Drinking Beer on a Diet

A night of beer binge sounds fun and games, especially when a friend is paying for the rounds. Regret strikes the next morning when you wake up bloated and hung over. However, beer is addictive and all feelings of guilt elude when the craving returns. The cycle continues and uncontrolled drinking contributes to the appearance of the infamous beer belly. Drinking too many beers not only results in weight gain, but also turns you into an alcoholic. Beers that have higher alcohol content typically contain more calories as well.

A Beer Diet?

Beer is not fattening if drunk in moderation; in fact, it contains lesser calories than your average fizzy soft drink. On the other hand, alcohol does prevent fat burning so drinking beer is not ideal for weight loss regimes. You may have heard about ‘Beer Diets’ where people drank nothing but beer throughout their day. Apparently, excluding all form of solid food from your meals does the trick, but it is a very unhealthy formula to shed some pounds. Half a dozen bottles of beer can provide sufficient calories for sustaining your body, but the nutritional value is not feasible.

The calories in a beer primarily come from alcohol and carbohydrates (sugars); protein is present in smaller amounts and fat is normally absent. Beer does contain traces of sodium, magnesium, and potassium, though you might have to consume a barrel to make up for your daily body requirement of those nutrients. In addition, if you drink unlimited beer (lets say more than a dozen bottles) per day, chances are you will get fatter (despite refraining from all other food). Not to mention, you will never be sober and die early.

Light, Low Carb, and Low Alcohol Beer

You do not have to give up on beer entirely if you are looking forward to get fit or lose belly fat. Light, Low Carb, and Low Alcohol beers are a few good options for individuals who want to include beer in their diet plan. However, these three are not the same thing, so you should learn the difference before making your choice. Light beers are brewed in way that they have lower alcohol and carb content, thus making them an optimal low calorie option. However, the low alcohol content might urge you to consume a greater number of servings to achieve a certain level of high. It is only effective if you don’t end up drinking more than usual.

Low Carb Beer contains less sugar but the same amount of alcohol as regular beer. The calorie difference is not big, but overconsumption is unlikely so it may work. Low alcohol beer is more of a scam because it is loaded with carbs and does not contain enough alcohol to make up for what your body is adhered to. Subsequently, you will drink more and not cut down any calories. Diet beers are an acquired taste, so you might loathe them in the beginning. The better solution is to stick to regular beer, but restrict yourself to two or three standard servings per day.

P.S: Similar to other alcoholic drinks, beer is intoxicating and should not be consumed in excess if you need to utilize your senses to their full extent in due time. Negligence can lead to embarrassing situations, public humiliation, and incrimination for DUI/DWI offenses.