Doctor say's I no more beer. Drink vodka instead.

[billl]

You should go see a dietician before starting an extreme diet. I'm sure the Dr is well intentioned, but major calorie restrictions are actually counterproductive when trying to lose substantial amounts of weight. It's not just about willpower. Your body just can't burn fat that fast and will end up burning muscle as well. You might drop pounds that way, but lean muscle is what burns calories for the rest of your life. That means the second you go off the restrictive diet, you won't be burning as many calories as you used to, and you'll be more likely to just start gaining the weight right back.

If you won't go see a "pro", just cut 500 calories a day out of what you are currently eating. (1 beer would get you half way there - so would getting a small fry vs a large fry eg pretty small changes). That equals 1lb per week of fat. Try to add in a little exercise to burn a little more and you'll be right in the healthy 1-2 lb per week.

 

[MindenMan]

I completely agree with beernutz, watch your carbs, but first a little simple math; a 12 oz soda is 150 calories, 150 (X) 365 days a year = 54,750 calories /3500 ( calories in one pound) = 15.7 pounds lost by one very small change. I realize this isn't the answer to your weight problem, just an idea. Along with exercise, the Metabolic Diet is amazing! I am in the medical field, I am not a Doctor, and I have to be very careful how I word things as not to jeopardize my license, so forgive my vagueness. The Metabolic Diet is a functional version of the low carb lifestyle. Everyone I have suggested this diet to has had amazing results.How it works is you are on very low carbs for for the first 12 days, and then you get to have pizza or beer or chocolate cake, etc. within reason on days 13 and 14. And from then on 5 days of moderation, followed by real food for 2 days.. When I first heard about it, I was skeptical at first. I bought the book, and having a medical background the "math should work". I worked out three days a week, and always weighed 185 or so. I ate 2500 calories a day to see if I would gain weight, divided into 6 meals, and I did not gain any weight, but I did lose three inches around my waist. A guy my size should never eat that much unless they wanted to gain weight. Sorry for the long post, but six meals a day, and having (within reason) what I want to eat every weekend and started to really lose my belly fat, I was sold.

 

[Setesh]

I got up to 254, I'm 5'10". My doctor told me to cut down to 1200 calories a day to drop the weight. I got a second opinion from an actual dietitian who put me on an 1800 calorie a day diet with 5 days a week of working out. I got to keep my beer but had to factor that into my calories, so I ended up drinking 1 beer a day and drinking hard liquor after that if I wanted more alcohol. Weight fell off like crazy. I've been holding at 175 for the last 2 years by eating well and exercising. I have 1-3 beers a day and brew almost exclusively session beers. Exercise, portion control, and above all, the quality of the food are the most important things BY FAR. If you have an Iphone download MyFitnessPal and use it. You will be amazed how many calories are in certain foods. After you use it for a month you will learn what you can eat a lot of and what you can't. You can have a crapload of baked chicken for 500 calories, and I don't think it's humanly possible to eat enough green vegetables in one sitting to equal 500. By comparison you only get half a Chillis hamburger for the same amount. At Taco Bueno you can have 4 chicken soft tacos for 560, while a chicken Mucho Nachos is 1200 calories. Also, eating small meals every 3 hours helps a ton. You will naturally get hungry about ever 3 hours anyway, so if you satisfy that craving with a small meal in between (some apple sauce, cottage cheese, an apple, a banana, etc) you will find it easier to eat less since you never let yourself starve. When you are starving it is sooooo easy to binge, especially after you just drank vodka! For an excellent book either in print or audio check out The Body Fat Solution by Tom Venuto. It's written for the common man and is extremely helpful. Best of luck to you!

 

[evrose]

Given that.... most doctors are horrible nutritionists. The Gov approved food pyramid is trash.

As an MD, I can mostly agree with that. Nutrition training in medical school and residency is not great in most specialties. Some docs are better than others, with endocrinologists leading the pack in terms of general nutrition knowledge. And yes, the food pyramid is junk.

