Your Diet, Health, and ...Beer

I'd just like to hear some opinions of other beer lovers on how you all deal with the health effects of beer.

Mainly I've been focusing on diet lately. Like many a human before me, as I aged I found diet affecting my energy levels and moods more and more. In an effort to avoid the worst effects of a hangover I've attempted to eat a healthier diet. But, this is my conundrum: What constitutes a healthy diet? At first I was into a lean meats (chicken breast / tuna) and whole grain diet (bread, whole grain pasta). After watching various diet documentaries on Netflix and reading the book Wheat Belly I'm even more confused. About the only definitive conclusion I can bring out of all of this is that vegetables = good and fruit may be okay. Dairy, meat, grains, soy, oils (olive oils?), sweets, are all either killing me or okay only in dire starvation circumstances depending on whose recommendations.

3x Bier Munchers Centennial Blonde 140 cal x 3 = 420 Calories
Assuming a 2500 calorie / day diet this is 18% of your daily calories from barley. I'm just starting to think that this leaves absolutely no room for any other grains in your diet to stay balanced. No bread, pasta, processed snacks at all.

What all do you guys and gals do and how do you manage your health & love of beer?

This is one of those topics that could get crazy. My 2 cents is that fat doesn't make you fat, sugar makes you fat, and carbs are sugar. Avoid pasta! Limit your carb intake, eat lean meats/chicken/fish.

having said that, the only way I can drink as much beer as I want and stay fit is to run 25 miles a week, and not everyone is willing or able to do that. But I do recommend it to stay healthy in general.

I pedal my bicycle great amounts of miles every week, watch my calorie intake, don't eat fast food or packaged food very often (if at all) and aside from that eat what I choose to.

I have gone back and forth between vegetarian and omnivore, I enjoy both and see no real advantage to either in my day to day life. When I am in omnivore mode I tend to make vegetables the focus of the meal and also include meat more as a side dish.

I think the key would be to get moving. Exercise. Its probably the best thing you can do each day. Having said this, I need to get off my ass and workout more.

I try to eat as many whole foods as I can in my diet. By that I mean, I try to buy actual fruits, veggies, meats, etc. and make my meals from those. As opposed to processed and packaged foods. I basically shop around the perimeter of the grocery store and rarely go into the center isles.

dbrewski said:

My 2 cents is that fat doesn't make you fat, sugar makes you fat.

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I totally agree.

two_hearted said:

I basically shop around the perimeter of the grocery store and rarely go into the center isles.

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Same here

For me, I only worry about calories in vs calories out. Right when I started homebrewing and went from only drinking occasionally at home to drinking almost nightly, I lost ~50 lbs (~25% of my weight) over about a year. I did it all by counting calories (using myfitnesspal) and limiting myself to what I needed to lose the weight. Which meant I drastically cut the amount of food I was eating. But I didn't limit what I could eat, but because I was looking at calories more, I was eating less of the calorie dense/non-nutritious things. If I wanted chicken wings for dinner, it meant I only got 6 because I could only eat 500 calories for dinner. Or I could eat a big salad, small grilled chicken and a side of veggies. Sometimes I still went for the wings, but more often I'd go for the bigger volume of better calories.

I've kept it off for over 2 years now and it's just a part of my life now that I watch how many calories I'm eating. I don't even track it now, just sort of mentally in my head know about what I can eat. I'm not actively trying to lose weight. I'm about 16% body fat. I'm pretty sure I could get down lower if I cut out drinking beer (I rarely drink any calories now, except beer), but I'm okay where I am.

So if I were you, I wouldn't worry about all these "fad" diets. Stick to limiting calories to what you should be eating, workout more and try not too drink to *too* much beer. Good luck!

dbrewski said:

My 2 cents is that fat doesn't make you fat, sugar makes you fat, and carbs are sugar. Avoid pasta! Limit your carb intake, eat lean meats/chicken/fish.

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Eating more calories than you burn makes you fat. You can make it more complicated by the quality of those calories, but it really can be as simple as that.

Exercise. Eat right. That means fresh meats and produce - none of the frozen-in-a-box crap. Lots of produce.

