The epic struggle of good beer

eat less on the day your gonna drink, that's the irresponsible thing i do.

So one of the few me things I get to do it home brewing. I like to brew and share it with others. I just started winging my own recipes and am excited about it. Recently I brewed a batch (contential pilsner) and it is like a potato chip, you cant have one. Now drunkenness isnt the goal and doesnt happen, but I gained a lot of weight back since this batch is done. So to all my fellow beer lovers out there I have a idea and I am going to bounce it off of you.

Have beer once a week follow by a day of purging and increase exercise through out the week. Thoughts?

For those who are tempted to put "give up beer", don't.

I think there are enough people here struggling with eating disorders that it doesn't need to be encouraged.

Its a power balance, dilemma with Beer is that its largely just empty calories. Some brews of which tip the 400 calorie mark for 16 oz. Best piece of advice I can give is on my beer drinking days I try to eliminate most of my other sources of carbs throughout the day and eat very lean protein heavy that day. Lots of chicken or fish, lower in calories, filling, high in protein and virtually no carb intake.

I do long cardio sessions on days I know I'll be drinking. Earning 1,100 calories goes a long way to balancing out some barley pop. The idea of off-setting large calorie days with light calorie days is a valid way to live and lose weight if you track your total calories on a weekly basis. MFP updated their app which shows where you're net calories are for the last 7 days. I would rather see you save up for a splurge rather than paying it back. Too often, the payback gets delayed or forgotten. Intermittent Fasting is the formalization of this kind of program. There are lots of resources on the WWW

PS: I lost my 60+ lbs drinking beer two or so times a week but always in balance with my other calories and activity level. It is one of the reasons I workout so much.

We just brewed a vanilla porter for Christmas and it's time to bottle them. I'm restricting myself to one day a week, though my fiance will likely drink a 1 or 2 a night. .

VANILLA PORTER! That's one of my favorites! I try them whenever I see them - Stone's Smoked Porter w/ Vanilla (like bottled s'mores!) and one made by a little craft brewery near my house (Three Brothers Barrel-Aged Vanilla Elementary Porter) are my favorites.

This is a huge red flag for possibly a alcohol dependency concern. You are willing to eat less/purge/whatever just to have beer...sounds like you love beer more than yourself.

I'm sorry, did you say purging?

"Will hula hoop for beer"


"Will not purge for ANYTHING"

Friday night is craft beer and pizza night for me. Two beers, and a lot less pizza than I used to eat.
Tonight is Narwahl, Last week was Surly Darkness. Mmmmm.
On Monday through Friday at work, when the donuts and cookies and bagels make their appearance, it is easier to say "no" when I have Friday night to look forward to. I would rather have a couple good beers once a week, even though it slows the weight loss. Worth it!

Do you micro brew or do 5 gallon batches? One beer a week, unless you are giving most of it away will take you over a year to drink one 5 gallon batch. From one home brewer to another, you can drink you beer and still lose weight. You just need to make sure you either eat less that day or work out a little longer. I think beer smith has a feature that will let you calculate the caloric and nutritional value of recipes. I could be wrong since I do not own it myself though.

I lost 40 lb and have maintained for a year and a half. All while drinking a few beers a night. I just fit it in to my allowance. I homebrew too, so I understand the hook!

I am a bit worried about your use of the word "purging" though. Do you mean it in a sense of throwing up to remove the calories (which is VERY bad), or simply doing more exercise/eating at a greater deficit the next day?

Do you micro brew or do 5 gallon batches? One beer a week, unless you are giving most of it away will take you over a year to drink one 5 gallon batch. From one home brewer to another, you can drink you beer and still lose weight. You just need to make sure you either eat less that day or work out a little longer. I think beer smith has a feature that will let you calculate the caloric and nutritional value of recipes. I could be wrong since I do not own it myself though.

Caloric value, yes. Not a complete nutritional profile.

So one of the few me things I get to do it home brewing. I like to brew and share it with others. I just started winging my own recipes and am excited about it. Recently I brewed a batch (contential pilsner) and it is like a potato chip, you cant have one. Now drunkenness isnt the goal and doesnt happen, but I gained a lot of weight back since this batch is done. So to all my fellow beer lovers out there I have a idea and I am going to bounce it off of you.

Have beer once a week follow by a day of purging and increase exercise through out the week. Thoughts?

For those who are tempted to put "give up beer", don't.

It's simple math. You just need to balance what you put in your mouth vs. what you burn off. I lost 50lbs and during that time I brewed (drank) several batches and got on a beer exploration kick to try all kinds of new exotic brews (tracked with UNTAPPD app). The toughest part is being completely honest with yourself; track every beer, track it accurately (home brews can be between 300-400cals), log your exercise accurately (HRM Accurate not MFP questimate) and regardless of hang over level... workout just as hard as normal. I used to work out extra hard the day before I knew I was going to go on a bender.

It's simple math. You just need to balance what you put in your mouth vs. what you burn off. I lost 50lbs and during that time I brewed (drank) several batches and got on a beer exploration kick to try all kinds of new exotic brews (tracked with UNTAPPD app). The toughest part is being completely honest with yourself; track every beer, track it accurately (home brews can be between 300-400cals), log your exercise accurately (HRM Accurate not MFP questimate) and regardless of hang over level... workout just as hard as normal. I used to work out extra hard the day before I knew I was going to go on a bender.

What is HRM vs. MFP?

It's simple math. You just need to balance what you put in your mouth vs. what you burn off. I lost 50lbs and during that time I brewed (drank) several batches and got on a beer exploration kick to try all kinds of new exotic brews (tracked with UNTAPPD app). The toughest part is being completely honest with yourself; track every beer, track it accurately (home brews can be between 300-400cals), log your exercise accurately (HRM Accurate not MFP questimate) and regardless of hang over level... workout just as hard as normal. I used to work out extra hard the day before I knew I was going to go on a bender.

What is HRM vs. MFP?

Using a heart rate monitor to accurately track calories burned vs. searching the MFP database that tells us 20 minutes of light housework burns 920 cals. The database is ok for general stuff, but if the OP really wants to know if he can have that 5th beer it's important the know the exact value of his workouts. I consider calories like currency.