I highly recommend you get on the web and research nutrition.

So if there's one thing that's guaranteed to be a worse idea than listening to your doctor, it's using the Internet as a knowledge base. The signal to noise ratio is just WAY too low on the Interwebs. His best bet is to get hooked up with a nutritionist.

If you put out the effort to educate yourself you will find you can get back into shape, lose the weight, and still enjoy your two pints a day!

Yup, totally agree... It can be done!

 

[Yooper]

We're really not the place to get diet and nutrition advise- so definitely find a good source and follow up. The thing that concerns me is that a doctor who tells you to go on a 1500 calorie diet but didn't know if "a pint" is a little or not is probably a very poor source.

I personally do a primal/paleo type of diet, but still drink beer. I won't push that, except to tell you that both my husband and I are lean and very fit with low body fat and low blood sugar, as well as low cholesterol. There is more to being fit that how much you weigh- but being a lot overweight increases some health issues like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The one helpful thing I can tell you is hard, but would work for everybody! Don't eat anything that comes out of a package for 30 days. That means regular food, like meat and veggies and some fruit. Yes, I know meat technically comes in a "package", but that's not what I mean. I mean processed food particularly, but "fake foods" as well that Michael Pollan called "food like substances"!

Cut way way down on sugared things like packaged food, ketchup, etc. If you stay away from sugar and wheat and corn products (corn syrup is in just about every packaged item) it's a hard thing to do- but very worthwhile.

I would say just to try that- no packages for 30 days. That's it. Chicken, fish, meat, veggies for 30 days. If you try that, you may find that your hypertension disappears (especially if you're sodium sensitive). For beverages, coffee, tea, water (and a little beer). No soda, diet or otherwise.

I would be willing to bet that anybody who did that for 30 days would feel so much better that they'd stick with it. I did, and it's been years. I have more energy than most 30 year olds, and "athlete" levels of body fat (even though I'm terrible at formal excerise). I will be 50 in a few months. I weigh 135 pounds and am a size 4.

 

[Psych]

I love that Americans find 242lbs's is a fine weight, not on the heavy side at all.

Seriously...that's overweight unless you're a body builder or are over 7 feet tall. If you have hypertension, listen to your doctor and lower your booze intake, don't ask a bunch of fellow beer drinkers to justify you not taking your doctor's advise.

And 1500 cal's a day is NOT 'simply unsustainable' good lord...it's called a vegetable, you can eat them, and they don't need to be fried in butter - even if they taste better like that.

 

[madman960]

Along with exercise and the lose it app; try switching up the times you eat certain foods. Try to eat majority of carbs earlier in the day. And eat a high protein snack 30 minutes before bed. I had my wife do that and she is down 20+ pounds in 2.5 months. She takes in around 1800 calories.

Before she started her diet and exercise program; I had her keep a journal of everything she ate or drank for a month. She was amazed at how much she was snacking.

Bill

 

[beernutz]

I love that Americans find 242lbs's is a fine weight, not on the heavy side at all.

Seriously...that's overweight unless you're a body builder or are over 7 feet tall. If you have hypertension, listen to your doctor and lower your booze intake, don't ask a bunch of fellow beer drinkers to justify you not taking your doctor's advise.

And 1500 cal's a day is NOT 'simply unsustainable' good lord...it's called a vegetable, you can eat them, and they don't need to be fried in butter - even if they taste better like that.

I love that Canadians are over-generalizing and judgmental. Oh wait, that's just you.

 

[Setesh]

I would say just to try that- no packages for 30 days. That's it. Chicken, fish, meat, veggies for 30 days.

+1 to this. The book I mentioned "The Body Fat Solution" makes this priority #1, and so did my dietitian. I cooked all my own meals and nothing came from a box or can. You will be amazed how much food you get when it's healthy food. You won't be wanting for portion sizes that's for sure! Yooper is correct that you feel wonderful too. You are what you eat sounds so trite, but it really is true.

