So recently, the wife had another bad spell that entered her into the local pin cushion club (aka hospital). A few adjustments to meds and diet was the exit strategy.
We were put on what we dubbed the “Low 5 S plan”: Low salt, low sugar, low starch, low stress, and low scotch was the Dr orders. We settled on an arbitrary number of a moderate 50 carbs per day. According to the Mayo Clinic the avg is 250 carbs per day so we figure we will be OK with our arbitrary target.
I figured it wouldn’t hurt me to join her on this new adventure because I am the chief cook and pot washer around here and low PITA is my mantra. IOW, I am not cooking 2x different meals 3x daily.
So… that got me to thinking about my HomeBrew. How many carbs are in a pint? I already cut down from my normal 2-3 pints to 1-2 pints per day. (Lately, that’s been more 1 than 2.) …and I began trying to hit lower ABV% beers prior to the latest diet plan.
Incidentally, I calculated my 203 lb ideal weight based on this calculator: Ideal Body Weight Calculators Let’s just say I have some room to improve so eating less carbs, drinking less, and moving more might not be such a bad idea.
BeerSmith, my brewing software of choice, has a calorie counter but not a carb counter (on the mobile version which is what I gravitate to). I came across this calculator and thought I’d share it: Beer Calories & Beer Carbohydrates
The two beers I currently have on tap are a 4.5% ABV Summer Ale that clocks in at 15.2 carbs per 12 oz pour and a 4.6% ABV Landbier that clocks in at 19 carbs per 12 oz pour. The APA I have conditioning/carbonating clocks in at 13.7 carbs. 27-38% of my arbitrary target of 50 daily carbs. [emoji15]
How about you? Anybody else counting carbs or other diet plan?
Back in the old days of the beer world I wrote a blog that would give you a rough estimation… but maybe someone smarter than me made an app by now. You would just have to do the backwards math.
"You still need to account for the residual carbohydrates in your beer. Though, that gets a bit difficult without knowing the intimate details of the beer.
For the ease of estimation, it is safe to say that you would attain half of the total number of calories of alcohol from carbohydrates. So, in our situation 101.92/2+101.92=152.88 calories in a single bottle of Fat Tire. According to the website, Fat Tire has 160 calories per serving. Not that far off."
Tangentially related, I have had a lot of success with a Fitbit for losing weight. I thought they were really dumb but they seem to do a good job of estimating actual calories burned throughout the day.
I count calories not carbs. I think counting either is helpful to show you what your actually eating.
I use a Garmin watch that monitors my activity (same concept as Fitbit) and tells me how many calories I have burned each day. I pair that with an App called MyFitnessPal that I use to track all calories I eat. I weigh almost everything I eat with a kitchen scale (same one used for hops and grain). I limit my beer to 16 ounces per day.
I lost a lot of weight on this plan and have been able keep if off with exercise and continuing to count my calories. I also eat 3 meals a day and limit snacking. That lets me eat a big meal at night and get all the way full. That helps a lot. I used to eat smaller meals and snack a lot but, that was hard with this diet because I was hungry all the time.
When counting calories you match
calories in to calories burned to maintain weight. Loosing weight requires eating less than you burn. Eat 500 less per day to lose 1 pounds per week. Eat 250 less per day to lose 0.5 pounds per week. The 250 plan per day is much more doable.
I am a runner. My wife is a walker. Obviously, I burn more calories than her but both of us have had good luck with this calorie counting diet.
PS. I started doing this in April 2018 and haven’t stopped. It really works for me.
Beer Tools Pro estimates calories and carbs. It’s a fairly decent program. I used it to figure out the calories and carbs for YH’s beers. Is it legit? … sure it is
About 6 years ago I found the “Lose It” app, which helped straighten out my diet and show me where I was really going wrong and what wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. I used the app for about a year and a half until I got in a routine and felt comfortable going it solo. I lost about 40# while using the app, and in the last few years I have only put 5 back.
