Hey what about beer and your eating plan? Here is my take with help from Joel Marion… Its great when one of your mentors thinks along the same lines as you do.

So, when it comes to Cheat Days and the Warrior Fit Body Solution program, one of the more common questions I receive is the beer question:

“How many beers can I drink?”

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. However, if you just happen to enjoy the taste of beer (like me) 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. Realistically there are a ton of Non-alcoholic beers out there.

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 the Warriors eating plan, 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, if no alcohol is the deal breaker then 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 positively 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).

Make no mistake I still recommend the O’Douls with no alcohol.

And again remember that this is a lifestyle change and you want to make it as simple and least disruptive as possible to be able to continue for a healthy long lived happy life.

To your health,

-Darrin Walton

 

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