Brewing Beer, Drinking Beer and Managing Beer Gut

[onemanlan]

Nice topic. I've noticed I've gained a lot of weight since I started drinking. At lot of it has to do with how the body metabolizes ethanol and the remaining carbohydrates left in the beer. Most of the beer is going straight to our waste-lines.

I for one have tried to become more active by playing tennis, but it alone cannot stem the tide of my up and down drinking habits. Im about to start getting into lifting in order to help leverage off a few extra pounds soon.

I refuse to let what small beer belly I have take me over damn it!

 

[dougf]

You may never notice fat loss based on body weight vs body composition. Peoples body weight differ based on time of day, hydration level, amount of food in system, so weight itself is not an accurate measurement of fat loss, but body composition is (aka measurements)

 

[Gremlyn]

Nice topic. I've noticed I've gained a lot of weight since I started drinking. At lot of it has to do with how the body metabolizes ethanol and the remaining carbohydrates left in the beer. Most of the beer is going straight to our waste-lines.

I for one have tried to become more active by playing tennis, but it alone cannot stem the tide of my up and down drinking habits. Im about to start getting into lifting in order to help leverage off a few extra pounds soon.

I refuse to let what small beer belly I have take me over damn it!

Well, carbohydrates are the easiest/fastest for your body to break down regardless of where they come from. If you really want to drop the weight you need to increase cardio, not lifting, and for an extended period of time. Weight training will increase muscle mass (and overall weight), which will give your body more storage space for glycogen and will increase your basal metabolic rate (which tells you how many calories you'd burn off if you didn't do anything but wake up) but won't really help you burn off more calories overall. Increasing your cardio won't pack on the muscle, but it will fine tune the muscle you already have and increase your BMR more than lifting. They key with cardio is getting your body used to doing a certain activity without feeling REALLY tired afterward. If you're just started a new cardio activity and don't feel really tired afterward, it's not hard enough and you need to step it up

Case in point, I started playing outdoor soccer back in April after a few year hiatus. My weight was up to 231 at my highest measurement before i started playing. The 4-5 games were pretty brutal. I'd be able to run around about 15 mins and need a break. At the end of those games I was absolutely destroyed and couldn't bare to run another stride. After that I started getting a little better endurance and though I'd sill need a break every 15-20 mins, I wasn't so destroyed at the end. I picked up another league, indoor this time, so now playing twice a week and by the end of a game I can still go for a jog around the track.

I've dropped 15 lbs since April, and the speed of the loss has increased recently. The first month I didn't lose much, mostly because my body wasn't able to get into the fat burning zone of cardio initially but it can now.

I'm not saying don't lift weights, by all means lift away! Just don't expect that to burn the fat off unless you're going crazy hardcore and packing on muscle mass by the second.

 

[Hoppus_Poppatopolis]

Most of the beer is going straight to our waste-lines.

It certainly seems that way. I have to pee constantly once I get started.
Now my waistline, that's a different story.:fro:

 

[Fishin-Jay]

i'm 23 5'11 about 175-180 pounds. I power lift 3 days a week and depending on my training i'll run hills a day a week. I started on the craft beer and home brewing about 10 months ago thus making craft beer/home brew a daily part of my diet. I have 0-3 during the week but usually have at least one and probably around 6 on weekends. I haven't noticed too much of a difference in my body. I think some people need to just lighten up, life is to short to worry about the amount of normal calorie beer we drink. If you want a beer drink it because i'm pretty sure when your on your death bed you won't be thinking "damn I wish i drank less beer". Plus for most people its life style not beer that leaves them with un wanted results, lay off the fast food, eat more real food and drink more water.

I'm of a similar body style and history being 5'11'' myself, and I worked out about like you do and weighed about the same. Sadly as we get older it just doesn't work as well. I'm now 35, 5'11", and 195 lbs. I still work out 3-4 times a week, and I actually drink less than I did at 23. in fact, I drank like a fish at that age and it did little to nothing to my weight. Then i turned ~28 and i noticed i needed to exercise a bit more to maintain 180 lbs. Then I hit ~33 and started gaining weight, very slowly, but extra time in the gym and extra miles of running didn't stop it. I seem to have stabilized at 195 lbs, but I'm worried for the future.

