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
Hi Joel,
thanks for all the tips! IS there a way to counteract the sugar and calories
of having wine with dinner? I want to avoid the insulin spike. Happy Thanksgiving p
Again, it’s stocking your cabinets to present yourself with the better choice. I’ve known binge drinkers who have told me that they went into the fridge thinking to have just one beer, next thing you know, the fridge is empty. Good intentions just don’t always cut it.
Gee, I didn’t see the disclaimer for ‘real’ beer drinkers (Guinness, micros, European brews) before I signed up for “Holiday Fat Loss”. In fact, I was drinking an Obsidian Stout when I first read Joel’s e-mail! Now I’m looking forward to Joel’s new website: “Skinny Stout Suckers—How the great mass of humanity (i.e. beer drinkers) can enjoy their favorite beverage and keep the lbs. off!”
ps- I’m 54, 6’3″ & fluctuate between 185-190 lbs & played HS basketball @ 185 lbs. 2 yrs ago I was 210 & have brought my weight down without giving up what the Czechs call “liquid bread”. I plan to incorporate Joel’s plans but with the heresy of drinking great beer. I may not end up physically perfect but my mental health will remain intact as a happy beer lover.
Joel, Would you comment on diet sodas? While they are ) calories, I know that they tend to make you eat more and crave sugar. If I can resist those items and stick to the diet, will it hurt to drink one Diet Coke per day (it’s my caffeine jolt)!
I actually got drunk off of O’Douls one time! It was great!
Seems like a no-brainer — you can either have a six-pack or a six-pack, but you can’t have both.
Seems like a no-brainer — you can either have a six-pack or a six-pack, but not both.
I perfer the taste of craft beers (Dogfish Head, Sam Adams, Flying Dog) I love a good ipa. However I do limit to one or two at dinner one day every two weeks. So far it hasn’t effected any of my goals and I like the buzz. A far cry from my heavier days of drinking. It’s all “real” ingredients for the most part anyway.
Anyway it’s obvious but…everything in moderation even exercise.
Hi Joel,
So if you are planning to have a few drinks (accepting that this needs to be of the low carb variety and in moderation), is it best to have these on a higher GI day and not on a cheat day?
Thanks for the tips.
Good to know the diet is forgiving and practical. And yeah, I’m ok with the fact that it’s non-alcoholic. I’d say the fat loss is worth 10 times the alcohol buzz!
Thanks for the tip!
GIVE ME PROTEIN. NOM NOM NOM!!!
THanks for the tip never heard of that beer. what if u were kind of socially forced into drinking beer on an occasion, would it be all right to plan a hard workout within an hour before the beer fest to not get knocked back in fat loss plans too much?
Pretty sure that it was none other than Benjamin Franklin who said:
“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
I don’t drink much beer except for at the Jazz Festival during Memorial Day weekend where they serve a number of microbrews. I am curious about O’Douls and the Miller Sharps someone else recommended. May just try them to see what they taste like.
I live in Australia and have worked in clubs industry, we have low alcohol beers but I have never seen a NO alcohol beer here (I think they might be Illegal here… lol) but I prefer wine (Sauv Blanc or Merlo) anyway. Any tips here?
Cheers!
Hi Joel,
Thanks for the info, no more than one wine on my cheat day from now on!
Can you (or someone) give me some more specific foods to consume on my cheat day which are more beneficial to spike Leptin level, as from reading some of these posts, I think I have been consuming more of the high fructose corn syrup bad type ones??! I think I need some further direction!!
Many, many thanks!
Hi there,
a very good article on beer for the ones that crave it. I am a recovering alcoholic since 1989 and I would not even dream of drinking beer, alcoholic or non alcoholic!!! However, I am sure most people who do not have my kind of genes may enjoy the non alcoholic beer on their Cheat Day. The Cheat Day concept is absolutely wonderful, and as a finally recovering food addict thanks to CYWT, it probably saved my life.
Hey Joel,
Thanks for the tips on alcohol – I had some wine on my first cheat day, and I decided to avoid it for the next four. Enjoying your program so far!
Is wine safe or is the alcohol that bad for me?
I would never have believed it if I hadn’t read it. Non-alcoholic beer? Well, I can’t disagree about taste – O’Doul’s, Sharps’, and the like pretty much taste like most American pilsner types. So one is missing nothing but the alky. Now if someone would come up with a N/A porter and stout …!!
whooohooooooo free protein powder!!!!!!!!!!
oh yeah, and sweet post. i want to be chugging this at college :)
Hey Joel, I think that non-alcoholic beer is Illegal here in Australia (lol)
I prefer wine or bubbly though. How do they rate?
Cheers!
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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