The Calorie Conundrum

The general public isn't going to pay more for a craft light beer.. they'll stick with the ones with funny commercials.

 

Except that Fat and Protein are essential nutrients for your body to repair itself and function in general, and carbs are only used for muscle energy as glucose. Don't make me get out the scientific studies off pubmed . I tried a low fat diet once, and it is complete crap and will make you go insane because your body will crave the fats that you need. Fats reduce the insulin impact of a meal as well. Saturated fats are not bad for you at all, already been proven by scientific studies; same thing with egg cholesterol. Wont effect total serum cholesterol at all, unless you have a genetic issue with cholesterol. Normal healthy adults can eat as many eggs as they want. The American Heart Association has been spreading garbage for so many years.

As for the topic, I have been on an Intermittent Fasting diet for 3 years. I count calories and weigh out my food, and drink craft beer responsibly and maintain my weight. Powerlifting strength program 4 days a week with high activity such as power walking nearly every single day and running a mile a few days a week.

I did keto once, but its really stupid to deprive yourself of foods you like. I strike a balance and eat what I want(while keeping my calorie consumption in check as well)

Alan Aragon wrote a nice little well cited article on alcohol a while back. You'd be surprised how alcohol acts to the body under controlled conditions. It doesn't act like a normal macronutrient would to the body, and therefore it doesnt directly cause weight gain by itself. However, in conjunction with eating a lot of high calorie foods and drinking, the fat in the foods will be stored in the body while the body processes the alcohol. Hence why all the college kids gain weight on taco bell and natty light.
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sex_news_sports_funny/a_muscleheads_guide_to_alcohol_1

I have learned a lot about nutritional science and hoax facts about nutrition since I lost 100 lbs a few years ago.

Watch the documentary Fat Head if you want even more hard evidence about nutrition garbage in the industry

 

See actual session beers

 

Actually beer and alcohol is good for you per Mens magazine. Moderation is the key and they're definition was pretty liberal like 3 per day. Benefits include lowering LDL and in general improving HDL to LDL ratios, and it also lowers blood sugar believe it or not, so if your diabetic having a beer is a good thing.

There is market share to be had if someone makes a truly great tasting IPA at say 100 calories, but by the nature of the beast it doesn't sound feasible with beer being a simple water/malt/hops/yeast product. Basic chemistry probably makes that dream an impossibility. I've had a session IPA at 3.5% ABV and it was terrible, it was overly bitter because to make it low ABV you need to cut the malt.

 

I disagree with the general consensus on BA. I personally don't care about calories in that I would drink any beer even if it had 1000 calories, but I think consumers have the right to now about what they are consuming.

I think if you are decently large brewery (like >50,000 barrels per annum), then you should be required to post calories, carbs, etc. on your website for all of your beers.

 

While I will agree there are no "essential carbohydrates" your brain run on about 99% glucose. Ketone bodies are damaging in the long term.

 

I don't think this is true. Everything I've heard/read has been around the idea that limiting carbs and using ketone bodies is the healthier choice.

 

Well the problem with that thinking is the vast majority of nutrients and vitamins come from carbohydrate foods. Specifically the fibrous one filled with mainly water (i.e. vegetables). The problem with carbs is excessive insulin spiking which leads to insulin intolerance, metabolic syndrome, and eventually diabetes. Even paleo diets have carbohydrates... The key is to get the right kind of carbohydrate (low glycemic) and to accompany those carbs with some protein and fats rich in omega 3's, alpha-lipoic-acid, and the like.

 

Cut calories elsewhere, get off your fat ass and exercise every now and again. Problem solved

 

I sure as heck don't.

 

What he said. Eating better and my A1C dropped from 5.9 to 5.3, fasting blood sugar from 110 to 88. Skip the potatoes/White Rice/ any bread product from white flower and your automatically doing better. Skip the junk cereal and junk food too, obviously. Leaves more leeway for good beer.

 

IF is the key.

 

Mommy juice? Really? Who f'ing buys that crap?

 

Marketing lower quality products to women because they are pink is demeaning. I hope craft breweries don't try to do that.

 

As other people have stated, being active is key. I was never one to count calories, but when I hit 30 I found that I just couldn't drink like I used to without gaining weight. Now I offset drinking with trying to be active. I use an app called MyFitnessPal and it has the calorie counts for tons of craft beer. It makes me more aware of my limits. However, I would never ever switch to "light" beer. If I want to drink something high in calories like my fave - FBS, then I know I have to work for it.

 

Incorrect. The body normally will use glucose as its first choice for energy; but the body is adaptable and the brain will eventually adapt to using ketone bodies as energy. It is still absolutely crucial that you eat green veggies to supply fiber and micronutrients on such a diet. I fast for 20 hours every single day and sometimes I do end up in ketosis(its pretty obvious to me since I did do the keto diet in the past). I feel the same in either state of energy metabolism.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2716748/

Improves blood lipid profiles and all that jazz. Note that the study was done in 2004 and yet a majority of the population still believes the same misinformation.

I currently cycle my carbohydrates in my diet. Just depends on what I feel like eating certain days. I may have hardly any or may have a lot and eat less fat that day.

 

I don't know why they don't. They absolutely should -- just like any other food or drink in the USA. I don't even get how it's legal to not have in the info.

 

Well if you can maintain a ketogenic diet while getting ample veggies and not reverting to a higher carbohydrate diet than good for you. I don't think many people can maintain that lifestyle indefinitely though. And some research supports the immediate weight gain rebound of reverting to a higher carbohydrate diet after following a ketogenic regimen: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2781796/?tool=pmcentrez

 

Great post.

The important guideline is, like anything else, moderation. If you go overboard with beer, you're going to see adverse effects because of the empty calories and the negative effect alcohol consumption can have on the body. But if you're smart about your intake, couple it with a healthy diet, and exercise regularly, you'll be fine. If anyone is really concerned about drinking too much, throw back a quick protein shake before you go to bed after drinking. It will do wonders for combating the alcohol intake and will drastically help curb any hangover.

 

That is because the people don't count any calories(or rats in this case), and when they return to a normal diet their appetite will return to normal(ketogenic diets suppress it). When I switched to a normal diet I just kept the calories in check and continued to lose weight. Energy is energy. Also the initial weight gain is all water because carbohydrates are stored with water in the muscle as glycogen. When you go on a no carb diet the 8 lb weight drop in the first 3 days is from the same reason.