Beer and diet

Going vegan due to excessive beer drinking is a little extreme. Replace a day or two (or three) of beer drinking with bourbon and watch the pounds fly off.

 

I am 44. I weight lift 4 days a week and run 3 days a week. I eat clean 5 days a week and drink on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I probably consume 18 beers a week. Most of those beers are below 6%, and many below 5%.

I am in good shape, but beer, funnily enough, has always prevented me from having a sixpack abdomen.

 

??!!

I am not sure whether this is a troll post or not. But the rest of the post seems slightly more reasonable so I'll assume not (although the post does remind me of the postmodernism essay generator).

Water does not flush out calories, or nutrients for that matter. It is only dangerous if you drink a truly insane amount in a short period of time, causing the sodium level in your blood to drop too low (hyponatremia). I have to admit though, it would be cool if you could drink extra water and pee out excess calories. 1 extra quart of water = 100 calories into the urinal...haha.

As for water weight, that relates to carb consumption. If you cut carbs out of your diet, you will lose the "water weight" but gain it right back once you start eating them again. It has nothing to do with water over-consumption.

 

I haven't been as active on here the past few months as i've been trying to lose a bit of weight and cut out a lot of my beer consumption as a result. For awhile I just switched to "diet" beer like Michelob Ultra or Sleeman Clear but that just made me cut out beer entirely lol...

Now I've got myself limited to 4 craft beers a week and if i'm social drinking, it's usually vodka, water, and a splash of lime juice.

It's not a regiment that I'd like to be on, but i'm committed to it until I can get myself committed to eating healthier and exercising regular!

 

I run 5 days a week, and probably drink 1-2 beers a day on most days. I dont really eat sweets and never drink soda or eat fast food. Bread and cheese are probably the worst foods i consume fairly regularly, and I work a desk job.

Beer has definitely prevented me from having ripped abs, but other than that I just make sure I dont combine beer with burgers/pizza/huge burritos and I havent gained any weight in YEARS

 

I have only read about the first 35 or so replies, and it now seems like everyone is giving their own experience, and so I will do the same.

I agree with those that have said that what works for one will not work for another, and that as a general rule "calories in vs. calories out" is what matters.

Years ago I was about 80 pounds heavier, with a lot less muscle. One summer I lost about 45 pounds over 3 months while not inherently trying to, while eating a pound of bacon a week and eating McDonalds/Subway for 1 meal a day, 5/7 days a week. But I was walking probably 5 miles and biking 2miles 5/7 days a week. In general, it was a lot of work to get food, and I had a shared kitchen, so eating was a chore. As a result, I ate less, so even some of my unhealthy meals were counteracted by exercise and lack of consumption.

Presently, I am still trying to lose about 20 more pounds, and have been for years, but it's been tough. Primarily because it's probably about 35 pounds worth of fat is my guess, but by the time I lose it, I'll probably only weigh about 20 pounds less due to some increased muscle mass. They seem pretty stubborn, and my available time is limited. I try very hard to make sure I am getting in a good workout at least 2 or 3 days a week, but I shoot for 4.

Things that don't work for me:
1) Counting calories exactly. I can ballpark my breakfast of 2 slices of bacon, a couple eggs, and a half english muffin - and the same for whatever I make for dinner. But it is a fucking god aweful nightmare of a chore to try to count how many calories are in a homemade meal unless it's 1 protein + a simple vegetable side. Doing it for something that is a melange of ingredients sucks dick, and I refuse to do it.
2) Cutting something out altogether. I do well with having a very small taste (e.g. 1 hershey rectangle from a hershey bar as desert), or eating 1 portion size of chips with a sandwich for lunch. Cutting these out altogehter just does not work for me. I need a taste, and from everything I have ever read, satiating your wants like this will keep you feeling full longer and help prevent binge-eating a large serving of anything.
3) Feeling bad about choices I make. Look, I know that I should probably have some guilt when I only get 2 workouts in during a week, or if I have something extra. But I when I allow myself to feel guilty, it's a miserable experience. It's depressing. Fuck - I can't live my life that way.

Things that do work for me:
4) Making a life-style change: Eating healthier makes you feel better, and so does exercising. Remembering that a small choice now between a little extra butter on my couscous may not mean much today, but doing it everyday means a lot. These things add up. Trying to be healthy all the time leads to healthier choices and a healthier life. Leading a healthier life allows me to live the life that I want to live. Remembering this is important. This is something I can get behind.
5) Making choices: I'd rather eat butter than margarine, and I'd rather consume the amount that I want to consume, or not consume it at all. If I consume too little, I can't taste it, and to me it just ends up being empty calories. So, if I am going to eat a baked potato for dinner, I'd rather use enough butter that I can taste it, rather than use half the calories, and get no enjoyment. Conversely, this also means that even though I love Soda and beer, that I only enjoy 1 or 2 beers/sodas (total) a week, rather than consuming them more frequently with lower calorie options.
6) Make swaps that work for me: I don't get that much less enjoyment from light mayonnaise vs. regular or light sour-cream vs. regular, but they have 1/3 and 1/2 the calories as regular (respectively). These life-style changes make a huge difference across the year, and my enjoyment has not gone down.

It's taken me roughly 8 years to really figure out what works for me, and still, based on our life, it's a changing process. I just have to be honest with myself and keep these principles in mind, and at the minimum I will not gain weight.

