Low-Carb Beer

mnblossom · Thu Feb 05, 2004 3:08 pm

I know that the book says no beer, but what about Mich Ultra or Miller Lite? I have a potentially tough weekend coming up and I get kind of sick of Diet Pepsi.

tango · Thu Feb 05, 2004 5:05 pm

hello there.

i'll probably here it from several different people BUT......

i have been on the diet for 3 mths now and met my goal while still enjoying beer. i did drink the low carb (Michelob Ultra).......i'm sure that i could have lost faster not drinking the beer but did still did meet my goal.
remember though....everyone's body is different.

LinnieX · Fri Feb 06, 2004 3:37 pm

in dr. agastons interview on Web md he says no. he'd rather you enjoy wine or even vodka.

just fyi, go to webmd and search for his name....there is a link around here somewhere...

tri-guy · Fri Feb 06, 2004 4:01 pm

Beer is bad because the type of sugar it contains - maltose - burns faster than any other type of sugar.

I tried Michelob Ultra before I started SBD. Yuck! They call that beer? Pour it out into a clear glass and it sure doesn't even look right.

I've had a couple of beers on phase 2, and I'm sure it didn't hurt me any.

But in phase 1, beer is a bad cheat. And I have to say that if a person can't stop drinking alcohol for the two weeks of phase 1, then that person just might need another type of program, not SBD.

tango · Fri Feb 06, 2004 5:28 pm

Here we go again!

SUSTAINING · Fri Feb 06, 2004 10:13 pm

I read yesterday on Prevention.com where someone asked Dr. A this question and he said that he has not done enough research on the new low carb beers but he would say that one or maybe 2 would be okay but his fear is that a person wouldn't stop there. Sooooooo, Dr. A is not frowning on the low carb beer and I must disagree with the post that it is nasty. I know that everyone's tastes are different, but I love it. It doesn't make me feel bloated and full like a lot of the other beers and the taste is very light to me, I enjoy it, 1 or 2 at a time.
But I also find Fresca with a splash of rum very refresing as well.

Lanette

tri-guy · Fri Feb 06, 2004 10:24 pm

I must admit that my favorite beers are things like Red Hook ESB, Guinness, Killean's Red, and the occasional Pyramid Hef, Heinekin or Corona. Mostly heavier and darker beers. I can drink Corona Light, and Michelob Light is good too.

But the Michelob Ultra I had was on tap at an airport bar and yes, I thought it was nasty. Maybe it's better from a bottle.

philly6000 · Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:12 pm

I believe that it does taste better in a bottle. I love all the heavier beers also, and although Mich Ultra doesn't compare to a Sam Adams or a Pete's Wicked, the bottled Michelob Ultra tastes pretty good to me when it is nice and cold.

Dave in Phoenix · Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:45 pm

Yep, here we go with the 'evil' beer thing again.

I also had a beer or two many nights while on P1, and do the same now. I've lost 10 lbs in six weeks, and I'm fine with that.

Why is it that those of us who don't want to give up beer on the diet have 'problems', but we sympathize with others who are ready to tear their hair out because they can't have sugar or chocolate?

We're not talking about getting blasted, just enjoying something we've always liked.

I think most of the naysayers mean well, but it comes across as preaching.

mamamia06 · Wed Apr 21, 2004 4:14 am

I second that emotion, Dave!

CHEERS!!!! :P

ezaldere · Wed Apr 21, 2004 8:16 am

Dave et al,

While I agree that the desire to enjoy beer is no better or worse than the desire to enjoy chocolate in phase 1, I think the beer debate is different because of the way that I've noticed many people approach the subject.

I have yet to read someone post a thread "I can't live without acorn squash!!!!" or "Oh my god, how am I going to LIVE without pasta!!!!!"

Never have I once noted someone complaining, "TWO WEEKS WITHOUT POTATOES!!! I'm gonnnna DIIIIEE."

Beer complaints are different. With other foods, it seems, we are able to pretty easily understand and accept that, at least for the first two weeks, we will be without them... and though some of us are less happy than others, no other food item gets the attention... and in some cases, the utter disbelief that borders on abject whining... that the concept of two weeks without beer receives.

I thoroughly agree with you that beer shouldn't be any different than any other food as far as for enjoying something, however, I think the knee-jerk reaction some people give it (who end up looking like they're dry Baptists at Octoberfest) comes from the fact that so many of the complaints are so insistant that beer can't be lived without for two weeks.

I'm constantly amazed that many on this board are perfectly fine with giving up all semolina pasta and white potatoes for the rest of their lives, but can't get over how they can't have a beer for 14 days.

And when you frame it from the perspective of someone who ENJOYS THE HECK OUT OF THE BEER but sees it as no more important than pasta or potatoes, the complaints end up looking like a far worse affliction than an addition to starches and sugars... if ya catch me.

And there's the other part of the complaints: The concept that, without beer, beer-lovers can't have fun, and without beer, beer-lovers can't hang out with their friends and party.

I have yet to read, "I'm going out with some friends Friday and Saturday night and they'll all be eating cranberry muffins. How am I going to enjoy myself with my buddies if I'm the only one at the table not eating a muffin?!?!?"

You see the difference? It's subtle, but it's important.

PattyBo · Wed Apr 21, 2004 3:39 pm

you may analyzing this issue a little too hard. I'm enjoy my cocktails on the week-ends and an occational glass of wine with my dinner. I don't feel like I can't live without it, but I didn't like the idea of having to give it up, esp. since I was giving up so much other things like, the foods and caffeine that we also have to give up during during Ph1. You may not have read about people not being able to live without potatoes for 2 weeks but you will read about people being carb addicts. Besides Ph1 is intended to cleanse you from carb and sugar cravings thereby making it easier to get rid of those cravings within a few days into the diet. For those of us who enjoy our cocktails on the week-ends, that habit doesn't die in two weeks because it's how we let our hair down from a hard week's work or whatever our stress is.

I've given up beer and now enjoy red wine. Although it wasn't a problem for me to give up in Ph1, I still thought about not being able to have it just like people think twice about eating anything that could make them gain weight. I believe Dr. A said no beer period, because of the sugar content so that changes in all phases of this diet for those of us who enjoy beer drikning.

Just a thought.

Dave in Phoenix · Thu Apr 22, 2004 4:57 pm

Good comments, and I also agree with most of what you have to say. Your type of logic isn't what gets to me, it's when the discussion moves from the nutrition/blood sugar arena to the 'willpower or lack thereof' arena.

And I recall seeing other posts over Thanksgiving or Christmas, where the wording is almost identical to the one you describe. Sort of a 'What am I going to do? Everybody else will be having cake/pie/cookies, etc.' I don't see anybody suggesting they 'have a problem'.

I personally think too many people look at this diet (and perhaps the rest of the world, for all I know) in absolute terms. Instead of fretting over what we 'can't have' or what's 'allowed', I suspect the successful SBD'er's are those who can see past the food list and understand why certain foods help or hurt. That's the only way to make it work in the long run.


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