Clean eating and alcohol, possible?

seventwenty

Seriously. I like craft beers, and I'm unwilling to cut them out of my diet. What can I do?

There's getdrunknotfat.com, but a ton of craft beers are not on there.

pastryari

Fit them into your calories/macros for the day. You don't have to cut them out to lose weight.

Unknown

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MzManiak

As long as you work them into your macros, and work out, I don't think it has to be all or nothing.

Lawngirl296

I love craft beers so I count the calories in my daily allowance and work out like crazy to make up for it. Life is meant to be enjoyed!!!!!!!!

Capt_Apollo

cut back on them.

part of my weight gain was from alcohol. i'd come home and have a beer or two. then two glasses of wine with dinner. then a scotch or two afterwards. a good thousand calories in booze alone.

so you like your craft beers? awesome. do you prefer them as soon as you get home, before dinner, during your meal, or after a meal? the answer is probably yes to all of them. but well, you probably shouldn't be having that many in a day. and i know, it's summer time. nothing like a cool drink after a hot day.

so find some ways to make the booze last longer. maybe only buy yourself a six pack at a time, so that you ration it out a little better. maybe only keep two beers in the fridge at a time. maybe you can say one beer a day. maybe you just say something like "no beers on tuesdays and thursdays."

richardheath

This is why I hate artificial categories like "clean eating". If you cut out the things you love, you are probably not going to be able to stick to it. So just eat as well as you can, and enjoy that craft beer.

socrates02

i agree

seventwenty

This is why I hate artificial categories like "clean eating". If you cut out the things you love, you are probably not going to be able to stick to it. So just eat as well as you can, and enjoy that craft beer.

I see your point, but I plan on going clean eating light, just for the beer. I already make a bunch of my food from scratch, or as close to scratch as possible. I'm working on finding good farmers markets for produce. I' just refining my clean eating light system.

Just_Scott

80% clean, the other 20% whatever you want--

chadraeder3

Like others said you can fit them in to your calorie limits. You might also want to try to drink one or two really special drinks but savor them instead of a 6 pack of commercial beer, and limit your weekly consumption.

For me alcoholic drinks are reserved for special occasions and since I only drink a couple I will drink the good stuff.

Lochlyn_D

You either want to eat clean or you don't. Decide.

frenchfacey

as an alcohol professional, i can tell you there is a difference between a craft beer and like, say, pinnacle whipped cream vodka as far as drinking as "clean" as possible.

just work it into your macros, you may want to cut processed carbs in another area, or something like that, but i KNOW you can have it all.

pjp1125

I love craft beers, seriously, and I will not give them up. I do limit my intake, however. Whereas I used to have one or two a night, I save that indulgence for the weekends only, and it works for me.

cwolfman13

I honestly think it's makes a difference if you really want to lean out. I like my adult beverages, but I really think I've come about as far as I can while still drinking on a nightly basis...I've cut down to about 19% BF, but I think I'm really going to have to moderate it to get down to my goal of 15%...starting this week I'm keeping it to Friday and Saturday nights only. I don't think I'll ever get into the single digits like I used to be BF wise...I'm pretty convinced to do so would require me to all but give up my suds. It seems that even when I keep everything within my calorie goals, at this point my BF% just isn't dropping if I"m drinking a lot.

No_Finish_Line

no doubt you'd do better without them.

but calories in calories out works even if you eating donuts (although would probably be better without those too).

just track everything accurately and honestly and you should be ok.

think about trying no alcohol for a week or a month just to see if its worth it.

Capt_Apollo

You either want to eat clean or you don't. Decide.

what is life without it's vices??

KANGOOJUMPS

if you like it, then do not cut it out,,,

MyChocolateDiet

Seriously. I like craft beers, and I'm unwilling to cut them out of my diet. What can I do?

There's getdrunknotfat.com, but a ton of craft beers are not on there.

Just get an average of other craft beers and log that for all your craft beers. Some may be higher, some may be lower but it might just all come out in the wash. That's what I would do anyways.

MyChocolateDiet

Seriously. I like craft beers, and I'm unwilling to cut them out of my diet. What can I do?

There's getdrunknotfat.com, but a ton of craft beers are not on there.

Yes just get an average of other craft beers and log that for all your craft beers. Some may be higher, some may be lower but it might just all come out in the wash. That's what I would do anyways.

thepezzle

You either want to eat clean or you don't. Decide.

Amazing, I had no idea life was so perfectly black and white.

seventwenty

I'm trying to eat around 1,500-1,600 calories a day, which gives me an 800-900 deficit. I'm doing bar prep, so I can't really hit the gym as much as I would like.

One thing I've noticed is that with such a large deficit, one craft brew knocks me on my *kitten*. Living in Denver also helps me be a lightweight. I hate feeling wasted, so the problem of excessive drinking may just sort itself out.

What I'm really looking for are craft brews that are yummy and healthy...ish.

I define a craft brew as any brewery smaller than Harpoon, New Belgium, Sierra Nevada. I'm a beer snob. If you say Blue Moon is anything other than a gateway into craft brews, I can't take you seriously.

Upslope's Craft Lager is yummy...ish and healthy...ish. Any other ideas?

footiechick82

You either want to eat clean or you don't. Decide.

