Beer and diet

It's funny that you said this - something I realized (after posting) that I forgot to post is that I have also moved to making myself choose: I can either have an alcoholic beverage, or sweets in a day, but not both. It's an either or, not and. Also, I try very hard to limit my alcohol consumption to only two days a week. The past week or two that hasn't really happened, since I've been up late working, but I've tried to limit it still to 2 beers, and then a few sips of whiskey. I almost always pour 1/2oz pours, so enjoying 1/2oz of whiskey over 2 hours is just fine for me, and doesn't add much to the calorie count.

We just had a baby, so trying to say, "we'll only eat X type of food once a week" is tough. That type of diet kinda goes out the window with a 7 month old. BUT, we generally eat very healthy, and don't ever really fry anything. I mean, sure there's some oil in a pan, but that's very different than fries, or country fried steak, etc. We eat those so rarely anymore - just trying to do better overall.

 

I had to eliminate beer (along with a myriad of other enjoyable foods and beverages) for health reasons. After a year I decided to allow myself a couple beers a week.

I lost a lot of weight from the diet change and I'm trying to gain weight now. Of course all gains seem to gravitate to my stomach area.

One thing I remember reading is that calories from alcohol aren't stored in the body but get used up causing the other calories to be stored as fat.

 

Aristotle's Golden Mean comes into play. On most days, I'll have a morning beer and one with a meal, perhaps 1 or 2 more if I am socializing or visiting a bar or 1-2 breweries.

Gone are the days of drinking several, including Vegas drink beer sun-up/down and whiskey all night. Eating better as well, walking a lot but want and need to put in muscle work including the push-ups and other exercises mentioned.

Lost a lot of weight over the past year, mostly by eating well / cooking at home. I want to get down to high school junior year weight, will settle on high school senior year weight if that what works best.

Cheers to those who are looking to improve themselves by any means (eating, drinking, exercising, reading, etc.). Life is journey, continue to learn and grow and it will be fun. You're never too old to do something new, or return to something good.

 

So I recently went on medication a couple days a week that is incompatible with normal alcohol consumption, so I started looking at the NA beers as al alternative to the myriad flavored waters that are available. Check out Run Wild NA IPA from Athletic Brewing Co. It is ranked #1 on BA for NA beers and it is not only quite good, but it is only 70 calories. That, to me, is a huge calorie vs. beer-ish experience benefit. When I drink those I don't even miss the real beers....much...at all. And I totally agree that when my regular beer intake increases, so does my weight.

 

Choosing is better then denying. It was this mind state that caused me to seriously lose weight. When we deny ourselves we become our own enemy and i strongly believe that denial causes us eventually to consume even more then before. So we choose and are happy with our little sweet, weather it be a pint or a cookie.

Congratulations with the new born! The baby should help burn of some fat here and there!

 

Yes, I think NA beers tend to have fewer calories, as the alcohol isn't there. But there still are quite a few of the calories, so drinking water once in a while isn't bad...

 

oh, fo rsure. My point was some of the great NAs are good substitutes for real beer (often in the >200 calorie range) for those occasions when a beer seems best, like at happy hour or with dinner. The rest of the time I am powering down waters at zero calories. Note that some of the NA beers still come in over 100 calories, but Run Wild is amazingly good at 70.

 

I'm dieting a bit myself, but have decided that this time around the (NA) beer will stay. Somebody said: just eat less . When I lost weight a bit more seriously a couple of years ago my beers grew old in the fridge. A good thing with NA is you may have greater flexibility, as the alcohol is not there "calling for you".

 

My doctor told me a few years ago to "eat less" rather than recommending a diet and it has worked great. Down about 25 pounds and back to my college weight.

The key for me has been cutting out snacks almost completely, in addition to portion control. More or less 3 reasonable meals per day, with room for cheating a bit on the weekends. I really haven't cut my beer consumption much. Recently, I've actually been drinking a little bit more and still maintaining my weight.

Make it a lifestyle chamge as opposed to a "diet"!

 

I feel like I keep adding, saying "I forgot this too!" But it is true. For both my wife and I, this is a pretty big one. We both grew up "grazing," and when we met each other and we were young, we always grazed. This is actually harder for my wife than it is for me. If I am busy working, I can go a very long time without eating, and snacking isn't too big of a problem for me. BUT, If I didn't make an effort to control snacking, it would be. It's just not nearly as hard of a problem to correct, as say, eating chips (for me).

I know some people get around this by only eating healthy snacks (like munching on carrots all day), and I just can't do it. I don't have anything "healthy" like carrots, that have relatively few calories, that I like enough to just munch on all day. Carrots, when raw, are boring as all get out. I'd rather just eat nothing.