Biggest takeaways I got were:
Watch the booze. Special occasions aside, I only partake on the weekends anymore. I don’t miss the Tuesday night beer. This has the added benefit of getting me loopy much quicker, so I drink a lot less on the weekends than I used to. It’s also why I can’t put up with crap beer. If I’m not drinking something good, I don’t waste my time (or calories/carbs).
Don’t eat or drink late at night. A big no-no. Eating or drinking right before bed is the absolute worst thing for me.
Exercise is a must. Even if it’s just a walk.
Sugar can go to hell. Vodka and tonic, no way. Vodka and club, much better.
Counting calories or carbs is a pretty good idea, at least for a bit. In short order, you’ll know what to avoid and what’s good for you. And then you won’t have to bother with counting anymore, your lifestyle will have changed.
I’ve been up and down with my weight my whole life. When I’ve been successful at losing weight, it has been primarily by counting calories. Up until last year, I would typically settle in to a diet that focused on lean protein and carbs, since fats are generally of much higher caloric content. But diabetes runs in my family, and last year I had an A1C of 8.3. It was pretty tough to make the switch from primarily protein/carbs to a low(er) carb diet, but thankfully the current Keto diet fad has provided a lot of alternatives to certain foods that I had to cut back on. I was able to get my A1C down to 5.9 based on diet alone, although I do wear a continuous glucose monitor, so it is easy for me to see what various foods do to my sugar to learn what I can and can’t get away with. I don’t count carbs specifically, but I know what my safe choices are.
Whatever you count, you will have much better results if you keep logging in your foods, even if you have a bad day or if you start eating the same things over and over and don’t feel like you need to any more. Small, infrequent cheats become larger and more frequent. If you don’t hold yourself accountable, then it’s easy to fall off the wagon.
For counting, I use the SparkPeople app/website. They have a pretty big database of foods, and it’s easy to add stuff that’s not already built. It’s also easy to copy meals from one day to the next if you eat the same breakfast, pack the same lunch, etc. When I count calories, i usualy also set a minimum protein amount as a secondary measure. For me, it helps guide me to the food choices that work best for me.
there are a few threads like this. i react strongly to them because i think north americans are crippling our potential because of poor diet.
to summarize my thoughts (note: i have been in shape for the past several years despite “moderate” drinking)
-no “sweet treats”/desserts we believe we have “earned” from x behaviour.
-contradictorily, use 1 or 2 tsps of sugar on vegetables when cooking dinner. i salt my vegetables relatively heavily because it allows me to eat more vegetables. make vegetables that actually taste good and you will eat them.
-no boxed or frozen-prepared foods. stuff that says “HEALTHY CHOICE” brand stuff is merely a marketing claim.
-prep and eat whole vegetables, fruits, meat.
-don’t drink alcohol really excessively.
-drink black tea and coffee every day with no sugar, and little milk to reduce hunger pangs during initial stages.
-exercise.
-don’t bother counting or making little charts or whatever. they will only make it seem like a hassle and encourage lying to ones self.
the medical system is good at treating acute issues, IMHO they are terrible at illness avoidance and chronic issues.
I have been meaning to start a similar thread, so thanks Brewbama.
I have been similarly working on reducing calories and especially carbs. Fortunately, I am currently quite healthy but want to stay that way and am a bit overweight and have a family history of diabetes and just feel better when I don’t eat overeat, especially carbs.
I also want to reduce my overall alcohol consumption.
Some will say just give up beer or have it as a rare treat. Nope. I would like to drink tasty beer regularly but not excessively. So recently my wife and I have tried out some low carb/ calorie beers and I have started brewing them.
I currently have an IPA I brewed on tap that is about 95 calories and 6.5 carbs per 12oz. It’s good and I would like to make more good light beers for this summer. My memory is that the OG was 1.032, 90% pale malt, 10% wheat malt, and hopped to about 40 ibu. I used a NEIPA hopping method: pretty heavy whirlpool addition plus dry hopped while still krausen. I used cascade, simcoe, and citra.
I crushed up a beano tablet in the fermenter when transferring wort to hopefully break down starches and got a 1.006 FG.
