mixed with 8 oz water.
  Plus another separate 32 oz of water.
  (40g protein, 90g carbs, 2g of fat)

• Meal 5 (Cafeteria one hour later)

  3 bowls of bran cereal
  1/2-cup of cottage cheese
  16 oz water
  (30g protein, 150g carbs, 15g fat)

• Meal 6 (At home)

  2 cups of oatmeal
  6-8oz beef
  16 oz water
  (30g protein, 100g carbs, 25g fat)

• Meal 7 (At home right before bed)

  1.5 cups of cottage cheese
  3/4 cup oatmeal
  16 oz water
  (50g protein, 40g carbs, 10g fat)

Totals- 250g protein, 600g carbs, 84g fat.

Keep in mind that I weigh 205 lbs and thus will consume more protein, carbs, and fat than someone weighing less than myself. Adjust the totals to fit your weight.

I did not place times on these meals as this is my schedule and someone else's may be different. If your mealtime falls during class time then take a protein shake or bar to class, most professors do not mind if you eat or drink during class as long as you are not obnoxious about it.