Beer

stratocat0
stratocat0 Posts: 3 Member
edited October 3 in Food and Nutrition
Hey all,

I'm new to the site. just switched over from fitday, and i really like mfp. There are way more foods in the database!!!

Anywho...

I am a beer lover, an afficionado if you will... I like fall / winter beers the best, and really do not enjoy drinking the lite beers at all. I started dieting about a month ago. Lost a few pounds. then plateau'd really quickly. I am not really exercising, just logging my food and watching what i eat. I have not had a beer in about a week and have busted over the plateau losing another 3.8lbs. So I now realize that i must cut out the good beers... this sucks...

Anyone have any tips? Like I said... I don't like the lite beers at all. should I just really cut down ont he beer?

Thanks,
Dan

Replies

  • jenfactor
    jenfactor Posts: 124
    I love microbrews and I live in Michigan which has a ton of them!! Just treat it like any other calories... so if I know I am going to the bar and want to have two pints of wheat beer, that would be about 340 calories... so I've got to save up earlier in the day, like have a lighter lunch or dinner or something. Good luck!
  • angelew
    angelew Posts: 133 Member
    I can't get the scale to move unless I avoid alcohol...or strictly limit it to one beer a couple nights a week. It sucks.
  • abeachlady
    abeachlady Posts: 88
    Keep the beer, start exercising.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    No, don't get all crazy.
    I drink beer. I just drink one or two good beers, instead of 6 BMC watery stuff.

    Also just make sure you log it and fit it into your diary.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Keep drinking it but cut down on how often and how many in each sitting. I love me some beers FYI, beer such as Guinness has less calories per ml. (floz) than regular more carbonated beer.
  • stratocat0
    stratocat0 Posts: 3 Member
    See thats what I was doing... for instance, i would save 500 or so calories for dinner... I would have between 1-3 beers and some water and cracker or something instead of eating a meal... It filled me up, kept me happy, and kept me at my caloric limit.... i just wouldn't lose any more weight... weird...

    maybe i will just cut it to one beer at a time... maybe that will help...

    are there any lighter beers that are tastier like good beer (dogfish head, etc)
  • _Tristan_
    _Tristan_ Posts: 221 Member
    Start exercising. I love beer too and have a couple every once in a while but I make sure I have enough calories set aside during the day for them or I go on a long run.
    I have also found that I appreciate the beer more when I have one or two then switch to Grey Goose and soda (69 calories).
  • tymee
    tymee Posts: 44 Member
    I exercise so I can have extra calories to consume 'beer', I also have been having a beer, then a glass of water, then another beer, etc. Helps on consumption of too many calories
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    Drink 1 beer. If you're really worried, go for a walk. Your average microbrew at around 4-7% alcohol will net you between 200 and 300 calories. When i brewed my last batch of Irish red (6.8%) it came out to about 230 calories per 12 oz bottle.

    Just avoid super big beers (things that have 12+ percent alcohol) as a regular thing. Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA clocks in at about 650 calories a bottle, as does their world wide stout (both range from 18-21% alcohol).
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    great job on joining the site. giving up alcohol was a big one for me too. however it is so loaded with calories that i had no choice. now i drink less, but i enjoy it more. also, if i'm going for a night of drinking, i will do a huge work out that morning to make a calorie deficit.

    you need to exercise more and incorporate some of those beers into your life. i love the fall and winter beers myself. but if you are how i used to be, you have three or four beers, and then go straight to bed. no good. thats how i met my good friend the beer gut. and he does not want to move out.

    a plateau (i hate that word) is more geared towards ppl that have been doing something like this for a really long time. you are not plateauing if you lose weight at first, slow down, then keep losing. it is your body adjusting to your new lifestyle, and becoming more efficient in its energy consumption and expenditure.
  • ChristopherOren
    ChristopherOren Posts: 15
    Dan,

    I happen to be somewhat of an expert on weight loss with and without beer. . . I'm the co-founder of Beer Connoisseur Magazine and started REALLY struggling with my weight loss after launching the magazine because I literally was doing 4-5 craft beer events / week.

    You CAN lose weight while drinking beer, it's just much more difficult to stay on track. My best advice is to cellar those beers and get the weight off and start to include the beer back in during maintenance.

    Good luck!

    Peace & Beer.
  • doughnutwretch
    doughnutwretch Posts: 498 Member
    You don't need to cut it out if it's something you really enjoy, you just need to scale back and enjoy one or two at a time. Factoring in exercise is a good idea to help boost your metabolism and will also give you more wiggle room to enjoy the things you like.
  • brynakrauth
    brynakrauth Posts: 53
    I have not scientific proof......but honestly, beer makes me weigh more....ALWAYS. When I drink beer, the scale goes in the wrong direction. When I drink wine or a vodka/soda drink, my weight goes down or stays the same. I have a theory that beer and my body just don't go well together. I have no idea why, but I've been paying attention to this for many years and I swear every time I drink bear, I gain weight.
    I have a beer here and there but stick to other drinks that go better with my metabolism and body type.
    Good luck!
  • BigDaddyBRC
    BigDaddyBRC Posts: 2,395 Member
    MMMMMMMMMMMMM BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRR
  • stratocat0
    stratocat0 Posts: 3 Member
    wow you guys are great... i didn't expect so many responses!!!!

    it sounds like i'm kind of ont he right track, but still need to watch it, and give it a bit more time for my body to adjust... 1-2 beers at a time sounds ok to me, and I will probably enjoy it more that way...

    thanks so much for all your help!!!

