Hi all,
I have a weakness for cookies, chocolate and red wine. I sometimes have a glass or two of red wine with dinner. Is that a big deal? I don’t drink that much red wine during the summer or when doing heavy training. Otherwise I am a vegetarian and am training about 15 hrs a week now for my next IM in 2009. Does anyone else have these food weaknesses???
KK
All the literature I’ve seen points to having a moderate amount of red wine every day as actually being very healthy. Just make sure that you are staying hydrated.
I don’t see how you can really characterize any of this as a weakness giving your training load.
Of course it isn’t a big deal.
it is…if it is Chateau Petrus.
Hahaha!
You’re training 15hrs/week, it’s October, holidays around the corner, the next tri season is a long way away - your 1-2 glasses is no big deal.
FWIW, I don’t even try to turn away drinks or dessert anymore from now through january 1st. Too many holiday parties, it’s the off-season, and people think I’m weird enough doing that “triathlon thing” I do (“why don’t you want more cake, you’re so skinny!”), that turning away the good stuff would make me even weirder to them.
Do I think that it is a big deal no? But the argument that alcohol can be healthly never sits well with me. Regardless of the consumption amount… my $.02
I do not get it…
Why do you think it is a big deal?
You like drinking red wine? Enjoy but enjoy it and do not feel guilty!
Fred.
good god, vegetarians and people who train 15 hours a week for their next Ironman in 2009 should never drink red wine. what are you thinking?
I don’t think its the alcohol thats the healthy stuff. Something to do with anti-oxidants, or tannins or something along those lines. Plus I’m betting that you put much more stress on your liver/kidneys/rest of the body by running for a couple miles hard, than having a glass of wine or 2.
Recent research has indicated that a daily glass of red wine is actually good for you. It is also a testosterone booster. So drink up you old guys.
Support Crew
Beer is god’s way of showing that he loves us.
4 oz red wine == 6 oz purple grapejuice == 12 oz white grapejuice in antioxidant capacity. The polyphenols in grape seed are oligomeric proanthocyanidins or OPCs. They are shown in studies to moderately lower blood pressure and make LDL cholesterol (the bad one) 90% more resistant to oxidation (when LDL-C oxidizes it gets sticky and sticks to artery walls).
The same benefit can be achieved from taking a good grape seed extract (one of the bigger and better controlled companies is meganatural gold final products that use their extract include Enzymatic Therapies, Vitamin Shoppe, GNC…).
I take it for its antioxidant capacity as part of my post training supplementation.
One glass of red wine is fine.
more than one you stress your liver. As long as that is not every night fine and just be careful at the holiday parties.
It would be a big deal for me - if I had to give it up. Enjoy.
But the argument that alcohol can be healthly never sits well with me.\\
You must be my alter-ego, the anti Monty. I guess you love 2500 person wave starts, and swim cancellations too…(-;
Two out of three is not bad. Both wine and dark chocolate are the “new” health foods. Enjoy in moderation!
cookies, chocolate, and red wine all sound like great sources of carbohydrates. Keep up the good work!
Red wine and chocolate go very nicely together, I highly endorse that combo.
To answer your question, two glasses of wine the night before a big race might not be a recommended pre-race approach, but any other time it’s not at all bad for you!
Same goes for a beer or two here and there. Life’s too short to deprive yourself of these little luxuries.
By all means have a glass with dinner. You can also eat chocolate. Both are beneficial for you (a quick search of REPUTABLE sources will verify this). Just remember that all things are best in moderation. Having seven glasses of wine every Friday night is not the same as one each day…
Kat - I have always enjoyed doing the same and my coach and nutritionist have always given the thumbs up to a glass of wine or two at dinner and every once in a while, a full on beer bust especially to celebrate after the race. Only thing that I would suggest (and I’ve learned the hard way) is that you eliminate the alchohol about a week before any IM distance and at least a few days before shorter distance.
I had a glass of wine before a short distance race and won.
From this I conclude that glasses of wine are critical to victory and dream crushing.