 

Beer is pretty much liquid bread. If you want to get the extra pounds off I'd recommend going with rum
And diet coke or whiskey and diet coke till you lose it. Its all a numbers game and so long as you are in a deficit you will lose but I recomebed the rum or whiskey cause if you are anything like me I can't stop with just 1 or 2 good brews.

 

What about a homebrewers saison that is only 3 percent. U could drink that all day and it would be nice and dry and pretty low cal.

 

Genetics seem to play a pretty big factor in this.

I've always been for the most part a pretty tall, thin guy. When I first got into the craft world my metabolism was still awesome and I could drink pretty much whatever I wanted and eat whatever i'd like and seldom ever tip the scale over 173ish lbs at 6'1".

But as the years went by I slowly but surely started to move less and the ole metabolism started slowing so I went up to around 200lbs which at 6'1" isn't too bad however the lacking quality of my diet and the lack of exercise gave me a " skinny fat " build. IE hip, stomach, and chest fat.

So I simply cut my calories a bit, started limiting myself to drinking beer only one day a week at most though typically only once every two weeks, and took up walking regularly( yep, only walking, not running ) about 5-7 miles a day with some rather basic strength training and I rapidly went down to around 185lbs and look many times better.

When I DO drink, I drink just about as much as I always have. However instead of scarfing down most of a pizza afterwards, I'll cook a burger.

 

This has been discussed earlier but the threads aren't open for further replies.

I really like beer, especially pints. And when i start drinking in the evening, the moral is mostly: the more the merrier. But i also hit the gym four times a week to stay in shape, where i'm sometimes told mostly on Monday that i reek like beer (even though i shower before i commence my training) and that it makes muscle growth nearly impossible.

But quitting beer is simply not an option. And also limiting myself to two every time i drink. What i do after a night drinking in the weekend is biking for a 30-40 km. This is an extra edition to my regular workout. And than i lose weight, even if i drink heavy.

And i even eat pizza once or twice a week, but most of the time i eat healthy, stay low on sugar and eat m proteins. And i don't drink soda's at all and i hardly eat chips or fast food. Perhaps that's why i can lose weight drinking beer and sometimes lots of it.

So, can you combine beer drinking with staying in shape?

 

Do not drink in the evening. I must have heard this thread in my sleep. That's calories right to your waist or to your gut. I like my beer in the morning. my palate is clear, my senses are sharp and I like to cook as I drink. i eat pizza too and I can tell you age will stop you. It will do that whether you will admit it or not. When I was 25 I could eat or drink anything and lose wight quickly. Not any more. How auspicious that my senses have improved as much.

 

Balance..I eat really well,am very active and workout 5 to 7 times a week. I believe for the most part everyone here knows when they're going a bit overboard and you just need to keep things in balance.
No need to be a saint but just common sense practices

 

I like to drink to wind down after the day is over. Unfortunately the end of the day is almost always the evening.

 

Drinking beer on a consistent basis certainly makes decreasing your bodyfat and/or changing your body composition a difficult proposition, as beer is, essentially, moderately complex carbohydrates and ethyl alcohol, both of which have caloric weight.

Without getting long winded, I'd suggest two things. The first is to get your meal timing and constituent macronutrients in the best possible ratios possible. The second, which you may not want to consider, is to drink less times per week.

 

Yes you can. However personal experience has shown me that it is very hard to lose weight when you drink beer.

 

Yes, you can build muscle and drink beer. Muscle damage usually starts to be a problem after about 2-4 beers depending on size and ABV. If you focus on compound lifts (squat, bench, deadlift, rowing movements) you'll probably be fine. Work on increasing the weight of those lifts and prioritize those lifts before you do your arms, shoulders, calfs etc......

I would suggest using a program if you aren't already. 531 is great, Juggernaut Method is a great program, even starting strength could work depending on your training level.

Also, you might not want to hear this, but if you are getting comments from friends about reeking like beer then you are drinking too much before you go to the gym. You might want to cut back a little if being strong, in shape, and healthy are important to you.

 

You can stay in shape you just need to burn off the extra calories your taking in from beer. Sounds like you ride a lot and workout so your probably doing just fine. The downside is how good of shape you would be in without beer? Your basically trading off exercise for calories so all that hard work is just to burn off the beer. Also your workout performance, how well would you ride the next morning without drinking verse feeling a little off from the prior evening.
I am in the same spot as you are, I workout almost daily and also love my beer. I am in good shape but would be in way better shape if I stopped. I once took 6 weeks off and shed a ton of weight and lifted heavier and cardio was better. It comes down to what you want in life? I am happy being in decent shape and enjoying myself with my hobbies, one of which is beer. Life is too dam short in my eyes, I don't want to spend it chasing calories and worrying about putting on a couple pounds.
It sounds like your doing the right thing!
Cheers

 

One thing that's helped me lose a few pounds is starting off drinking sessions with club soda/lime/vodka (or bourbon, gin, etc.) in place of beer. Good way to cut back 200 calories or more. Also, it's OK to take an occasional Fri/Sat off. I generally drink only on weekends, but if I have a rare night out drinking on a Wed, I'll offset it by taking Fri off.

 

I did the Atkins no-carb diet many years ago, and still try to eat low carb foods, except for beer.

There is no beer that would work with this diet, it would knock you right out of ketosis and all the fat consumed would not get metabolized.
I would not recommend beer or any alcohol during dieting for weight loss.