lady with a desk job who loves beer

eponai

so i moved to california in june, stopped exercising, and had too much fun sampling all the awesome bay area restaurants with my bf i moved here for.

now i'm fatter than i've ever been in my whole life. i'm 5'6" and was 177lbs in december. january 1st i enacted a change, and did a one-month detox. no booze, no cigarettes, no coffee, no cooked food, a 10-day master cleanse, and lots of yoga. i lost 14 pounds and 4 inches on a raw vegan diet. but i can't keep that up forever, i'm an omnivore. plus i love cheese.

so now i am doing yoga at least 4-5 times a week (the bikram kind that burns 1000 cals a class) and the workouts i find on bodyrock.tv. i plan to continue with a low-carb or slow carb diet, mostly fresh veggies and proteins, small meals 4 times a day. i've been eating about 1200 cals per day.

but i miss beer! i love beer! i brew beer! is our love affair over due to my belly?

cheers,
epona

healthy1215

If you count the calories from the beer in your daily intake, can't you treat yourself a couple times each week to a cool brew??

amymeenieminymo

This is a lifestyle change, could you really give up beer for the rest of your life? Probably not...moderation is key. Make sure you leave enough calories a couple times a week for a beer or two.

kristie874

If you like the light beers you can try MGD 64 and the others that are similar. If not (I'm a beer snob and prefer the good stuff) just work it into your calories. Make sure you're eating the calories you burn with your workouts, too, or you'll find yourself hitting a plateau quickly. This will also give you extra calories to enjoy a couple beers from time to time.

alex51026

Cutting out beer was one of the hardest things I did. I love a ice cold beer. I still have a spare fridge FULL of beer from a Christmas party.... I've got Miller, Pabst, Sierra Navada, Saranac, Cruzcampo, Hoffbrahaus, and Killians in my fridge, probably about 30 in total.... They stare at me with depressed looks every time I don't pick them up. However, I think about how I gained my weight drinking too many of them, and all of a sudden they aren't worth the empty calories!

skinnywithin

Oh girl Im sooooo with you I LOVE BEER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! on a good night I can drink about 9 beers , I have always loved the taste and I am finding it hard to go out and not have a few, so I treat my self with Michelob ultra, I have developed a nice love affair for it ....LOL so listen if you must cheat as I do, make it an Ultra,. If I know Im going out I will eat a big breakfast and less later just so I can save up for the beer. makes me sound like a alcoholic but trust me Im not I just love the taste of beer. I treat my self everyother weekend!

luv2ash

love the idea of low carb 4 times a day healthy proteins....maybe you could up to 6 times day, every 3 hours.

Just keep giving up on that beer, cuz eventually you won't miss it. Think about the benefits you are doing to your body by not drinking beer.

chach918

of course.

rockabyesarojane

it will make the process longer for you, but if it keeps you happy and you are looking at this as a lifestyle then go ahead and incorporate it once or twice a week. it will keep you satisfied and keep you on your current path. more importantly you're less likely to shrug it off and have a "naughty week" (its so much harder to get back on track when you start breaking your new habits)

just my opionion though.
~Sara-jane

adurfee

I feel your pain. I love beer too. And wine. And my fave local bartenders make mojitos that are just WAY too good. I have seriously cut back my alcohol intake, which was maybe 1-2 glasses of wine a night, and the monthly or bi-monthly happy hour outing. I found that A) not only is alcohol WAY not your friend if you're trying to lose weight, but in my case it gives me the uncontrollable munchies. Everything sounds good. I mean everything, and I will always indulge.

So, I have decided to cut it out altogether for now, with the exception of a weekend glass of wine if I feel like it. It's not like I get out much for happy hour anyhow, seeing as my 4 and 1 year old aren't allowed in. ("You have a baby....in a bar!").......at least until I have reached my goal weight and feel I can maintain my new eating lifestyle.

And anyhow, I'll spend less and drink less and be a cheap date because of it!!!

Don't cut it out altogether, or you'll just be bitter at your new diet/lifestyle plan. Just curb it some!!!!
=]
p.s. cheese is good.

Creiche

I also love beer, but one of the things beer used to bring for me was the munchies and I'd end up eating a ridiculous amount of bad food even though I'd only have a few beers. I still drink beer, but I budget for it and try to keep to lower calorie light options most of the time. Now whenever I do splurge on a good micro brew or darker beer, it's all the more fun since I drink them so rarely now!

As someone else said, this is a lifestyle change. I'm not going to stop drinking beer the rest of my life, but I have learned how to moderate and balance it with my weight loss, and you will too!!

LFern

I have deferred to Bud Select 55. But if you have those types in your fridge, you may not like it as it has a very mellow flavor for beer.

I normally do Busch Light or Bud Light and just figure it in to my calorie count for the day - however I find it difficult to stay under calories on the days I choose to "indulge". A Wisconsinite thru and thru I love Beer and Cheese!

Working off the calories is the BEST way to have the best of both worlds!

skinnywithin

Oh and I love cheese too!

Sparksfly

The problem with beer is that after 4-5+ beers you lose you inhibitions to stay on track with your diet. With me this was a big issue!

How could I just let that plate of nachos sit there at the bar while my friends made a feast of them??? If you can control yourself, a few hundred calories once and a while won't kill you, but if you are like me...(.the nachos/pizza/peanutbutter out of the jar when I get home ) is the killer!

ashlee954

The problem with beer is that after 4-5+ beers you lose you inhibitions to stay on track with your diet. With me this was a big issue!

How could I just let that plate of nachos sit there at the bar while my friends made a feast of them??? If you can control yourself, a few hundred calories once and a while won't kill you, but if you are like me...(.the nachos/pizza/peanutbutter out of the jar when I get home ) is the killer!

AGREED! Once I start drinking I think to myself oh who cares! And then I eat everything in sight!

fitnesspirateninja

If you're doing bikram yoga (which, by the way, I have tried it and that's tough stuff! I have a lot of respect for you), burning 1000 calories and only eating 1200 calories a day, why can't you have beer? Couldn't you just have beer on the days you go to your bikram class?

You mentioned that you can't keep this up - I've found that when I change my diet severely and don't allow myself any room for parties or going out to eat then I tend to give up after awhile and go back to my old eating habits. This time I've changed things, but I don't deny myself the things I enjoy. I don't always have cake at a birthday party, but if I want some, I go for it. I usually know ahead of time when I'm going to an event, so I make sure to work out beforehand.

Good luck!

eponai

Totally! The late night I've come from the bar snack was cheese, crackers and hummus.

Though I was reading another topic on here where a woman was discussing how she wasn't losing weight until she started eating back her exercise calories.

Maybe I should start drinking back my exercise calories? ;P If I eat 1200 a day and workout, that's a beer or 2!

My favorite beers are Smuttynose IPA and Lagunitas IPA. I also like Sierra Nevada. For light beers, I can sometimes do a PBR, but light beers taste not so good to me.

Thanks for your responses peoples!

jms1739

Amen on the Beer problem. We have a huge beer cellar with some really good beers, like Dogfish Head brewery and lots of Belgium beers which are my favorite. However what I do is if I am going to have a beer in the evening and yes I have to limit myself to 1 really good one, or I bite the bullet and have the Ultra's or the MGD 64 (blah) but I can have more than one that way. I cut back on the day so I can have it and I work out as well and then maybe for the next few days limit my calories a little more as well. This way I still get what I want without depriving myself. Good luck on your journey and keep up the good work.

eponai

AH! Dogfish Head is one of my favorites! Just had a Palo Santo last night!

So you are having maybe a good beer a week or so and still losing?

Thanks!
Epona