I love beer.

SparkPoints: (2,579)
Fitness Minutes: (2,415)
Posts: 12
10/23/11 9:25 P

Great point, and matches up nicely with some of the main ideas that makes Spark unique. Small changes made consistently and successfully are motivating and manageable.

SparkPoints: (2,579)
Fitness Minutes: (2,415)
Posts: 12
10/23/11 9:21 P

That's a good idea. I'm a craft beer lover, and I know that's a major contributor to my....(wait for it) beer belly. Thanks for the tip!

SparkPoints: (30,073)
Fitness Minutes: (12,611)
Posts: 3,870
10/22/11 4:55 P

If you do a search, I bet you'll find one. It seems like I've had the scotch discussion on here before. But hey, I'm not opposed to having it again.

SparkPoints: (5,523)
Fitness Minutes: (2,705)
Posts: 232
10/22/11 4:51 P

Dare we start one for bourbon or scotch?

SparkPoints: (892)
Fitness Minutes: (105)
Posts: 22
10/22/11 4:29 P

What an excellent topic

SparkPoints: (5,523)
Fitness Minutes: (2,705)
Posts: 232
10/19/11 9:42 A

Being a diabetic I had to learn a while ago to keep a close eye on alcohol consumption (especially mixed drinks). Beer and wine are better options for me. Beer is easier to keep track of how many I have had because I can see the empty bottles or cans (or the emptying 6/12/24/30 pack), and wine is not something I readily go for except at a fancier meal or get together and I am not at all prone to having more than a glass or two.

That said, I love the seasonal beers. Summer ales are great, Octoberfest beers are delicious, and I am in love with pumpkin ales (it helps cut the craving for pumpkin pie that always hits me around this time of year). The one I love best is really hard to find - Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale. It has so many spices it almost tastes like a Wassail. If you like the pumpkin ales give it a shot.

Other pumpkin ales I like (because I am sure you asked yourself which ones I would recommend, so I am just answering fan requests):
Post Road Pumpkin Ale by Brooklyn Beer Company
Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat
Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale (the one that introduced me to the idea of pumpkin in beer)

Posts: 1,251
10/19/11 9:11 A

Yes, the reason I don't drink is my father was a terrible alcoholic growing up, as a kid he would make me and my two brothers take drinks from time to time, I didn't like the taste then, and with his track record, my parents divorced over it, not good memories for me. I didn't want to follow that path, I think those are some of my demons, that I have bottled up, and ate myself to the poor health and weight I have now.

SparkPoints: (30,073)
Fitness Minutes: (12,611)
Posts: 3,870
10/19/11 8:44 A

Did you have beer as a child?

Posts: 1,251
10/19/11 8:43 A

as an adult i never have had a beer!

Posts: 2,923
10/16/11 10:39 A

Mmmmmmmmmmm Beer!

SparkPoints: (236,452)
Fitness Minutes: (240,991)
Posts: 19,236
10/14/11 12:01 P

SparkPoints: (23,404)
Fitness Minutes: (25,149)
Posts: 734
9/27/11 12:31 P

In the guys lounge, I think this the main thing that sets us back. I have the same problem.

Last Sunday, I had 2 bloody mary's and 5 beers from noon till about 7. That was being good. I know it's my major vice too.

My favorite beers are craft beers and most of them about anywhere from 120-200 calories per pint. Drinking hard liquor with diet soda helps. Another thing that has helped me is that I'll order a scotch or good whiskey with just 1 ice cube to open it up and I'll sip on that. Its still around 120 calories per drink, but you don't drink as many. 3 scotches does less calorie damage than 6 beers no matter how light they are.

Posts: 5
9/17/11 11:34 A

It may not help someone with refined tastes for beer, but I can describe what worked for me:

I was drinking 2-3 beers each night while "idling" in front of the TV or surfing the web. When I started tracking on SP that was an obvious target area to improve on. I tried to replace them with club soda for awhile but that just didn't work. On a lark I tried Beck's Non-Alcoholic Beer and that did the trick. Cut the calories in half right away, and the taste is just OK so I usually don't reach for that 3rd one so quickly which knocks off a few more calories. Kind of a "weaning off" process I guess. When it's time to have a few drinks and socialize I've switched to white wine since a glass has less than half the calories of a pint. Even better to spritz it with club soda. Now when I do have a pint or a Strongbow it REALLY seems like a treat.

Edited by: MELONBELLY at: 9/17/2011 (11:38)

SparkPoints: (30,073)
Fitness Minutes: (12,611)
Posts: 3,870
9/17/11 7:57 A

affirmative.

SparkPoints: (236,452)
Fitness Minutes: (240,991)
Posts: 19,236
9/16/11 10:27 P

yes

SparkPoints: (30,073)
Fitness Minutes: (12,611)
Posts: 3,870
9/16/11 1:33 P

Tracking provides amazing vision IMO. What also opened my eyes was how much food I consumed after piling on the alcohol. Yikes.

SparkPoints: (10,909)
Fitness Minutes: (5,835)
Posts: 455
9/16/11 1:04 P

Thought I would come back and mention I had a six pack last night...ugh! It was a total of 660 calories. This is the first time ever that I literally tracked my beer count haha....I'm making progress!!

SparkPoints: (10,909)
Fitness Minutes: (5,835)
Posts: 455
9/15/11 7:08 P

I come from an enormous family of beer drinkers. Actually we are every kind of alcohol drinkers. To make matters much worse, in my case, my Boss (yes the person who signs my checks) LOVES to drink! Has been drinking for twice my lifespan! I am invited to have a drink at least 2 times a week at lunch. I have cut down to 1 glass of wine and water in between.