Take in more calories than you burn? That gets stored as fat. Don't do that.

All things in moderation - that includes beer (don't want a hangover? Don't drink too much) Enjoy a little treat like ice cream, but don't overdo it. Enjoy fatty pork and beef now and then, but not too much or too frequently.

Great advice in here. No fad diets, eat a balanced healthy diet, regular exercise (walk/run/bike/yoga/P90-X...whatever works for you!).

Also a big one with eating is: watch your portions. My wife is amazed when some of her overweight friends consume massive portions and then wonder why they just can't get the weight off. They also look at her funny when she eats a healthy salad.

I love beer but almost always limit normal weekday intake to 1/day. That's not always easy. Had to talk myself out of having a second last night. Think back on your day, what you consumed, what you burned (exercise), and adjust from there. If I've eaten real healthy and gone running I have no problem having that second beer. I hate hangovers and pretty much refuse to drink that much. Mix water in between beers if you have to.

One more thing: your metabolism, your body chemistry, your gut flora, your body's energy demands based on your activity, etc. are unique. Don't try to fit them into some rigid formula of x calories per day/ y% of which is this or that, etc. if your body is telling you it's hungry and needs more fuel, eat something - but make it a good something like nuts, fresh fruit, yogurt, etc.

Malty_Dog said:

Also a big one with eating is: watch your portions. My wife is amazed when some of her overweight friends consume massive portions and then wonder why they just can't get the weight off.

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Most of the time when my gf and I eat out, we split a meal. The portion sizes in American restaurants are just way too big. I think it's safe to assume most are 1,000+ calories and when I was actively trying to lose weight I was trying to eat around 500 calories for each meal so it worked perfectly. Of course that won't work for everyone, but you could always take home half if you don't want to split it with someone else.

I offset my calorie intake of beer with exercise. If I drank 3 pints the day before I burn a minimum of 600 calories through exercise the next day. This saves me me from dieting and helps me maintain my weight between 215 and 220 lbs. I have a job with a maximum weight restriction of 230 lbs and I'm a tad over 6'1".

Moderation. Nothing else really matters.

As every one has said its basically calorie in vs calorie used.

If you eat less then you are using then you will loose weight, if you eat more you will gain weight.

How you off set it is up to you.

I personally count calories and try to eat less then what im using. I do not factor in my exercise ( I exercise every day) because I know my counting is not extremely accurate and will end up eating more then I realize.


I usually try to adjust what im eating that day based on how much I will be drinking. During the week I limit my self to 0-1 then i have one night a week were I will drink with friends (typically Friday or Saturday night). On that day I will cut back drastically one what im eating. Be sure to drink LOTS of water.

My definition of healthy food is basically any thing that was available to the native Americans or earlier humans. So basically any thing that is grown naturally( veggies, fruits, rice) and meats/ fish.

Here is the most simple advice you can get and its from Michael Pollan:

"Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

I'd recommend to anyone to get his book called "in defense of food"

As for beer intake - stick to the 1 or 2 per day and balance that with exercise-even better if it is unfiltered homebrew. Don't binge drink if you are going to be sticking to the 1 or 2 rule.

The skinniest person I ever knew was a friend of my grandmother's. Her husband died when she was 60. From then she only consumed vodka(no food) for the next 35 years until she died at 95. She probably weighed 75lbs.

Been enjoying these responses - I'll try only drinking Vodka for the next 3 weeks and then report back, seems like the least effort to implement.

Seriously, I think building your health has a lot of similarities to improving your beer. You start with the basics, which I'll summarize as: Exercise + Vegetables. This is like moving to a partial extract. But after that how do you keep improving? If you're anything like me you'll give up anything except for your beer! So, that's where my will power lies. Its just there are always limited resources -> should I upgrade to that $1000 conical or should I start taking brewing notes and sanitizing a little more diligently? What is the best bang for the buck? Right now, for me, that means adjusting my diet. I'm already eating, so eating something else should take about the same amount of time right and same effort.