The downside to this is the convenience. You will have to prepare your own meals and it will take time. If you are crafty though you can make meals for the week and even freeze meals for later in the month. I would make a lot of soups and stews and then put them in quart ziplock bags in the freezer. I would thaw one out in the fridge overnight when I wanted it for lunch/dinner the next day. Very easy and you can make a crapload of soup or stew with little effort. Pot roasts, turkey or chicken chilli, hamburger soup (actually a weight watchers recipe that is really good). One of my favorite dinners is grilled chicken breast topped with a slice of cheese, homemade pico de gallo and a slice of avacodo. Server it with whatever veggies are the freshest at the farmers market that week. Farmers markets are great for fresh produce. Take any white fish, lay it on a piece of aluminum foil. Slice a lemon into slices and put it on top of the fillets. Grind fresh pepper over them and make a packet out of the foil. Cook them up and they are really good. You can steam some veggies at the same time with the packet technique. Put the veggies in the packet with 2Tbsp of water and some garlic, salt, and pepper (or whatever seasonings you like). I found that growing my own fresh herbs helped a lot as well. We did this in a small planters in the flower bed in front of the house. They actually fit right in with the rest of the flower bed plants. Garlic and rosemary chicken with potatoes is super simple and amazingly good and you can use your fresh herbs for it. All you need is a few potatoes, some chicken breast, olive oil and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary.
Basically it comes down to the fact that you can eat better tasting food that is much better for you but you have to do the work to cook it. I started off as a 254lb fat guy and now I'm dangerously close to being a 175lb 'foodie'. A few years ago if given the choice between food out of a box and making something from scratch I would have gone the box route every time. Now I am the opposite. If you aren't careful you may just find another hobby in all of this....

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Thank you all. I'm going to do this. If I can beat a 2 year old in a battle of wills I have the will power to stick to diet.

Can I chime in as a homebrewer AND someone who knows a bit about losing weight?

I tipped the scales at 281.8 pounds in 2004, I'm 5'10". I had been higher, but wasn't willing to get on the scale. I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sciatica and lower back problems. But when I hit the same pants size my dad was when he DIED at 60, I said "f*** this" and I joined Weight Watchers. In a year, I got rid of 108 pounds, and in that year I never gave up beer, or chocolate, or bratwurst. I learned how to LIVE a healthier life and stopped the bullsh*t excuses that most guys use then they finally admit that they are FAT. Most ****** guys never will pony up to the fact that they just eat too f*c*ing much. But I did admit it, learned how to eat (and drink) the right amounts of what I love. Got rid of it, have kept it off for almost nine years, and have NEVER dieted. Just learned how to eat.

Consider giving Weight Watchers a chance.

 

[Setesh]

...I had her keep a journal of everything she ate or drank for a month. She was amazed at how much she was snacking.

Bill

+1 to this too. Keep a journal. It really is the only way to know what you are really eating. If you don't you will sneak in extra calories all over the place.

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

I'm going to reiterate the thoughts of others and say, 'do something that is sustainable for you'. I've personally shed a lot of weight over the last 2 years and most of that I would attribute to exercise. Other folks I know have stuck to rather drastic diets and that's worked for them (but I love food too much for that).

 

[podz]

It will be harder to stick to that tight of a calorie count and keep drinking beer. 1500/day is pretty aggressive. ANY type of exercise you can work in will help. If you think of your 1500 calories as a net count with exercise built in it becomes much more achievable. For instance if you consume 2000 cal/day and then add in 45 mins on a elliptical trainer you will probably burn about 500 calories you would not previously accounted for.

Been there, done that, was even at the same height and weight. You are in the heart attack and type 2 diabetes risk zone.

You can exercise until your legs fall off and you will not lose a pound. You will get fit, but you will not lose a pound. The reasons are various, but let's just say that metabolism is a stubborn thing to adjust.