It has a very light body and strong, but not harsh, grapefruit character, very refreshing. This was a very promising proof of concept.
I would like to further experiment with more ipas, lagers, and saison.
Here’s whatI’ve been doing: I cooked a Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole from Ditch the Carbs web site for a church dinner. It was awesome. …and we did tacos with a Pioneer Woman taco seasoning adjusted with no salt and low carb Carb Balance tortillas. I couldn’t tell the difference in reg tacos.
Last night I baked a low carb pizza with King Aurthur’s Keto Flour blend. Not bad at all. They have a few recipes on their site for other baked goods. I even made low carb brownies. Admittedly a little cake-y but otherwise delicious. …and the Sugar Free Jolly Ranchers are out freaking standing for a piece of candy (3.5 each so one is enough from time to time).
I don’t see a problem with BBQ but the sides are the key. Fran McCullough’s Low Carb Cooking describes several good meals and offers a lot of side dish variety. …and the Drink Beer, Get Thin book by Bob Skilnik even plans a beer a day into the menus he lays out once you hit a transition or maintenance phase.
Keys: drink water and snack often. Our Dr said even lowering the carbs modestly as we have done will cause the body to use the carbs that are available first, then start using the body’s reserves to loose weight.
i don’t want to seem like a dick, though i know i already do. but these types of foods are almost the core issue with the north american diet.
there are very little nutrients in any of these, even under optimal circumstances “i added a few veggies on the pizza”. afaik almost all adults of any ethnicity have a decreased ability to handle lactose, which is why i only eat cheese occasionally now.
a “snack” should be fresh, unprocessed fruit or veggies, and frankly focusing on 3 meals a day with no snacks as an adult would be ideal.
as i said previously, use non-sweetened caffeine as a tool to stave off hunger/boredom between meals. if you are overweight it is absolutely healthier to have a coffee or tea than a doughnut or candy or whatever.
north americans are probably the most malnourished people on earth, and we shouldn’t be. our ancestors didn’t eat this stuff ie. pizza/hamburgers/tacos. they are junk food no matter how you prepare them.
furthermore, the pH of coke classic is 2.50. the pH of coke zero (so healthy!!) is 3.18. dentin dissolves below a pH of 6.5, tooth enamel dissolves below 5.5. Imagine what this stuff does to your insides. Never drink pop.
i say this stuff as educational, and sincerely wish all of you better health.
While I certainly appreciate your thoughts, many I agree with, the “low salt, low sugar, low starch, low stress, low scotch” diet was recommended by the attending physician in the hospital. Just to be sure, we ran it thru a second opinion from my wife’s internist who agreed with it. So, I think I’m gonna go with them on this one. Cheers!
This is getting Facebookish. I’d rather not lock it. Let peoplem eat what they wnt to eat, and you (everyone else) do the same. If there is hard science, present it without judgement. If you have an opinion, either keep it to yourself or make clear that it’s an opinion.
My opinion is we need to meet positive changes in our diet where we are at and trying to be perfectly scientific isn’t sustainable for some people. It sounds like what Brewbama and his wife are doing are positive steps recomended by a doctor but more importantly IMO are things that they can do indefinitly while enjoying themselves. I, for instance, know I am not going to give up beer, bread, and pasta forever so I do some of the subs similar to what BB mentioned with tortillas and bread and drink lighter, lower carb beer 75% of the time and less beer/alcohol overall. My wife and I both enjoy gardening and vegetables so one strategy we use is to really eat lots of nutrient dense vegetables and smaller portions of carbs and saturated fats. Regular bread or pasta is a once or twice a week thing.
this carbs stuff is not really an issue. malnourished people desire more and more carbohydrate rich foods because they satiate “hunger”, yet they do not fulfill the bodies nutrition needs. eating whole vegetables and a variety of them is the key. its basically that, and not eating sugar-products.
Add protein to that statement and that’s pretty much what the Dr ordered …and what we’re trying to do. (I didn’t list the salads and steamed/roasted veggies that go with many of our meals)
