Diet wise which is less damaging, Beer or Red wine?
BEERRUNNER
Posts: 3,046 Member
Hello Fabulous people of the MFP!
I have gotten a habit lately of having either a bottle of red wine with dinner or maybe 3-4 beers on a nightly basis. I know Red wine is good for you and all but may I be over doing it? Am I doing the right thing with switching around with beer?
Also, I work out hard 3-4 times a week and take vitamins, drink lots of water throughout the day. Is this nice habit hampering me in any way?
Thanks!
I have gotten a habit lately of having either a bottle of red wine with dinner or maybe 3-4 beers on a nightly basis. I know Red wine is good for you and all but may I be over doing it? Am I doing the right thing with switching around with beer?
Also, I work out hard 3-4 times a week and take vitamins, drink lots of water throughout the day. Is this nice habit hampering me in any way?
Thanks!
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Replies
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Beer often has more calories than wine, so by that measure it is less damaging to a calorie deficit plan than wine. But when people say "wine is good for you," they aren't talking about a bottle -- they're talking about a glass or two.
I enjoy drinking too, but research indicates that drinking more tends to cancel out the health benefits associated with wine. I'm not aware of any benefit by switching it with beer.
I'm assuming you are logging the calories in the alcohol and staying within a calorie deficit?0 -
My problem with booze isn't the calories, it's the loss of inhibition that tells me to buy the deluxe nachos.0
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A (750ml) bottle of red wine will run you about 700 calories. 3 (12 oz.) bottles of beer will be about 600. It's easier to find a light beer to halve the calories than a light wine. How many calories do you generally have left over after your food to spend on alcohol?
Staying in your deficit is the way to weight loss.0 -
Is it hampering you? Depends on what your goals are and what the rest of your day is like.
If weight loss is your goal, I would think it would be difficult to maintain a calorie deficit and still get adequate nutrition if 600-800 calories EVERY day were coming from booze. Probably not impossible, but it would require some pretty good attention to detail on your part.0 -
It does require alot of attention to detail. I basically only drink water, coffee and the occasional juice to make this work. also have eliminated most carbs.
My goal isnt so much to lose weight but maintain my weight now and be able to lift heave and be strong.juggernaut1974 wrote: »Is it hampering you? Depends on what your goals are and what the rest of your day is like.
If weight loss is your goal, I would think it would be difficult to maintain a calorie deficit and still get adequate nutrition if 600-800 calories EVERY day were coming from booze. Probably not impossible, but it would require some pretty good attention to detail on your part.
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BEERRUNNER wrote: »It does require alot of attention to detail. I basically only drink water, coffee and the occasional juice to make this work. also have eliminated most carbs.
My goal isnt so much to lose weight but maintain my weight now and be able to lift heave and be strong.juggernaut1974 wrote: »Is it hampering you? Depends on what your goals are and what the rest of your day is like.
If weight loss is your goal, I would think it would be difficult to maintain a calorie deficit and still get adequate nutrition if 600-800 calories EVERY day were coming from booze. Probably not impossible, but it would require some pretty good attention to detail on your part.
It's not so much hydration that I'm talking about, but nutrition.
How much protein & dietary fat are you consuming? Are you getting adequate micro nutrients?
When you're getting such a large portion of your daily calorie allotment from alcohol, these are going to be the bigger issues.0 -
Beer, full of sugar0
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janejellyroll wrote: »
For some of us, the presence of sugar, especially refined sugar, makes it hard for us to control our caloric intake.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
For some of us, the presence of sugar, especially refined sugar, makes it hard for us to control our caloric intake.
Except there is almost no sugar in many beers. Basically no more than there is in a Merlot...
And neither is damaging when drunk in moderation.
If you are drinking a lot - doesn't matter if it is beer or wine - it's bad for your health and diet.
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Beer has plenty of B vitamins and is better at keeping you hydrated, but if you're drinking strong beer a few can easily add up to the calories of a bottle of wine. I've recently swapped from red (often about 700 a bottle) to sparkling wine which can be as low as 480 a bottle.0
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juggernaut1974 wrote: »
I guess it doesn't. But janejellyroll responded to a person's statement by saying "So?" and I felt it was worth responding.0 -
Ohhh SParkling wine...Now thats something I have not explored...Interesting.Beer has plenty of B vitamins and is better at keeping you hydrated, but if you're drinking strong beer a few can easily add up to the calories of a bottle of wine. I've recently swapped from red (often about 700 a bottle) to sparkling wine which can be as low as 480 a bottle.0
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Nutritional and self control issues apart, for weight loss Spirits > Dry wines > Beer.