Fact: you get fit in the gym but will only lose weight in the kitchen

Several years back, I stayed on a 1500 kcal (or actually a little bit less) daily intake ketogenic diet for 8 months and lost 80 pounds. Ketogenesis is when you force your body to burn it's stored fat and use it for energy (you lose weight and do not feel starved or even very hungry). There's also tricks to that because if you don't use the tricks, your metabolism will just slow way down and will refuse to burn your stored fat for energy - then you will actually be starving. The trick is to do 3000 kcal or so once a week, i.e. eat what you want and drink beer but only on Saturday night. Step on the scale on Sunday and you will have gained weight, by Monday it will be back to normal, and by Tuesday you will see a net loss. Keep on losing Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Repeat the Saturday process again. Basically this process ensures that you do not remain in ketogenesis for the entire week and that your metabolism doesn't decide to slow down.

 

[Setesh]

You can exercise until your legs fall off and you will not lose a pound. You will get fit, but you will not lose a pound. The reasons are various, but let's just say that metabolism is a stubborn thing to adjust.

Your metabolism will adjust to your food intake and exertion. If you burn 2000c a day and eat 2000c a day you won't lose any weight. You are in balance. If you burn 2000c and eat 1500c you will lose weight. You have a calorie deficit. If you burn 2000c and eat 2500c you will gain weight. You have a calorie surplus.
It really is just that easy for a normal person. If you are one of the small percentage that actually has a glandular problem then your results will be different. Luckily for most of us it is as simple as IN vs OUT.

You can exercise until your legs fall off and you will not lose a pound. You will get fit, but you will not lose a pound. The reasons are various, but let's just say that metabolism is a stubborn thing to adjust.

This is only true if you compensate for the extra calories burned by eating more calories. As I said above, it's all about IN vs OUT. When you exercise you increase the OUT side of the equation, making it easier to lose. It doesn't guarantee you will lose weight. Many people are what is called 'compensators'. When they work out they eat more. It's not that the exercise didn't burn calories, it's that they ate the same or more that what they burned off.
It's funny (and sad) how brainwashed we have all become with all of the fad diets, medicines, etc. Marketing works, and this is one of the most heavily marketed areas of our society. You can do specialty diets and they will work short term. If you have a lot of willpower they can work longer term as well, but are you going to stick with a ketogenic diet for the rest of your life? Doing something that is sustainable is the key. You need to learn the proper care and feeding of your body so that you are healthy the rest of your life. Going on a ketogenic diet doesn't teach you anything sustainable unless your idea of sustainable is to go on a ketogenic diet every time you need to lose weight. Luckily we all learned the basic math to lose weight when we were in grade school: X - X = X. That's it. It's just that easy. And it's sustainable. If you are getting fat you are eating too many calories to maintain your weight. If you are losing weight you aren't eating enough calories to maintain. Learn what calories are in the food you eat, keep track of every single thing you eat, and all the mysteries will disappear.

 

[podz]

Triggering your body to use stored fat as energy is not as simple as introducing caloric deficit. It's not a black and white mathematical truth because metabolism is a highly complex function that is overly selfish by default and attempts to control you in every way it can with insulin. Metabolism needs to be voided of it's ability to use insulin as a tool, then it will start to behave and do what it's told. Ask any person who had to work to get their visible abs how they do it, and the answer will invariably be "in the kitchen". Not in the gym, but in the kitchen.

You'd need to be running non-stop for something like 15 hours to burn one pound of fat. Exercise is practically ineffective at weight loss.

BTW, one shot of vodka is like 90 kcal. One beer is something like 4 times that, or more. There have been plenty of guys living on 4-5 beers a day for periods of time (monks), normally something sturdy like hefeweizen. Not saying you should consider that, but I'm pretty certain that you could fit one beer a day into your 1500 kcal limit if that were a priority to you.

Good luck.