Hey look, a douche.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I still have my wine, I just have it on weekends when I spike my calories. Enjoy the beer, in moderation :drinker:

Dharmafor1

I love craft beers too, so I feel your pain. I've cut out all beer until I hit my weight loss goal, at which point I'll be able to add some calories back in for maintenance weight. It's been April since I had a good beer and it will probably be by the end of July before I have another one, as I'm trying not to cheat on this. So yeah, I'm missing out on the summer IPA's but my real love is for autum offerings like Octoberfests and Pumpkins. Even Wee Heavy's and such. To make it more difficult, I have several cases cellared right next to where I workout! It being growler weather, my beer snob friends are also trying to break me! Lol I tend to agree though if you work them into your macros you probably don't have to obstain. I just want faster results.

rustyroof

I eat clean and have a drink when i go out, I heavy lift and swim and I am loosing every week.

58Rock

Who says drinking "good" beer isn't clean eating anyway. Give me a break. Beer is a natural product full of good stuff. Check it out:

1.Up to two beers a day for men (women should only have one), will help to reduce your risk of having strokes, and heart disease. Light drinking appears to reduce the risk by as much as 20% according to research in United States.
2.Beer can help to increase the level of HDL (beneficial cholesterol) in the body and decrease the likelihood of blood clots.
3.A couple of beers can raise the level of anti-oxidants in the blood stream. This enables the cells to carry more oxygen around the body. More oxygen helps better muscle activity among other things.
4.Beer contains vitamin B6 which is needed to make haemoglobin, the red coloring in blood. This carries oxygen around the body. It also helps maintain correct blood sugar levels.
5.It is fat free, aids restful sleep and promotes relaxation.
6.Beer contains vitamins B and B2 (as well as B6) and essential minerals like calcium, potassium, and phosphorus.
7.Dark beer is better for you than light. It contains more flavanoids which are natural oxidants that help to protect the body from disease.
8.For post menopausal women, beer may be a beneficial addition to the diet. Some hop flavanoids have properties like oestrogen and research suggests that this property may make it possible to produce a natural form of HRT to replace the current one.
9.Beer can help to reduce blood pressure and levels of insulin in the blood.
10.Beer drinking can also reduce the incidence of kidney stones. This may be due to the water, the hops, or the alcohol, but, whatever the reason, it seems to help.

Moderate.

crystalflame

I'm trying to eat around 1,500-1,600 calories a day, which gives me an 800-900 deficit. I'm doing bar prep, so I can't really hit the gym as much as I would like.

One thing I've noticed is that with such a large deficit, one craft brew knocks me on my *kitten*. Living in Denver also helps me be a lightweight. I hate feeling wasted, so the problem of excessive drinking may just sort itself out.

What I'm really looking for are craft brews that are yummy and healthy...ish.

I define a craft brew as any brewery smaller than Harpoon, New Belgium, Sierra Nevada. I'm a beer snob. If you say Blue Moon is anything other than a gateway into craft brews, I can't take you seriously.

Upslope's Craft Lager is yummy...ish and healthy...ish. Any other ideas?

Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro is in my fridge at all times. What I'd give to be in Colorado so I could try the true microbrew stuff that's not distributed across the country.

Beer styles don't vary terribly in calories, and at the deficit you're eating at you have some padding. A lager will run you 150-175 for 12 oz., an imperial stout will be about 300, a porter 200-250, and so on. Just pick a style you like from a major brewer with nutrition info and log your craft brew as that. Then make a note in your food diary about what you really drank so your friends don't hate on you for drinking Budweiser

ETA: Calories will correlate to the ABV%. A 4% lager and a 6% lager are not going to be the same calorie-wise, so check on that too.

seventwenty

All good advice, I'm making a blog about bar prep, drinking and losing weight.

BL-LOLOL-G: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/seventwenty/view/bro-at-the-bar-the-start-538993

richardheath

This is why I hate artificial categories like "clean eating". If you cut out the things you love, you are probably not going to be able to stick to it. So just eat as well as you can, and enjoy that craft beer.

I see your point, but I plan on going clean eating light, just for the beer. I already make a bunch of my food from scratch, or as close to scratch as possible. I'm working on finding good farmers markets for produce. I' just refining my clean eating light system.

I make my own beer from scratch (barley, water, hops and yeast) :drinker:

It's just that we see so many posts on here about "can I eat [this/that/the other] if I eat clean?" If you chose to call some food clean, others must therefore be dirty; and that distinction is sometimes arbitrary. Eat good food and drink good beer!

erinsueburns

I'll go with the "who said drinking beer isn't clean" category as well. Should it make the majority of your daily calories? Nope, probably not, but beer has been around a really long time, and I've heard it referred to as liquid bread on history and discovery channel programs.

Eating clean is a ridiculously vague and unhelpful term anyway, unless you aren't washing your produce or you are rolling your food on the ground before eating, it is probably "clean"

EmmaKarney

I'm a clean eater...

I've stopped drinking beer. I keep wine to one or two glasses of red with a nice meal.

I have the occasional gin and tonic or vodka & soda with fresh lime wedges.