First off, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I’m certainly thankful for you – each and every one of you are incredibly special and important me – YOU are the only reason I’m able to do what I love every day and share my passion with so many wonderful people. Thank you.
Next up – beer :)
So, when it comes to Cheat Days and the Cheat Your Way Thin program, one of the more common questions I receive is the beer question:
“How many beers can I drink, boss?”
Or something akin to that.
Well, within the manual one of the few “rules” I place on Cheat Days is that alcohol consumption be limited.
Why? Because alcohol intake lowers leptin levels, which is the exact opposite of everything we are trying to do hormonally on a Cheat Day.
So, what then, is the solution? Well, if you’re looking to get DRUNK, then I’m afraid there is no solution that will suit your lush-ish ways (yes, I know that’s not a word). However, if you just happen to enjoy the taste of beer and similarly prefer beer as your beverage of choice to wash down your Cheat Day feast, then there is one particular beer that actually may be able to boost your fat loss results:
O’Douls, non-alcoholic.
Fact is, it’s everything that beer is, just without the alcohol, and tastes strikingly similar to most other domestics. In fact, in a recent “study” (performed in my kitchen) 7 out of 7 people were not able to tell the difference between O’Douls and 2 other alcoholic domestic brews.
So, how can it help you burn fat?
Well, if you’re familiar with the science behind Cheat Your Way Thin, then you know that simple carbohydrates are by far the most effective nutrients for boosting leptin levels. O’Doul’s contains plenty of simple carbs, without the leptin-plummeting alcohol content (and it tastes just the same…after all, it is beer).
And it also contains ZERO crap carbs, like high-fructose corn syrup (the most common “beverage” sweetener), which has repeatedly been shown to be one of the most fat-promoting carb sources around.
So, for a Cheat Day choice of beer, I gotta recommend O’Doul’s. Yes, it’s non-alcoholic. Get over it.
But what if you want to have a beer during the week, not a Cheat Day? Is that totally off limits, or is it OK to sneak a light beer every so often?
Answer: Will a light beer on rare occasion totally sabotage your results? (I know, that’s a question, not an answer).
Considering that most light beers are around 100 calories, if you had 2-3 a week, I’m going to say no, that’s probably not going to make a substantial difference (especially if you’re compensating for that intake via other means [an extra exercise session, decreased cals elsewhere, etc]).
But hey, why not go for the lowest calorie and lowest carb content? Here are the Top 3 lowest-calorie, lowest-carb beers:
1. Bud Select 55 (55 cals)
2. Beck’s Premier Light (64 cals)
3. MGD 64 (64 cals)
They’re all less than 3 carbs per 12 oz. and a whopping 2.5% alcohol by volume (that’s how they’re so low calorie). But, I actually like Beck’s and MGD 64 − full flavor beers despite the minimal calorie content.
So, if you want to enjoy the refreshing taste of an ice cold brewsky (or 5 or 6) on your Cheat Day, go with the leptin-boosting properties of O’douls instead of the leptin-crashing properties of other alcoholic brews. O’Douls contains the right types of carbs to postively affect leptin (i.e. simple, fast acting, insulin-spiking carbs), while alcohol unfortunately counteracts the intended hormonal purpose of the Cheat Day.
On other days, a 60-calorie low-carb beer won’t do much damage, but it’s all about moderation (limit to a couple times a week and you’ll be good).
By the way, if you’re not using beer and all your favorite foods to lose fat faster every week–especially over the holidays–then what the heck are you doing? :) Pick up the Cheat Your Way Thin Holiday Edition and get started today with your first big Cheat Day – Thanksgiving!
==> Cheat Your Way Thin Holiday Edition
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Joel
Joel,
One of my favorite topics :)
Other surprisingly good light beers:
* Corona Light (actually tastes better without a lime)
* Amstel Light (best light beer to drink with food)
* Bud Light Golden Wheat (a light version of a Hefeweizen)
* Natural Light (almost like drinking water, so good on hot days)
* Becks Light (if you like the funky green bottle flavor in a light beer)
* SAm Adams Light (in between a regular beer and light beer)
Life without beer would be sad…so great post!
-Rusty
What is your take on Bavaria non-alcoholic?
Hey Joel great content. Now say you do drink a lot of alcohol at an occasion (like my birthday), I’ve heard it’s best to go on a total fast (just drinking water) the next day to counteract the effects and speed up the recovery process.
Is this true? What would you recommend if one decides to get plastered one night to get back in the fat loss groove of things?
Thank you for all your usefull blogs! their awesome!
I got a question though, If we spiked our leptin levels on our cheat day is it not a waste to fast the day after? I started exploring it, it sure feels good, but it dosent make sense to spike your levels only to fast the next day then they go down again, right?
Hi Joel,
How about Bud Light Lime, would that be alright to drink on a cheat day if you only have one or two? Patio season is just around the corner and my friends and I love getting together on an outdoor patio for a few pints!
Great Post!
When I do drink I like to treat myself to a good quality brew…Sam, Sierra, or a local brew. I figure for the amount that I drink, which isn’t often I would rather not drink a watered down light beer. Now, if I know I am going to drink more than a few…light is the way way to go!
O’Doul’s…lol! Awesome!
How does this apply if your drink of choice is wine, rather than beer?
Great post!
I love having a nice cold brewski post marathon. I just burned a bunch of calories so I guess I can afford to do that. And, I love a good German beer like Leffe!
When I want a beer during the week, I ‘ll have a 7 oz. Coors lite. However, on my Cheat Day, nothing but Chimay Blue will do!
Hi Joel,
Thanks for removing the guilt of slipping a beer in now and then. I have switched to MGD 64, maybe have 3 a month, but I will try the O’Doul’s … never even consider it before. Guess they need to work on their marketing LOL
And what about wine, especially red wine, for those of us who hate beer??
I drink every weekend, and feel that beer has been the biggest culprit to keeping me funky fat. I figured the best thing to do would be to just not drink for the time that I’m training to fast track results.
However, I’m a bit of a pushover when someone offers, so I may just incorporate one of these beers you speak of if I know I’m gonna cave. I will try the Odouls because getting drunk just has a negative affect all together…for a couple of days afterward. But for the fight tonight, I may give the Bud Select a try!
Thanks for the info Joel, it’s an eye opener to me. I thought I was the only one that had about 20+ wings on my cheat day lol.
Oh yeah with the discussion about having wine is pretty crazy, considering you’re in New Jersey right now and that’s where Dr Whelch first made non alcoholic wine out of grape juice. Just thought that was a neat fact to add in.
sorry bro i’ll stick to my Stella’s and Heineken,lol
Hey Joel,
This post caught my eye because I love the taste of beer mmm and the fact that it can be consumed in healthy way is even more pleasing.
I have to say I have dabbled with a few 0% brews and some just taste like malt (I personally thought this was the case with Bavaria). That said my favourite non-alcoholic is probably Becks Blue (I think because they remove the alcohol at the last stage, they are able to get quite a genuine taste).
As for low cal beers, I’m a big fan of Coors Light – it is extremely refreshing.
My weak spot is blonde beer and Leffe. There are usually super high cal but the flavour is divine. I will keep my eyes open for a low cal blonde beer – any suggestions??
Hi Joel, what about Bailey’s or other spirits??? or should I stop being lazy and just go google?? I think your Blog is officially my favourite btw .. And I’m not sure we have some of those beers in Australia – I’ll have to take a list to the local bottle shop and see what they say!!! Thanks again, :) A.
As far as beer, yes I drink beer but recently I have been drinking Sprit Zero and Seagrams 7. Is that better or worse than enjoying a brewsky?
How about wine?
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...read more