 

[irishrover32]

1500 calories is very low at that rate your going to be loosing a lot of muscle aswell as fat which is counter productive as muscle burns fat. the guide usually goes along the line of 15 calories per pound of body fat to maintain your weight. to loose weight your talking about 10-12 calories per pound of body weight a day, for a chap like yourself to loose weight by consuming 10 calories per pound of body weight a day you should be consuming 2420 calories a day. i would definatly advise counting calories i use a spread sheet type thing which makes it pretty simple specially if your eating the same stuff every day theres also apps you can get which can do this. try get some exercise a few times a week lifting weights can be extremly enjoyable and theres loads of programmes online. the first 2 or 3 weeks are the toughest keep with it and you'll be flying in no time. good luck

 

[noblebrew]

Thank you everyone for the input. I apologize I'm more of a lurker on the forum the an active participant.
So far so good. I'm on day 3 and I'm drinking a ton of water, eating fresh fruits and veggies during the day. For dinner I sit down with my family and eat a homemade meal. This is important to me to sit and eat dinner with my family it something we have always done and something I will always continue to do. So far it hasn't been to difficult to keep to the 1500 calories/ day I'm just eating a lot of steamed veggies at dinner. I love them.
So I am a stay at home dad and have 3 kids under the age of 5. I started writing this post about an hour and a half ago, and I have totally forgotten where I was going with it. So, thank you all for the input and advice. I have made losing weight a priority. Thank you once again.

 

[ted464]

A mix of cardio and weight training is the key to everything, mixed with diet of course. It is not so much the calories you take in IMO, but what you are eating that make up those calories... 1500 calories of fruits and vegetables is obviously different for your body than 1500 calories of donuts. Drink what you want, just get on a good workout routine of BOTH weights and cardio.

 

[BugHunter]

At nearly 250lbs and at 1500 kCal/day you're asking for failure. Get a second opinion from an actual dietitian because at that calorie value per day you're going to be burning through your lean muscle mass right along with your fat, it's FAR too low for your weight.

I'm not an expert but I like to think I know a thing or two about losing weight while still enjoying beer. In 6 months I went from 195 lbs and 21% body fat percentage to 175 lbs and 7.5% body fat. I used the MyFitnessPal app to roughly track my intake and kept to about 2300 kCal (with roughly 1-1.5g protein/lb of body weight), ran treadmill 2 days a week, and did an hour of muscle-group free weight muscle group strength training 3 days a week.

The wife loves my figure, I still get to drink a pint or two a day, and I make my doctor happy. Your doctor, telling you to cut so much... they're just asking you to fail.

 

[Skeptidelphian]

I went to the Dr. yesterday, and low and behold I have hypertension. I am also overweight. 242 lbs at 5ft 9in. So I need to lose weight I get it. So now I'm supposed to count calories. I can do that she put me at 1500 calories a day. I can do that as well. Then the conversation turned to drinking and she asked me "how much do you drink?" She inquires.
"A pint and a half a day" says I.
She has this confused look. "How much is a pint? Is that a lot?"
I convert it to oz. "About 24 oz so two beers I guess"
"Ok well you have to stop drinking beer."
"I brew my own beer I have a kegerator and two taps. I just started 5 gallons of cider before I came over, and 12 gallons in my pipeline. Brewing is my passion. It helps keep me sane." I tell her.
"Well if you need to take the edge off just take a shot of vodka." She tells me.
At this point I realize she doesn't understand.
So my plan is stick to the 1500 calories per day and just count the beer in there as well. Man, am I glad that beersmith calculates calories.

Whoaaaaa, 1500 a day? That's less than you need daily to maintain your health. I've dropped from 312 to 238 in two years, and I still drink beer and all.

Read up on proper weight loss nutrition:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/losing-weight-and-building-6-pack-abs/
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

 

[Likefully]

It actually isn't really about how much you eat - it's what you eat. You can eat AS MUCH lean meat and vegetables as you want, but not the same with grains and starch.