Tonight, my cousins are coming over for a beer. This happens probably 4 times a month. On top of Family events monthly. This of course is in addition to my bi-weekly trips to my favorite bar (Friday AND Saturday).

All in all, I am probably sitting down for a drink 16-18 times a month!! I am a newbie and am tracking every drink. Pretty soon, I expect to see the impact. Even before Spark, I started drinking water in between and it really really helps. You don't get as intoxicated either since you are pacing yourself.

Good luck and begin by making small changes and don't forget to track!! Thanks for having me in the Guys lounge

Posts: 355
9/11/11 12:40 P

I've realized that drinking is very closely related to my weight. I never thought so, until I actually put it in the tracker for a few weeks. Talk about a bit of a shock. I cut back and made some adjustments. It really is adding a bunch of weight.

I also worked at a brewery for quite awhile. It's really hard to pass up $2 pints for employees. Not to mention, someone at a brewery is always up for a beer after the shift is over! (Thankfully, I am just a customer there now.)

I started doing a few things to help out the situation:

Typically, I drink vodka & club soda. I prefer stoli orange with club; and a slice of fresh orange. (My brother drinks it too. This can be a manly drink. I'd much prefer my date to order this than a cosmo or something.) I also started drinking one shot drinks in a big glass. This way I can have a ton of them. I'm still going to get a buzz, and I cut my calories in half. It's not beer. I know. It is still a way to be social. It would help if you did this on 2 out of 4 Sundays a month.

When it comes to beer. I'm not sure how you bottle/serve your beers at home. If you bottle them, it's always nice to share. This way, you can still try all of the beers. I know I can be totally lazy when I'm drinking. Sometimes, I don't want to take the time to make another drink, or get up an pour another beer from the keg. (OK, realistically, I get up to go get it. Hey, I walked to and from the keg twice as many times if my glass is smaller.)

One of the best things to do, is drink a glass of water between drinks.

Good luck. Cheers.

(I hope you don't mind a girls point of view.)

SparkPoints: (782)
Fitness Minutes: (105)
Posts: 8
9/10/11 5:49 P

Thanks for the advice guys! Like I am in college now and all my friends are going out to bars and clubs 2 maybe 3 times a week, so it's hard for me to quit. Do you think an approach of cutting back to maybe once every two weeks and having alcohol with a lower calorie content would be a good option? I would love to go cold turkey but I think while I'm in college surrounded by it, it's very difficult !

SparkPoints: (3,263)
Fitness Minutes: (2,832)
Posts: 57
9/9/11 8:02 A

All things in moderation. Since you are already drinking 10-12 pints reducing it to 6-8 is already a huge improvement. Just gradually cut back and you'll start to see the benefits on the scale and that should motivate you to cut back even more.

I'm of the mind-set that you can eat whatever you want, just not how much you want. Once I started counting the calories in foods I realized that soda just wasn't worth it. For 250 calories I could have one 20oz bottle of DrPepper or a huge salad with grilled chicken breast on top. Just doing the math was enough to motivate me.

SparkPoints: (20,523)
Fitness Minutes: (20,359)
Posts: 71
9/9/11 5:53 A

I used to drink much the same amounts and I don't think that cutting it out all together is the right answer. I've found that cutting it down and trying to keep it within your range works. This way I still have one drink most nights (and believe me, I enjoy it even more now) but I'll still go out with friends every so often and have a few and not worry about it. The key for me was realising exactly how many more calories I was consuming by drinking the amounts that I was.

SparkPoints: (782)
Fitness Minutes: (105)
Posts: 8
9/8/11 6:22 P

Hey, I'm only just starting out and I find myself in the same boat as you. I love to drink cider and in one session I can drink 10-12 cans/pints. I really do think that drinking like this is the sole reason I am overweight. I'm going to try and completely cut out alcohol, it's going to be tough though. Hopefully this thread sees some activity as I'd love to get some advice and help on how best to manage my alcohol intake!

SparkPoints: (30,073)
Fitness Minutes: (12,611)
Posts: 3,870
9/8/11 11:32 A

I was in the same boat as you. Craft beer is like Lay's Potato Chips, you cannot have just one. But damn, 10 to 12 pints. Woosh, ya, you'll need to cut way back. While I was losing weight, I really stopped drinking beer all together except for very special occasions. But I do like to have a relaxing drink about once a week, so I switched to rum and diet coke. Much less caloric and still packs a punch.

Once I got to where I wanted to be from a weight loss stand point, I gradually reintroduced beer into my diet.

It's priorities though. You may have to put beer down to achieve your weight loss goals. That was one of the hardest parts for me, but I didn't want to be fat any more.

Posts: 110
9/7/11 4:23 P

Wow, you didnt get much help on this did ya?
Um rich beers... might be a tough one! Man those empty carbs are fitness killers. Because youre taking in alot of carbs at one time and your not burning them off. Also with carbs like that coverting to sugar/glucose your getting insuline spikes which promote fat retention... so

The only advice I can give is... on beer day try to eat NO FAT!!!
Eating fat and carbs at the same time is the ultimate weight gain formula. So eat egg whites for b-fast, chicken( no sauce) at lunch, chicken or lean fish for dinner... no starches during the day no rice, pasta, bread... just stick with your protiens and some clean simple greens like brocolli or fresh spinach.

Posts: 2
9/7/11 9:14 A

Good beer. Craft beer. I'm a homebrewer. I like big, hearty flavorful ales. Love them, really. It's not unusual for me to drink 10 or 12 pints on a Saturday day/night. What are some strategies that I could use to drastically shrink that nutritional black hole without totally giving up my beer?