(Water is) the only drink for a wise man.
- Henry David Thoreau
The trouble with jogging is that the ice falls out of your glass.
- Martin Mull
Average Read Time: 00:02:48
About a year ago I was training this guy named Will. He was in university at the time and he was a fat guy. Probably had about 30-40 pounds to lose. So during our initial workouts together the topic of diet and nutrition came up. We decided that for one week, he should record his diet and then come back and we would discuss his food choices. Now this guy was part of a fraternity, so he told me up front that he drinks rather often. I made sure that he recorded everything he would eat or drink, including alcohol. So one week later, he gave me the list of what he had consumed…
The diet was fairly normal. Pizza on the weekends, rez food during the week. Then I saw the alcohol consumption. During the week, Will had averaged out about 3-5 drinks a night. As the weekend hit, for 3 consecutive nights, he went through just over 70 beer! He said that this was around his school year average. No wonder there is a freshman 15!
So how many calories are we talking about anyway?
Well, let’s use a good Guelph, Ontario-based beer for our calculations. Say he is a true Guelphite, and loves a good cold doctor-recommended Sleeman. Sleeman Clear averages about 90 calories a bottle so with his average of 85 beer a week we are looking at an average of 7,650 calories or just over two pounds of fat. Two pounds of fat every single week! I think we found our weight problem.
What’s the solution?
Not all beers are created equal. They can range anywhere from 90 calories (Sleeman Clear) to an astounding 340 calories (Sam Adams Triple Bock)! The average is around 150 calories, but as a general rule, the less alcohol in the beer, the less calories it contains. So if you are a heavy drinker, consider choosing a beer lighter in alcohol and calories. You want to see what kind of a difference it makes? Let’s go back to Will for a second.
Bud vs. Bud Light
Let’s say that Will is a Budweiser drinker (143 calories). This means that if he stuck with his consumption of 85 beer a week, he would put on 12,155 calories worth of alcohol, or roughly 3.5 pounds. If he made the switch to Bud Light (95 calories) he would consume 8,075 calories (about 2.5 pounds) worth of alcohol in a week. This can mean up to a pound of weight loss each week for this guy! Now most of you probably don’t drink this much on a weekly basis. However, if you drank a beer a night and 6 on the weekend (12 per week) you can still see a difference. Drinking Bud (1,716 calories a week) is still more than Bud Light (1,140 calories a week). If you were to make the switch, you would lose a pound in 6 weeks. Just from switching to light beer, no exercise, nothing else.
I will never switch from a good cold Corona
Personally, I love Corona (148 calories). I will never switch beers for the sake of trimming calories. For me, it just isn’t worth it. I tend to find it easier to cut back on my alcohol consumption. I prefer to go for quality over quantity. Make sure that you find a good balance for yourself and take care of your health, but don’t sacrifice all the good things in life. For me, Corona = Good things in life.
Beer Resources
If you are interested in looking up your favorite beer, go to http://www.realbeer.com/edu/health/calories.php. I got the numbers from this site, and they probably have your beer of choice on there. You should also check out a couple posts at Andrew’s blog www.gohealthygofit.com. He has put out a few good posts about healthy beer and mixed drink choices. As well, check out the calorie counting beer mug I posted yesterday, it uses the 150 calorie measure and certainly makes it easier for those calorie-counting drinkers out there.
Your Digital Trainer,
Jeremiah
Image by dotbenjamin
Comments: What is your beer of choice? Do feel you are better off cutting back or changing brands?
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