I'm starting to convert to the theory a calorie is not a calorie, the way your body handles them: I was definitely on the other side of this fence before. Beer creates some significant issues with this, primarily controlling blood sugar. I'm not diabetic, but, I do test high for fasting blood sugar in the mornings. My Mother & Sister recently went Gluten free and my first knee jerk reaction was that this is like the atkins diet, or substitute any other fad diet. But when you look at your amount of calories coming from Beer + Grains it is easy to surpass 50% of your intake, way, way too easy. This started getting me thinking about not eating any wheat products, rice, etc. I've cut back on these items, but I've been reluctant to eliminate them. How else will I get full? One thing I think becomes obvious though is that 50% of your food shouldn't be from the seed of a grass plant.

Good food is part science, part art. Getting a sensible and effective diet plan should be the same way, IMHO. Make it all science, and it becomes hard-to-follow drudgery pretty fast. Make sure you're enjoying your food too.

Nightshade said:

I pedal my bicycle great amounts of miles every week, watch my calorie intake, don't eat fast food or packaged food very often (if at all) and aside from that eat what I choose to.

I have gone back and forth between vegetarian and omnivore, I enjoy both and see no real advantage to either in my day to day life. When I am in omnivore mode I tend to make vegetables the focus of the meal and also include meat more as a side dish.

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This is me almost to the T. I find that when I'm not eating meat, I tend to make vegetables more of a focus of the meal. Like making black bean tacos instead of with beef or chicken. I tend to use a lot more bell peppers, avocado, onions, jalapenos. Makes it a sh*t ton more healthy and is quite delicious.

EXERCISE! a lot and don't over eat too often and you should be fine. I've lost 15 lbs this summer doing just that. I have maybe 10 more pounds I'd like to lose then I'll be solid (flat stomach is the goal...). Make exercise a priority in your life, that's really the only way to go.

Portion control and at least some form of exercise is the name of the game, at least for me. I also make it a point to so some serious stretching/yoga when I'm able.

I also notice a definite change in my mood throughout the day if I can get on the treadmill/exercise first thing in the morning. I just feel like I have energy to burn and my mood is vastly improved.

Sticking to a workout routine helps too. I had good luck with the P90x program. It's not that the program itself is anything drastically new, but it helps to toss in a certain dvd because it's a certain day of the week. It keeps me honest
Good luck!

Mathematically, calories in < calories out is correct. However, "calories in" affects both a) calories out and b) future calories in. I.e., 500 calories of steak affects your hormones, metabolism, satiety differently than 500 calories of table sugar. What you eat matters more than just the caloric content.

There are few things that approach the awesomeness of grass-fed ruminant animals (cows, lamb); high in protein and saturated fat (yes, this is healthy), gelatin, vitamins and minerals.
Plants are good, but they do contain a lot of toxins. So don't overdo it eating like a rabbit.
Grains do have some nutritional value, but are loaded with toxins. I prefer them malted & fermented.
Starchy tubers rock.
Sugar...don't add. Honey/maple syrup/molasses are awesome
Butter/coconut oil/tallow/lard - awesome, stable fats
Olive oil / liquid fats - ok if fresh, but go rancid quickly. Add post-cooking (i.e., don't heat)
Seed oils - canola/vegatable/soy - TERRIBLE. Stay away. Not for human consumption. But great on hardwood floors


Exercise is important for tons of health reasons, but diet is far more important for weight loss for most people.

Cheesy_Goodness said:

Portion control and at least some form of exercise is the name of the game, at least for me. I also make it a point to so some serious stretching/yoga when I'm able.

I also notice a definite change in my mood throughout the day if I can get on the treadmill/exercise first thing in the morning. I just feel like I have energy to burn and my mood is vastly improved.

Sticking to a workout routine helps too. I had good luck with the P90x program. It's not that the program itself is anything drastically new, but it helps to toss in a certain dvd because it's a certain day of the week. It keeps me honest
Good luck!

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son?????

*YELLS* "Creamy!!!! Creamy!!!!! WTF man???????"

I've been low carb/no grains/ paleo-primal eating for over 3 years.

