Beers, carbs, and weight loss

One of the main reasons (perhaps the only reason) why I ended up at 235 lbs in my late 30's after a lifetime of being extremely fit, and then at least appearing as though i was.... was beer.

Beer and I became friends when I was 18 and it's been a love affair ever since.

_{my best friend and worst enemy on the table in front of me at the near peak of my fatty-dom}

When I looked in the mirror one day and hated the fatty staring back at me I knew that I needed to make some changes and wishing it away and making grand changes like "I'm not going to drink beer anymore" were completely unrealistic. I knew that I would not stick to this change and therefore needed an alternative. Thankfully, through the wonders of science and capitalism, we have a TON of options as far as our brewed friends are concerned.

The reason why this is so important is because for a normie like me, it isn't very uncommon for me to have 6 beers or more in a night. Can you think of anything else that you would consume on such a level? 6 cheeseburgers? 6 plates of pancakes? 6 orders of Nachos? It isn't going to happen outside of an eating contest and that is why it is really important we focus on that.

Corona

A favorite among sorority girls and people who like to pretend they are on vacation. This seemingly harmless brew is loaded with carbs. At nearly 14 grams of carbohydrates per bottle, this little vacation is going to give you a perma-gut if drank with any regularity. Put a lime in pretty much any other lager and it tastes the same anyway.

Michelob Light

I include this on the list not because it is a great beer or even because it is very popular but because it, and all other "light" beers aren't really all that light. Some of them have nearly as many carbs as a full-flavored beer. At nearly 9 grams per 12oz bottle, a big night out with these bad boys (or any of their brothers like Coors, Bud, or Milwaukee's Best) is going to set you back a lot more than you want to be adding to your system.

If you want to lose weight and continue drinking, you gotta dig deeper.

Miller Light

I don't know if they are visionaries at Miller and Co. but these guys were on the low carb train before it was popular. At a mere 3.5 grams of carbs per bottle (drink it from a wide-mouth can if you are a true American) you can pound these bad boys all night every night and be a lot better off than your pals.

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This list really only applies to people who, like me, drink excessively on a regular basis. I apologize for focusing primarily on favorites in America, but I am American. The same is true for most lagers around the world as well.

I know that excessive drinking is not healthy but some of us choose to live our lives this way and I am here to tell you that you don't have to have a massive gut just because of the fact that you enjoy our hops-filled pals.

_{I'm drinking in every one of these pictures as well as most pictures that exist of me}

It should come as very little surprise that almost all micro-brews and craft beers have extremely high carbohydrate content. For example the Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale has an astounding 30 grams of carbs per 12 oz bottle.

The good news for the people who drink fancy beers is that generally speaking, you aren't going to have 12 of these in a night as you attempt to re-live your college years well into your 40s. You should probably still try to be at least a little conscious of how many carbs you are getting anyway, and one pretty reliable method of doing that is to put the MyFitnessPal app on your phone.

It's free and it even has a barcode scanner since for some reason, beer manufacturers are not required to put nutrional information on their labels.

_{Guess who can lose weight? You can}

_{I am not a weight-loss professional / nutritionist / or trainer. I am merely recounting the steps i took and choices I made that resulted in me losing over 50 lbs in a year and keeping it off. I believe it will work for other people as well}