The fact is, calories in/calories out is a great baseline for managing your wieght, but as you get older your metabolism changes and there's more going on than simple math.

Still, I agree with the "have one if you want one" ethic. As long as I'm not unhealthy, and my doc doesn't seem to think I am for my age and body style, then I'm not going to hold off on enjoying the good things in life just to scrape a few pounds off!

 

[BogusOwnz]

Funny my dad and I were talking about that very thing today. He said I have a skewed view being 23 and when I get older time and metabolism come into play. Guess I won't preach anymore and just be happy to be youthful.

 

[JebCkr]

If I know I'm going to have 3 or 4 or 7 I try to cut back on dinner/lunch accordingly. Cardio 3 or 4 times a week to balance it out. I can maintain my weight fairly easily and have found that when it rises it is usually from a week of mom's cooking and not beer.

 

[avidhomebrewer]

You can gift them to me. I have already accepted my pear shaped figure for what it is!

 

[TheCircuitBox]

In the movie "Beer Fest" the competition exercises while they drink. Not only can you drink more but you also get a work-out.

That or you can get one of those crunch machines, a sip of beer for every crunch.

 

[Ouroboros]

Running two miles for every beer that you drink is a good starting point.

 

[Tilldeath]

I already follow a strict body building style of diet, and do 5-7 15-30 minute HIIT sessions of cardio a week. The beers can add 450-700 calories a day to your caloric intake depending on ABV and such. A pint of a nice winter warmer will hit you with 300 cal and a bunch of empty calories. I am starting to think that is almost unrealistic to drink full flavored beer on a consistent basis and maintain 10% or less body fat.

Agree with this, though not impossible diet needs to be pretty strict and cardio heavy on drinking days. I Carb cycle so I just make my carb up days my beer days.

 

[permo]

Running two miles for every beer that you drink is a good starting point.

Oh man, I would probably never stop running!

I have actually started to just cut calories in other areas. Seems to be working. One thing I have noticed is that when I am drinking beer consistently my body retains much, much more fluid. I can easily sweat out 3-4 pounds of water weight during a workout.

One of the worst things that i have ever done for my figure, is put multiple beers on tap at my place......they just keep calling me...pour me...drink me....repeat!!

 

[ultravista]

I raise your Connery with a Borat.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

It is a very tough call. I eat 5-6 small meals a day, based around protein and healthy carbohydrates.

Didn't read all 10 pages so pardon if already mentioned but IMO, the 'healthy' carbohydrates is where you need to cut the calories. Eat the same meat/veggies/fruits you do now but 'drink' your carbs. And if you do eat carbs, eat them in the morning. Dinner should have zero bread/rice/potato/pasta/etc.

But I'm one that believes that carbs are not nearly as healthy as many believe. Carbs are an efficient way to feed large masses of people, not make them healthy. 'Healthy carbs' is almost an oxymoron imo.

We are led to believe that humans keep getting taller and taller as we 'evolve' but there is skeletal evidence that indicates that the original hunter/gatherers were just as tall as we are today. It wasn't until agriculture led to consumption of massive amounts of carbs that human's (esp children) growth was stunted and the average height plummeted.

When I used to work out a lot all the 'trainers' told me to load up on carbs. They all deserve a kitn imo.

 

[Skinner]

I have tried convincing SWMBO that we need to do more "activities" to burn off this beer, but she hasn't gone for that one yet.

I'd try this too but I need more than a 2 minute workout. ;-)

Cheers!
K

 

[mojotele]

Didn't read all 10 pages so pardon if already mentioned but IMO, the 'healthy' carbohydrates is where you need to cut the calories. Eat the same meat/veggies/fruits you do now but 'drink' your carbs. And if you do eat carbs, eat them in the morning. Dinner should have zero bread/rice/potato/pasta/etc.

But I'm one that believes that carbs are not nearly as healthy as many believe. Carbs are an efficient way to feed large masses of people, not make them healthy. 'Healthy carbs' is almost an oxymoron imo.

We are led to believe that humans keep getting taller and taller as we 'evolve' but there is skeletal evidence that indicates that the original hunter/gatherers were just as tall as we are today. It wasn't until agriculture led to consumption of massive amounts of carbs that human's (esp children) growth was stunted and the average height plummeted.

