Calories and Alcohol

It's time to look at an issue that is near and dear to my heart - calories and alcohol. When I moved back up to Vermont, three and a half years ago, I tipped the scale at about 190 pounds. While I've done some up and down since that time, I tend to hang around closer to 140 these days. A huge part of this is lifestyle - down south, I used to spend every day outside, trying to keep up with gaggles of schoolchildren, now I sit in my cubicle and interact mostly with computers. I must admit, though, that another part of my weight gain is due largely to alcohol - I do indeed have the dreaded beer belly, and I've been trying (in vain) to see it to the door for quite some time.

I've always thought that the beer belly was a bit of a myth. I've always had a rather black and white view of weight loss - calories in versus calories out is all that there is to it, and the rest is just window dressing. I still believe that this is true, by and large, but it saddens me to admit what my research has unearthed - calories from alcohol are a little special.

Before I go into the science of drinking, I need to be clear - moderate drinking isn't a bad thing. Even if you're looking to lose weight, a drink or two can be counted in your total daily caloric intake just like anything else, and won't significantly skew your results. Weight loss comes down to diet and exercise - in that order - and to truly vilify beer in this regard is something I won't stand for. Enjoy your beer, but do so responsibly.

One calorie myth that I need to dispel right now is the idea that sticking to shots, cocktails, or mixed drinks and avoiding beer is an effective way to help your progress along. There's no possible way that this works, and it makes beer look like the bad guy. Here's how it shakes out, calorically - A light beer (yuck!) will run you about a hundred calories, and a regular commercial brew weighs in somewhere between 140 and 200, most homebrew included. A standard 1.5 ounce shot of most liquors comes with a caloric cost of 95-200 calories, and a 4-5 ounce glass of wine tips the scale at 70-175 calories. All of these drinks will give you about the same amount of alcohol, and thus, the same buzz. Calorically-speaking, the wine is a clear winner here, but not by a huge amount, and there's virtually no difference between the beer and the liquor. Beer fans thinking about switching to the hard stuff in order to halt a gradual increase in pants-size might just as well stick with their beer, and gain the health benefits that beer does have to offer. Not that anyone who visits this site really needs to know this, but mixed drinks and the dreaded alcopops are the real culprits when it comes to drinkable calories.

Now, on to the beer belly - one issue is just common sense. When you're trying to lose weight, willpower is an issue. Your body would very much like to maintain its current weight. This is instinct, and whether it's healthy for you or not, fat stores are a natural means of getting through lean times in nature. Losing weight means eating fewer calories than you burn, and you're likely to feel hungry from time to time. While there are lots of tips and tricks for reducing that hunger, staying on track requires some level of planning and willpower. Are you still with me? When you're drinking, you relax a bit, and your resolve may just feel the need to relax with you - those pretzels or the leftovers in the fridge may just disappear into your gullet with no warning. While you planned for the calories in the beer, the calories in the roast beef sandwich and potato chips might possibly push you over your limit, stalling your weight loss.

The other effect we need to look at is where things get creepy. We all know we may eat more when we've had a few beers, but it may come as a surprise to you that the calories in that homebrew get treated a little differently by your body than those in the sandwich. Less than five percent of the calories in alcohol are turned into stored fat on your body. If you do the math, it would seem that drinking 10 beers a night would net you a maximum risk of about 100 calories. If a pound of fat = 3500 calories, those ten beers equal only about 13 GRAMS of body fat. Sweet! Drink yourself under the table every night with less impact than one of those stupid friggin' "hundred calorie packs," right? Sadly, no. Here's the science:

When you consume fewer calories than you burn every day, your body uses stored fat for fuel. This is great, as you're essentially eating that beer belly along with the god-damn carrot sticks. When you drink alcohol, most of it is converted into acetate by your liver, and the acetate is released into the bloodstream. Apparently, acetate is really, really yummy to your cells, and your body will burn this stuff for fuel virtually before anything else - before fat, and even before the god-damn carrot sticks. The result that you stop burning the fat, and start burning the acetate. You may not even burn the carrot sticks, allowing them to be sent where? To the beer belly - or, more accurately, the god-damn carrot stick belly. Studies have shown that the rate at which you burn fat when blood acetate levels are high is reduced by as much as 73%. Yick!

It appears that we've stumbled into a bit of a sticky wicket. Many studies indicate that alcohol intake doesn't significantly contribute to a gain in body-fat, and I'd love to run around screaming only that information at the top of my lungs, as it would allow me to drink lots more beer. The folks conducting these studies, though, were ONLY looking at the direct contribution that alcohol makes to your fat stores - very, very little. They didn't look at the overall effect of the resultant acetate in your blood to the rate at which you burn existing fat. There's the rub.

The bottom line, alcohol, in moderation, and as part of a healthy diet, is good for you. I stand by that assertion, and it's well-documented. Alas, if you're looking to drop significant weight, cutting out the homebrews will help you to do it. Not only will you be able to reduce the calories in the beer, you'll also eliminate the cumulative effect of the alcohol. Does this mean that I intend to stop drinking my homebrew every night? No. The effect is real, but temporary, and if I pay attention to my diet and keep up the exercise, I'll get there in good shape. It may be a bit slower, but hey - we need to embrace that which we love.