I drink plenty of beer (alcohol is metabolized differently than other carbs). I to not eat anything that comes out of a package, but I do drink coffee and other products from the grocery store when I want to.

I eat about 40-50% fat, 30-40% protein, and 20% carbs (like carrots and other veggies). I eat lots of venison, grass-fed beef and lamb, and tons of veggies. The fat I eat is hand rendered tallow, coconut oil, and olive oil (the olive oil is never heated). I don't eat grains very often at all.

I'm extraordinarily healthy with an athlete body fat percentage, and my cholesterol levels and fasting blood sugar level is low/normal. I have a very high energy level, and no "afternoon slump" anymore so this is a permanent way of life for me. I feel great! (I'm almost 50 and a grandmother).

I first got interested in "wheat belly" in early 2010. It's more complex than "don't eat processed food, eat real food", but that's the basic tenet of my lifestyle. I cut sugar out of my diet, in almost all forms, about 3.5 years ago. I don't eat sugar, honey, sugar substitutes, fruit juice, lemonade, etc, or even much fruit. I do eat berries, and veggies.

My diet is similar to this: perfecthealthdiehttp://perfecthealthdiet.com/the-diet/t.com/the-diet/
except that I don't eat the "safe starches" except for potatoes and sweet potatoes. I do not eat vegetable oils (except for coconut oil) or sugars, or legumes, or grains.

cheezydemon3 said:

son?????

*YELLS* "Creamy!!!! Creamy!!!!! WTF man???????"

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I realized shortly after registering that "Love_Child3" would have been a much more appropriate username

Trey57 said:

My Mother & Sister recently went Gluten free and my first knee jerk reaction was that this is like the atkins diet, or substitute any other fad diet.

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The way I think many of these fad diets work (yes gluten free is a fad unless you really have an issue with gluten, like celiac) is that you are limiting yourself from a large subset of the food that is out there. Atkins - go to Outback and you can only have the steak and not the baked potato slathered in butter and sour cream or french fries. There, you just cut out 40% of the total calories of the meal bringing it down to a sensible calorie level for dinner.

JonM said:

Good food is part science, part art. Getting a sensible and effective diet plan should be the same way, IMHO. Make it all science, and it becomes hard-to-follow drudgery pretty fast. Make sure you're enjoying your food too.

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Agreed. That's why I still eat the foods I love, I just eat less of them. Not need to say I'm going to not not eat some large subset of the entire variety of food out there.

Oh and if you can grow hops, there's a good chance you can grow 75% of veggies in your backyard.

Fresh veggies pack so much more nutrients than the junk at you local market.

It's comparable to a Bud Light (supermarket veggie) vs Stone IPA ( grow your own)

If you're not convinced try cooking and eating a fresh potato right out the ground - instant energy

I cut out fast food, which is HUGE, but far from ideal on it's own.

I ONLY use olive oil. I try to by Laura's or other local sourced meats, but that can be hard to do.

I drink 2-3 beers a night. I am 38 and I am a lean, rock hard guy. I walk a LONG distance twice a week. I eat very little. 1 big meal a day, and minor snacking 2-3 times/day.

Sounds like Yooper has it well figured out, but mine has me thin and in shape.

shoreman said:

Oh and if you can grow hops, there's a good chance you can grow 75% of veggies in your backyard.

Fresh veggies pack so much more nutrients than the junk at you local market.

It's comparable to a Bud Light (supermarket veggie) vs Stone IPA ( grow your own)

If you're not convinced try cooking and eating a fresh potato right out the ground - instant energy

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I don't buy that for a second.

Regarding beer, my advice would be to treat it as dessert (if you're drinking in the evening, especially). If I want to down a Russian Imperial Stout, I won't then have a slice of cheesecake.

It's funny how we all have our own ways. I eat a lot of pasta. I'm thin. A light pasta and veggie dish usually makes me feel fuller for longer vs. the heavy, old-fashioned meat-centered meals my mother makes when I visit. Maybe I've trained my body that way. I've also trained myself not to mind if I'm a tad hungry.

beersk said:

I don't buy that for a second.