On that note, early on in my weight loss journey, I had to make a decision about using "low cal" options or avoiding altogether. I've picked and chosen. I'd rather use great butter and use the amount I want, or just not eat the food at all. I can do "light" sourcream. I've never been a soda person (at least not since a kid), but if I have a soda, it will certainly be a regular. I used to do "light" mayonaise, but then I discovered Sir Kensington - and that stuff is the best, and I'd rather cut calories someplace else than ever go back. In general, I've found that using "light" pretty much never works for me, and instead, reducing intake or avoiding altogether works much better. A good example of this is baked potatoes. It's easy to add a ton of calories with butter on one. A better alternative, for me, is to eat a much smaller portion, and eat more vegetables at that meal. What I can't do is limit the butter and sour-cream; doing that makes me feel unsatisfied; but limiting portion reduces satisfaction by only a smidge.

 

Very much so. I'd say my main life style change is including a lot of vegetables. They fill up more than they give calories.

 

Absolutely and well done!

Your approach is basically mine too. Three meals a day and i weigh what i eat. No processed food but fresh ingredients and hardly any snacks. After a while you get used to not snacking and losing weight also helps against the craving. I've come to the point that i only drink a couple of pints every night and don't even think about food while drinking. Something i imagined impossible back when i was overweight.

Diets don't work because when you are 'on' a diet it implies you will be off again too. Indeed you have to make it a lifestyle to make it work!

 

I've cut way back on beer, have always eaten well, and we walk between 4-7 miles a day. I'm at 6'3" and 210 lbs. just over my college basketball weight. I had been 230 lbs. I'll be 70 in May.

 

I don't focus on weight too much but more on resistance training. Nowadays i work out at home and have a schedule that i follow. Mo/We/Fri push ups and pull ups (supported with a 35 kg band) 5 x 5 and trying to increase reps and decrease sets until i can do about ten unsupported.

Tu/Thu overhead press 13 reps x 5 sets x 30 kg side raises 13/5/15 kg and 30/5/30 kg squads all with dumbbells.

Besides that i walk and bike a lot because i have a dog. My main focus is to get a tighter chest and lose that belly fat. I've lost quite a lot, might even consider surgery skin removal.

 

Eat less.
Eat all the leafy green vegetables you want.
Fish, a piece as big as your hand.
Rice. Brown. One scoop.
Fast. It takes discipline, but going without eating is very healthy, you can easily survive on beer for 24 hours and your body will thank you. Think of it as The Trappist Monk Diet.
Cheers!

 

I’ve been having soup for lunch for 20 years along w low (but high protein/low carb) caloric intake for most of the day. Works like a charm once u get used to it. Agree. It’s all about the calories.

 

I have limited myself to 3 or 4 beers a week and I'm currently limiting my daily carbs through Atkins products. I eat a bar or shake for breakfast, a yogurt mid morning, either a Atkins meal or can of soup for lunch a bar mid afternoon if I feel the need. For dinner we have been eatting a portion controlled meal of protein green leaf and tomatoes and a vegetable. At night I have a snack sometimes of popcorn, a skinny cow ice cream or an Atkins sweet( which are pretty frigg'in good). It's doable for me so far and I haven't really been starving. I've lost about 20 lbs in about 7 weeks. Granted I have a a lot to lose so these are the easy pounds. I limit myself to maybe 4 beers on the weekend.
The best formula is calories in and calories out, eat less calories then you burn and you do fine. Cheers.

 

Even though i agree that weight loss all about burning more calories then you eat, i don't believe light products are the most ideal long term solution. When choosing light products you basically say to yourself that you rather scrimp on quality then on quantity. But it's temporary, you can't eat Atkins all the time so you pick up your old habits and gain more weight then you lost.

What has worked for others as they wrote in this topic and for me is scrimping on quantity and not quality! This way you change your lifestyle and in the long term you lose weight without cheating yourself.

 

I don't feel I'm scrimping on quality just on carbs. I think using Atkins or slim fast or nutri system as a tool not a total replacement can work well. I agree you can't eat that stuff forever. I have a great meal every night.
Over the past 10 or so years I've done Weight Watchers 3 times and lost an average of 50 lbs a whack every time. Their diet isn't sustainable either forever.
I love to cook and I love to eat even more, I'm dealing with a eat when I'm not hungry because it's there issue. The meal replacement products seem to have curbed my appetite a bit, time will tell
Here is 2 of the dinners I made that we typically eat for dinner every night, doesn't look like we've scrimped on quality. Cheers!

 

I stand corrected, cheers!