Get a bucket of salt and read Tim Ferris's 4 Hour Body. His dieting advice is good, even if he exaggerates the results.

 

[noblebrew]

So far so good. I do about 1200 calories a day then have a beer. So far I have finished under the 1500 calorie a day mark every day. I am using the my fitness pal app it is awesome. I love veggies not as much as I love cheese or peanut butter. So now I just eat a bunch of steamed veggies at 25 calories a cup and have a small treat afterward. Seems to be working so far. I am following the warrior diet. Which is how my dad eats and he hasn't gained or lost a pound since he was in high school. So I'm believe it is sustainable way of life. I have read the 4 hour body. The primal blueprint. The warrior diet, and a plethora of other books. I know I'm fat, and I don't like it. Here is to a great change of habits. Brew on.

 

[noblebrew]

So I mentioned that I have my fitness pal app, and when I got it started it asked for all my info it put me at 1570 calories a day. So that's 2 lbs a week according to my doc and the app.

 

[podz]

So I mentioned that I have my fitness pal app, and when I got it started it asked for all my info it put me at 1570 calories a day. So that's 2 lbs a week according to my doc and the app.

2 lbs a week, that is just about how it went with me more or less.

You are going to be needing smaller pants about once a month. It will get real expensive going down from 42->40->38->36->34->32 unless you hit the second-hand stores for smaller pants until you reach your final goal.

 

[HornetSparky]

If you are a smartphone owner, you might look at the LoseIt app. It makes it pretty easy to track intake and output, thereby allowing you to earn--in a sense--you favorite indulgence through exercise. No gimmicks, just a daily caloric budget and an easy food and exercise logging interface. Used it myself and found success. There is still discomfort in weight loss, but this app made it rational for me, which helped.

 

[noblebrew]

I'm still going strong. Yesterday I only had 1300 calorie's I'm pumped. The thing is I'm not going to bed hungry and I don't feel like I'm starving my self. If anything I have more energy now. I no longer feel like I need a nap around 4. Any one have any good recommendations for cook books?

 

[geek_chaser]

Good for you for sticking to it. Soon you will be able to drink again.

 

[m3n00b]

I've only gained 2.5 lbs since starting homrebrew a year ago. I drink a lot more beer now too.

 

[podz]

I'm still going strong. Yesterday I only had 1300 calorie's I'm pumped. The thing is I'm not going to bed hungry and I don't feel like I'm starving my self. If anything I have more energy now. I no longer feel like I need a nap around 4. Any one have any good recommendations for cook books?

That's a sign that your body is burning fat for energy and that the insulin spikes are flatlining. It's the insulin spikes that make you tired.

Losing weight is boring. I ate exactly the same thing every day for 8 months.

2 boiled eggs and a cappucino for breakfast.

1 can of tuna (in water, not oil) or 1 can of low-sodium sardines, 5 calamata olives, 5 sun dried tomatoes, and 5-10 capers for lunch.

1 baked chicken breast with mustard, 5 almonds, and a pile of broccoli for dinner with one tablespoon of olive oil on top. 1 glass of red wine (1/4 of a bottle), and 1 small square of chocolate for evening before bed.

Every day, for 8 months. Except for the saturday thing I mentioned.

 

[glenn514]

Setest and several others hit the nail on the head. It's all about IN and OUT. The amount of caloric INPUT must be less than the amount of caloric OUTPUT in order to lose weight. If you consume more calories than your body will use, you will gain weight; if you use more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. It becomes a matter of balance: reduce the consumed calories or increase the calories used. Exercise is vital to finding and maintaining that balance. Three years ago, I went from 257 pounds to 192 pounds in less than a year simply by watching what I ate and exercising regularly. I've regained some of the weight lost, because I haven't been doing my exercise routine. But for me, it was simply to balance input and output, and make sure I was burning more calories than I took in.

glenn514