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Which part? I'll help you out if you let me know which part needs further explaination.

shoreman said:

Which part? I'll help you out if you let me know which part needs further explaination.

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I thought his comment was extremely vague and non helpful myself.

shoreman said:

Which part? I'll help you out if you let me know which part needs further explaination.

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The part about supermarket veggies being less nutritious than home grown veggies.

I try to limit the beer drinking to every other weekday and I run 4 miles every other day. I'm pretty careful with what I eat and I tend to eat a lot of locally grown veggies since my girlfriend is a vegetarian. With that said, I don't deny myself the occasional indulgence.

I'm in great shape but I'm 25 and staying slim isn't very hard yet.

beersk said:

The part about supermarket veggies being less nutritious than home grown veggies.

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I don't know where you live but at most supermarkets in the US food travels great distances - alot the time they are picked unripe and chemicals are used to ripen them. Tomatoes are a great example.

Often food is coming from say Chile - every hour it has been off the plant it is losing nutritional value - some times it will take a week to get to you supermarket.

Picking right off the vine will you give you the maximum vitamin content, fiber or whatever you want to measure.

Shopping at a farm or a farmers market will help but supermarkets are the worst places to buy veggies.

I'm 52, been running for many years, ultras since 2006. I run 30 then 50 miles a week with the occasional rest week of 20 or so and none for a couple of weeks a year during travel. Over the last 10 years I went from around 170 to 190 lbs drinking 2-3 beers a night and eating relatively well with the occasional not so well days.

I was mortified when I weighed myself last year when I weighed in at 192 so I started a regime of no beer and 600 or less calories two days a week, otherwise eating normally and having my 2-3 pints.

I'm now back to 172-5 and have kept the regime. On 20+ mile days I'll have a couple of tequila shots with my 3 pints but otherwise 2 is all I want.

Oh and I avoid anything that has tons of preservatives and other chemicals - oretty much am Organic and eat meat maybe 2-3 times a month.

FWIW and YMMV and WTF!

Steve da sleeve

mtnagel said:

Eating more calories than you burn makes you fat. You can make it more complicated by the quality of those calories, but it really can be as simple as that.

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My only point was that for years, people were told that fat makes you fat...eat low fat foods, pasta being an example, to avoid gaining weight. To this day food packages tout "Low Fat" and "No Fat" as if that should be the deciding factor. It is misleading...something labeled "Low fat" might have a ton of sugar in it! And to your point, more calories. So I do not disagree with you at all.

I think Yooper has got it figured out diet wise. Only thing I would add is eating more often snacks in between meals so you aren't without food more than three hours and also drinking more water. Just the process of digesting food and water burns calories and if always eating or drinking something easy way to burn more calories. Exercise I like to lift weights and do 5 days a week. Muscle is what burns calories so more muscle more calories burnt and muscle just looks cool.

Sure, diet is important also. But, so is enjoying the things I love which include fabulous foods. We cook a lot, bake our own breads, make our wines, small garden, and now brew our own beers. Basically no fast foods for us. SWMBO puts us on a diet once in a while, maybe 4 weeks a year but exercise really helps us enjoy the things we love. Also, certainly get your labs checked once a year, cholesterol and liver enzymes help you make informed decisions on any excesses.

So I've been doing a modified paleo for about 3 months now... I say "modified" because I do still drink beer, I've severely limited but not 100% eliminated dairy, and occasionally have peanuts.

My weight (I'm 6'5" and now 35):
Apr 29: 272.2 lbs
Jun 4: 255.5
Jul 1: 252.2
Aug 1: 244.4

We just had health screenings at work, and all that with a total cholesterol of 121, glucose and all the other indicators in normal/optimal/ideal range, and I feel good.

Now, I do think as mtnagel points out above, that a severely category-restricted diet also becomes a calorie-restricted diet, as I can't load up on, say, a big bag of potato chips in one sitting. But at the same time I don't actually worry about portion control so much because I can feel a LOT less guilty about the calories I consume -- nutritionally, they're far more nutrient-dense than most of what I'd been eating before.