Beer gives you the carb belly which we beer drinkers start to lose quite quickly by switching to spirits with diet mixers. Hard drinking alcoholics on spirits are generally wiry thin characters.0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »
I guess it doesn't. But janejellyroll responded to a person's statement by saying "So?" and I felt it was worth responding.
Fair enough...I guess I read her "so?" as questioning why that person felt the need to bring up the fact that beer is "full of sugar" (which, in reality, it isn't) vis a vis the context of the topic of the thread.
But I will let her clarify if I've assumed incorrectly.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
For some of us, the presence of sugar, especially refined sugar, makes it hard for us to control our caloric intake.
There is no beer I know of that contains added sugar, except when it's mixed beer with cola or something.0 -
stevencloser wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »
For some of us, the presence of sugar, especially refined sugar, makes it hard for us to control our caloric intake.
There is no beer I know of that contains added sugar, except when it's mixed beer with cola or something.
I agree.0 -
Nutritional and self control issues apart, for weight loss Spirits > Dry wines > Beer.
Beer gives you the carb belly which we beer drinkers start to lose quite quickly by switching to spirits with diet mixers. Hard drinking alcoholics on spirits are generally wiry thin characters.
<< Drinks beer
<<No "carb belly" (whatever that is)
Objectively false post.0 -
Nutritional and self control issues apart, for weight loss Spirits > Dry wines > Beer.
Beer gives you the carb belly which we beer drinkers start to lose quite quickly by switching to spirits with diet mixers. Hard drinking alcoholics on spirits are generally wiry thin characters.
Say, what?0 -
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Excessive drinking creates nutritional deficits that lead to health problems. A serving or two of beer or wine isn't the issue, it's when it's a bottle of wine, or a six pack of beer, EVERY night, that I would assume will eventually catch up with you.
https://www.bouldermedicalcenter.com/nutrition-recommendations-consume-alcohol/0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
No to the first and "generally no" to the second.
As I explained to juggernaut, I was responding to you, not the OP.0 -
htimpaired wrote: »Excessive drinking creates nutritional deficits that lead to health problems. A serving or two of beer or wine isn't the issue, it's when it's a bottle of wine, or a six pack of beer, EVERY night, that I would assume will eventually catch up with you.
https://www.bouldermedicalcenter.com/nutrition-recommendations-consume-alcohol/
yikes0 -
OP, I think what I'm going to say has already been said, but since the thread went a little off topic there I wanted to chime in.
If you are talking about weight management, it's all about the calories. Log your consumption and see if it puts you over your calorie goal or not.
If you are talking about health, when studies show a benefit to health from wine or beer, they are talking about a glass or two of wine, or a bottle or two of beer on occasion. Drinking a bottle of wine, or 4 bottles of beer every day would put you in the category of a heavy drinker, and the health risks of drinking heavily are probably going to offset any benefits, regardless of what type of alcohol you are drinking.0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »
Well, I'd think that over-imbibing alcohol might make calorie control more difficult than a little bit of extra sugar. Most people probably have their logging less effected by a cookie than a bottle of wine, you know? ;-)
Of course, I don't think of beer as particularly sugary anyway.0 -
A bottle of wine or 3-4 beers on a nightly basis is IMO, overdoing it.BEERRUNNER wrote: »Hello Fabulous people of the MFP!
I have gotten a habit lately of having either a bottle of red wine with dinner or maybe 3-4 beers on a nightly basis. I know Red wine is good for you and all but may I be over doing it? Am I doing the right thing with switching around with beer?
Also, I work out hard 3-4 times a week and take vitamins, drink lots of water throughout the day. Is this nice habit hampering me in any way?
Thanks!
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^^^This...EvgeniZyntx wrote: »If you are drinking a lot - doesn't matter if it is beer or wine - it's bad for your health and diet.
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You know it's ONE GLASS of red wine A WEEK that has some health benefits....0
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janejellyroll wrote: »
No to the first and "generally no" to the second.
As I explained to juggernaut, I was responding to you, not the OP.
You were responding to me asking why that was relevant to the OP. If it isn't, I'm unsure why it was given as an answer to his post.0
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