When I used to work out a lot all the 'trainers' told me to load up on carbs. They all deserve a kitn imo.

Erm, all sugars are carbohydrates and, thus, eating fruits means eating carbs.

But perhaps you just mean things like bread that are very, very high in carbohydrates of all types. If so, sorry, I don't mean to be pedantic.

 

[jstanley2]

About 8 months ago I started a job working in a factory. I am a 5'10" and was 190 pounds. Around the same time I got in to homebrewing. Since then I have dropped down to 155-160. It must be the beer and not the arduous job (HA). However, in regards to health, realize that there are more books out there on diet than there are minutes in your life to read them. Not to say you shouldn't pay any attention to your health. But if you want a decent and thought provoking book on diet check out "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell. It makes... sense.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Erm, all sugars are carbohydrates and, thus, eating fruits means eating carbs.

But perhaps you just mean things like bread that are very, very high in carbohydrates of all types. If so, sorry, I don't mean to be pedantic.

No, you're right, I should have specified 'complex carbs'. I've always used the word 'carbs' for complex carbs and 'sugars' for simple ones and it carried into my post. Thanks for clarifying.

Complex carbs were not nearly as easy for me to cut way back on than sugars, I just don't have a sweet tooth and have never eaten much fruit or sweets. But I love rice/potatoes/pasta/etc so with me it was always about the starches.

 

[MarkyMark80]

I race bicycles so that helps me offset my beer a night routine. I typically burn about 1000 calories a day, so 1 beer doesnt hurt.

 

[CountryGravy]

I read a good chunk of these, though I didn't get all the way through.

It appears the OP has a firm grasp on nutrition in the first place and already does plenty of HIIT. If your nutrition is perfect aside from beer... the only answer is the unthinkable... cut your beer intake.

You could drop some of your healthier calories, but you've probably planned those perfectly. I don't think you'd want much more cardio than the HIIT sessions you're already partaking based on your goals.

I'm 31 years old and in the Army. I normally run three times a week, lift four mornings a week at 0430 before PT formation, and do some type of crazy muscle failure twice a week with my platoon. If I don't eat anything crazy, I maintain around 230 lbs @ 6'1", which is "overweight" by Army standards, though I'm far below the body fat % allowed, so I'm golden.

I average a beer or so a day during the week, and sometimes I'll have three or four on a Friday or Saturday - at most six if it's an all-day affair. I never drink to intoxication, but the calories I take in will not be good when I get out of the Army in three months.

I'm a former fat kid, weighing in at over 300lbs when I was in my early 20's. I quit drinking beer (which means I quit drinking a 12 pack every other day) and I dropped 20 pounds in almost no time without changing anything else. Empty calories are killer!

I'm interested to know the resolution you come to.

 

[MyNameIsPaul]

I read a good chunk of these, though I didn't get all the way through.

It appears the OP has a firm grasp on nutrition in the first place and already does plenty of HIIT. If your nutrition is perfect aside from beer... the only answer is the unthinkable... cut your beer intake.

You could drop some of your healthier calories, but you've probably planned those perfectly. I don't think you'd want much more cardio than the HIIT sessions you're already partaking based on your goals.

I'm 31 years old and in the Army. I normally run three times a week, lift four mornings a week at 0430 before PT formation, and do some type of crazy muscle failure twice a week with my platoon. If I don't eat anything crazy, I maintain around 230 lbs @ 6'1", which is "overweight" by Army standards, though I'm far below the body fat % allowed, so I'm golden.

I average a beer or so a day during the week, and sometimes I'll have three or four on a Friday or Saturday - at most six if it's an all-day affair. I never drink to intoxication, but the calories I take in will not be good when I get out of the Army in three months.

I'm a former fat kid, weighing in at over 300lbs when I was in my early 20's. I quit drinking beer (which means I quit drinking a 12 pack every other day) and I dropped 20 pounds in almost no time without changing anything else. Empty calories are killer!

I'm interested to know the resolution you come to.

Holy NecroPost! I'm sure most of us in this thread have lost all the beer weight and gained it back three times by now!

Good on you for your Service, thank you for that! And here's to not going crazy with the beer gut when you get out!