    Dan
  • Egger29
    Egger29 Posts: 14,741 Member
    Hey Dan,

    I'm a home brewer myself but you don't need to cut out the beer completely. Moderation is the key the same as for anything.

    The average pint is about 150 calories which are void of nutritional value. That being said, a couple a week are fine and with the darker beers like we enjoy, thereare similar heart benefits like as from red wine.

    What you need to do is look at your entire lifestyle and make choices such that the beer now and then fits into your plan. if you're downing a giant plate of nachos every other night...not so good. But if it's your beverage of choicealong with a nutritionally balanced meal, that's not too bad at all.

    Cheers!
  • fakeplastictree
    fakeplastictree Posts: 836 Member
    It's pretty obvious I think. You must either quit, drink only a few and exercise, or incorporate light beer (I know you don't like it but if you still want to drink w/o the huge amount of calories it is a choice) MGD 64 is a good one the 55 is horrible so don't try that one.
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    It's pretty obvious I think. You must either quit, drink only a few and exercise, or incorporate light beer (I know you don't like it but if you still want to drink w/o the huge amount of calories it is a choice) MGD 64 is a good one the 55 is horrible so don't try that one.

    Giving up something you love to lose weight is a bad idea. It leads to binging. Learning to moderate intake of things you enjoy is a far better way to go.
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    It's pretty obvious I think. You must either quit, drink only a few and exercise, or incorporate light beer (I know you don't like it but if you still want to drink w/o the huge amount of calories it is a choice) MGD 64 is a good one the 55 is horrible so don't try that one.

    Giving up something you love to lose weight is a bad idea. It leads to binging. Learning to moderate intake of things you enjoy is a far better way to go.

    i think she was trying to show him the two extremes, and to chose a happy middle road.
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    It's pretty obvious I think. You must either quit, drink only a few and exercise, or incorporate light beer (I know you don't like it but if you still want to drink w/o the huge amount of calories it is a choice) MGD 64 is a good one the 55 is horrible so don't try that one.

    Giving up something you love to lose weight is a bad idea. It leads to binging. Learning to moderate intake of things you enjoy is a far better way to go.

    i think she was trying to show him the two extremes, and to chose a happy middle road.

    So she was, its friday so i'm trying to read while the boss isn't looking. Shhhh! :blushing:
  • xStellar
    xStellar Posts: 28 Member
    I found that I needed to cut out the beer for a while until I lost some weight, then I slowly added it back in. I found that after not drinking beer for a while I couldn't drink more than two, I would get too full! And im with you on not being able to drink the light stuff, gross. Fall is the hardest for me too, all my favorite seasonals, I Love Oktoberfest beers!

    If you have a few on the weekend and go a little over your calories,no big deal, ,just try keep your diet as clean as possible the rest of the time. If you absolutely forbid yourself from something you love you are setting yourself up for failure.
  • scraver2003
    scraver2003 Posts: 526 Member
    LIFE IS TOO SHORT FOR SWILL!!!

    Beer snob here! I try to limit alcohol to only a couple/few days a week. Instead of having a beer a night, I might have 2 or 3 once or twice a week. I have been having a drink a day for like two weeks now and my weight is not budging. Gotta get myself back on track... but the thing with alcohol is that your body burns, in this order, alcohol, carbs, fat, protein.... so if you drink, you body is busy working on digesting and removing the alcohol from your system and isn't working on the carbs and fat.

    Beer has no business having only 55 calories a serving. ~gag~ Plus - alcohol has calories. So less calories = less alcohol. I would rather have a nice, cold, frosty, dark beer for more calories and more alcohol than to have three bottles of swill. I will save up my calories for a 22 oz. Arrogant *kitten* long before resorting to swill.
  • everydaypam
    everydaypam Posts: 90 Member
    I agree with all! I love my beer and while I have been willing to cut back I certainly am not willing to give it up. Plan ahead on days you know you will be drinking and fit in some extra exercise. Go for a long walk or hit the gym. There are a lot of good options for beers under 200 calories.

    I personally love New Belgium Brewing and they post the calories online so you actually know what you are getting. 1554 is around 200, Hoptober is about 175, Ranger IPA is 150, Mothership Wit also about 150 and they claim it is organic :tongue:

    Being a Kansas City girl I also have to tout Boulevard Brewing. If you get it in your area most of their beers are 150-200 calories a bottle and even the smokestack series (my favorites) are under 250 a glass.

    A good rule of thumb is to stay away from any super sweet beer. The sweeter the beer the more malt (sugar) they added so if you stick with the beers that don't taste as sweet there is a good chance you are sitting around 200 calories or less for 12 oz.
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