 

[CountryGravy]

Oh wow... I must have clicked on a post from the "Similar Posts" portion! I spent 10 minutes reading four year old posts - AWESOME!

I'm going to have to be a little more careful with that. The OP is nearly 40 and hopefully doesn't have a huge beer gut by now. I'm going to fight that good fight when I get there - I'm headed back to school and sincerely concerned that a combination of beer, less excercise, and school stress will do my belly in!

 

[A2HB]

Bump! So since Ive started homebrewing Ive noticed my waisrline has been creeping further and further outward and its def starting to become an issue for me. Nothing too bad at the moment but i need to start increasing my exercise or it will be soon enough. For me its just about staying motivated and not slacking, sticking to a consistent biweekly workout regemine. Which is easier said than done obviously. Warm weather approacheth so gotta start making these moves soon. Not stoppjng my beer drinking though thats not happening lol

 

[GnenieGone]

I stopped eating. It's our only hope!😉

 

[SanPancho]

this is the "im a lazy bastard/too busy to work out" plan.
1- dont eat breakfast, just have caffeine- coffee or tea
2- a bit of exercise in the AM before you go to work/etc. break a sweat. (~10-15 mins)
3- eat a normal/healthy lunch and dinner
4- 1x a week do a 3-4 exercise muscle-failure weight session at the gym. (~10mins)

i can explain the basis of the plan for folks who want to know, but the important part is that i spend only about 1 hour per week on fitness. i'm asked if i've been working out/lost weight/etc. im a lazy bastard, so efficiency was my goal. it easier than you think. theres alot of science behind it, but the point is that you want the exercise you do to reinforce the drop in calories, not overshadow it.

with this 1hour per week i'm now at ~10lbs over my high school playing weight. still a little on the love handles and little belly fat, but considering the beer consumption i think thats about as good as it gets without turning into a professional gym rat.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I got tired of my gut. It was getting bigger and bigger. Went from moderately active job, littld exercise otherwise, drinking a lot, eating what I wanted when I wanted, and 290 lbs, to cutting back beer during the week, eating responsibly, and 5 hard gym days a week. Beer is where I've made the least cuts, but definite results. Down to 230 or so, dropped 8 inches, and packed on a lot of muscle.

 

[permo]

Oh wow... I must have clicked on a post from the "Similar Posts" portion! I spent 10 minutes reading four year old posts - AWESOME!

I'm going to have to be a little more careful with that. The OP is nearly 40 and hopefully doesn't have a huge beer gut by now. I'm going to fight that good fight when I get there - I'm headed back to school and sincerely concerned that a combination of beer, less excercise, and school stress will do my belly in!

I am the OP and I can say that weigh the same now as I did when I originally posted, actually I might be a little slimmer with added muscle mass. I workout with weights and cardio 5 days a week with an emphasis on Cardio....burn off the calories.

My diet is strict and I do not stray under any circumstances. I have not had soda, flour, sugar, rice, etc..etc... for over 3 years.

 

[Psylocide]

Move more, eat less.

 

[Gavin C]

.

 

[mattdee1]

I’ve noticed a lot of my buddies seem to think that if a) they gain weight, and b) they drink beer then it’s “OMG, I’VE GOT A BEER BELLY!”

Never mind the 2-3 bottles of Coke a day, the free donuts at the office multiple times a week, 3 creams and 3 sugars in each of 5 coffees per day, the greasy slim jims eaten as “small snacks”, the ruffles chips with dip habitually eaten at 10pm while watching TV, crappy processed microwave dinners for lunch and dinner, pizza multiple times a week, the 3 helpings of deep fried breaded chicken in sticky sauce at the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet, dessert after most meals, etc. Somehow none of that ever gets blamed for the gut—it’s always beer’s fault.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I’ve noticed a lot of my buddies seem to think that if a) they gain weight, and b) they drink beer then it’s “OMG, I’VE GOT A BEER BELLY!”

Never mind the 2-3 bottles of Coke a day, the free donuts at the office multiple times a week, 3 creams and 3 sugars in each of 5 coffees per day, the greasy slim jims eaten as “small snacks”, the ruffles chips with dip habitually eaten at 10pm while watching TV, crappy processed microwave dinners for lunch and dinner, pizza multiple times a week, the 3 helpings of deep fried breaded chicken in sticky sauce at the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet, dessert after most meals, etc. Somehow none of that ever gets blamed for the gut—it’s always beer’s fault.

Yep. Beer is calorically dense, but nothing like some of the processed stuff out there. I lost my first 40 pounds without cutting back drinking at all, just cut out the bad habits (like late night junk food), cut back the junk food in general to responsible levels and upped the healthy food, and work my butt off at the gym. I had to eventually cut back beer a bit to break through a plateau though.

 

[Stillraining]

pianoman: I stopped eating. It's our only hope!

Nutrition is over rated. Long live Beer

 

[littletommy]

At the beginning of 2015, I attacked my weight issue like I was going to boot camp. I didn't join any club or any of that BS, I just decided I needed to do it, I started out 2015 at 276 lbs (I'm 6'4"), I went the first 90 days of last year not drinking any beer, as opposed to 6 or 8 a night before, and put in lots of time with weights, and on the elliptical machine, hiking, and running. In November of 2015, I weighed in at 195. I found that 2 Iphone apps helped me greatly, myfitnesspal, and untappd. I used the fitness pal app to track what I was eating, and adjust accordingly, and the untappd app kinda became an obsession with me, and helped keep me on track. I used to just drink for the sake of drinking, now, since I've been on untappd, I only drink beer I've never had, with a few exceptions. Yeah, if I'm somewhere that has a certain beer I really like, I'll have one or two, or buy a case or three to stock my beer fridge, but the key is, I THINK about it before I drink it.

After a year of watching what I eat and drink, I finally came to the conclusion that I don't aim to be Mr. universe, but I want to stay at a healthy weight, and be able to do the things I want to do, my solution to that problem has been to stay active.....hit the weights hard, do some difficult hikes, run sprints, use some degree of restraint on what I eat and drink.....the result has been a 50 year old dude that is in better shape than he was 10 years ago, and still enjoys a good pizza, steak, sweets, beer, or anything else I deem reasonable.

 

[mattdee1]

Yep. Beer is calorically dense, but nothing like some of the processed stuff out there. I lost my first 40 pounds without cutting back drinking at all, just cut out the bad habits (like late night junk food), cut back the junk food in general to responsible levels and upped the healthy food, and work my butt off at the gym. I had to eventually cut back beer a bit to break through a plateau though.

I'll be 40 in a little over a year, I'm pretty much my ideal weight, and I drink all the beer I want. I just eat well and exercise.

It probably helps that I steer clear of big beers, too.

It's amazing how little most people know about the food they eat. In my earlier post I mentioned sticky, fried chicken from a Chinese food restaurant as an example. I know lots of people who would think "hey, asians eat healthy, and it's chicken... must be a reasonably healthy choice." When, of course, it's anything but. For starters, it's no more "chinese food" than a "MexiMelt" from Taco Bell is real Mexican food. And a single plate of General Tso chicken will blow through a full half of your allowed calories for the day, and more than that if you're at the buffet and reloading.

That reminds me of a story from a few years ago that I remember due to its complete absurdity. I was sitting at a pub with some friends and one of the guys with us ordered one of those silly beers marketed as "low carb" or whatever. He saw us kind of snicker, and he said "well, excuse me, some of us need to drop weight and need to watch our choices!"

Along with his beer he ordered a basket of chicken wings. In doing so, he had no idea that along with his "smart choice" in beer, he was eating what I'd estimate to be 1800 - 2000 calories worth of chicken wings and sauce.

I s*it you not, this happened. This is the kind of guy who will go home and tell everybody that he needs to work on getting rid of his "beer belly".

 

[beskone]

The biggest thing people don't realize about the beer gut and beer is not the extra calories you're consuming. Alcohol causes your body to create a specific stress hormone that directs you body to store fat around your waist area.

Ever see a cop with a beer belly, that doesn't drink? Same stress hormone.

What I do is eat 20-30 grams of protein first thing in the morning (never skip breakfast, it's puts your body into calorie savings mode!) I just do a plain greek yogurt with my morning coffee. This kickstarts your metabolism.

I eat a light lunch (except Friday work going out to eat day with the office mates), and I try to stay away from a lot of carbs. Dinner too, portion and calorie control is important to watch. You don't have to starve, just try to make better decisions.

I now try to limit my beer / alcohol drinking to just the weekends or if we are with friends or at an event during the week.

Woking out 2-3x a week for an hour, taking a hour long evening walk during the week after work when I can as well.

I started doing all this and have lost 75% of my beer gut that had gotten pretty out of control. All in i've lost almost 15lbs in about 3 months. Lost almost 3" off my waist so far.

It's all easy enough when you keep at it and doesn't really effect my enjoyment of food / beer at all.

 

[eadavis80]

Saw a great shirt at Founders Brewery last summer - I should have bought it, but I thought it was overpriced - still it spoke the the truth that works for me: "Run, Drink, repeat."

Hate doing weight training, but cardio is fine. Knock out 10-15 miles per week at a modest 8-9 minute mile and I have never once cared about what or how much I ate or drank. 34 inch waist and 187 pounds. It works for me, but I know not everyone likes to run.

 

[Qhrumphf]

See, I hate cardio, but like lifting. I'm finally down below a 10 minute mile for the first time since high school, and that's not easy for me (I'm doing a mile 9-9:30 or so depending how hard I push), but I'll maintain a 12 minute mile for an hour, ie I'll run 5 miles. But I see cardio as a necessary evil. But I much prefer doing something like a HIIT circuit to just running. Lifting, on the other hand, I love it. I'm currently able to push low rep sets (3-5 reps) with deads at 315, squats at 295, and bench at 245 but aim to go higher than that. But for right now, I'm doing a little less at higher reps, active rest (damned cardio in between).

I usually have something like a grapefruit or banana, a hardboiled egg, and some greek or icelandic yogurt for breakfast, maybe some wheat bread toast depending on my carb intake needs at the time, (I do 4 week workout cycles before switching to something different, if I'm going cardio heavy, I cut down the carbs, if I'm focusing more on weights I leave them in). Lunch is usually leftover lean protein and veggies from dinner the night before, water, an orange or banana, and I'll snack on veggies throughout the day. Dinner usually something lean (chicken or fish usually), plus vegetables. We do a lot of slow cooker chicken plus salad, since we can set it up in the morning and it's ready to go at night.

And then again depending on what I'm doing at the gym, whey shake post workout and casein shake before bed. Again usually associated with when I'm doing major weights, less so during cardio periods.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Saw a great shirt at Founders Brewery last summer - I should have bought it, but I thought it was overpriced - still it spoke the the truth that works for me: "Run, Drink, repeat."

Hate doing weight training, but cardio is fine. Knock out 10-15 miles per week at a modest 8-9 minute mile and I have never once cared about what or how much I ate or drank. 34 inch waist and 187 pounds. It works for me, but I know not everyone likes to run.

I hate running, but I'm going to get over it...

It's a bit pathetic, but I ran an entire non-stop mile for the first time in close to 20 years on Tuesday... And I had to work up to a mile distance...

But my goal is to do my normal 4.1 mile morning route, which I currently mix walking and jogging, to be entirely jogging. If I can get to a point where I can do that ~4 days a week (and hike on the weekends), I should be able to eat well, to drink beer, and still be the right size...

 

[eadavis80]

Running is pretty polarizing I think. You either can get to the point where you feel like it's not even exercise - like your brain just zones out for 30 minutes and it's 'cheap therapy' or you're like most people and every single step you're like, 'I want to die... I want to die... I want to die..." The key with fitness, I think, is to find something you LIKE. If you don't like it - no matter how many calories you burn or how many sizes you drop, or how much muscle mass you put on - if you don't like it, you'll quit sooner rather than later and be back to square one in no time. Good luck on the running and hiking.

 

[mattdee1]

Running is pretty polarizing I think. You either can get to the point where you feel like it's not even exercise - like your brain just zones out for 30 minutes and it's 'cheap therapy' or you're like most people and every single step you're like, 'I want to die... I want to die... I want to die..." The key with fitness, I think, is to find something you LIKE. If you don't like it - no matter how many calories you burn or how many sizes you drop, or how much muscle mass you put on - if you don't like it, you'll quit sooner rather than later and be back to square one in no time. Good luck on the running and hiking.

So true, I'd rather eat a casserole made of used band-aids once a week than run.