There's a Tear in my Beer...
Bite This: Light beer is the best- selling of all of the beer segments in the US.
This post is inspired by last night's Royal's game. And no, they did not lose.
Last night my husband and I attended our first Royal's game of the season. (My husband pointed out that this is a lie - he attended the Royal's home opener. So, pardon me, this was my first game of the season.) The weathermen called for sunny and 70 and per usual, the weathermen were wrong. Yes, all of them. It was 50 and not so sunny. Anyway, that's not the point of this post. I'll get to that.
So light beer has been more popular in recent years because people have been conscientious about their caloric intake. (I guess that does not apply to food, just beverages.) Alcohol has 7 calories per gram which is comparable to fat - 9 calories per gram. When alcohol is available for the body as energy, the body uses the alcohol first. This means that the body is not burning carbohydrates or fat for energy, therefore the body just stores the carbohydrates and fat, leading to weight gain. So it makes sense to drink less alcohol because less alcohol = less calories.
However, based on personal experience (mine and my husband's- I am going to start referring to him as GMOE - Greatest Man on Earth - just because "GMOE" is less time consuming to type than "my husband" and still spares his identity), we ingest less calories by drinking heavier beers. Say what? Yeah, you heard me.
The alcohol content of most light beers is less than 5%. And if you buy your beer from a grocery store, Walgreen's, Wal-Mart, Target, etc. instead of a liquor store in Kansas, it has the maximum amount of 3.2%. The alcohol content in the beers we consume, which are heavier beers, is greater than 5%. Therefore, it takes less amount of beer to feel intoxicated, so we drink less. Drinking less means consuming less alcohol overall. I am not bragging here, but the most amount of light beer I have consumed in one day (over the span of at least 8 hours) is 9 beers. Nine. Let's say that was Miller Light, which has about 95 calories per 12 ounces. That's 855 calories. Now, the most amount of heavy beer I have ever had in a span of 8 hours - let's say it was Stella Artois- is 5. Stella has 5.2% alcohol (in 11.2 ounces) and has 135 calories. So that's 675 calories compared to 855 calories. Yes, I realize with 9 light beers I am consuming more alcohol (37.8% alcohol vs 26%), but it's all your perception - and really, what good happens after drinking >30% alcohol. No good...none. But, when I drink heavier beers, I tend to drink less because I know I am consuming more calories. Plus, I feel more intoxicated faster, which causes me to slow down or to stop sooner than if I were drinking light beer. It makes sense if you really think about it.
Yep, this post was inspired last night after drinking 3 Stellas and made much more sense at that time. As I am writing this, I realize there are flaws to my theory but I am still going with it, because "it's like my opinion, man."
Sound bite: Test it out. If you're drinking beers this week/weekend, think about how much less you drink after heavy vs light beer. But remember, moderation - drink responsibly.
Now wine vs regular beer - much more alcohol, same amount of calories, and you sip it vs chug it. Wine is the drink of choice.
Side note: GMOE and I self-proclaimed ourselves as the "classiest tailgaters" due to our fancy beers in glass bottles and the fact that we did not actually get out of the car to tailgate. To others we may just be pansies.
This post is inspired by last night's Royal's game. And no, they did not lose.
Last night my husband and I attended our first Royal's game of the season. (My husband pointed out that this is a lie - he attended the Royal's home opener. So, pardon me, this was my first game of the season.) The weathermen called for sunny and 70 and per usual, the weathermen were wrong. Yes, all of them. It was 50 and not so sunny. Anyway, that's not the point of this post. I'll get to that.
So light beer has been more popular in recent years because people have been conscientious about their caloric intake. (I guess that does not apply to food, just beverages.) Alcohol has 7 calories per gram which is comparable to fat - 9 calories per gram. When alcohol is available for the body as energy, the body uses the alcohol first. This means that the body is not burning carbohydrates or fat for energy, therefore the body just stores the carbohydrates and fat, leading to weight gain. So it makes sense to drink less alcohol because less alcohol = less calories.
However, based on personal experience (mine and my husband's- I am going to start referring to him as GMOE - Greatest Man on Earth - just because "GMOE" is less time consuming to type than "my husband" and still spares his identity), we ingest less calories by drinking heavier beers. Say what? Yeah, you heard me.
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Yep, this post was inspired last night after drinking 3 Stellas and made much more sense at that time. As I am writing this, I realize there are flaws to my theory but I am still going with it, because "it's like my opinion, man."
Sound bite: Test it out. If you're drinking beers this week/weekend, think about how much less you drink after heavy vs light beer. But remember, moderation - drink responsibly.
Now wine vs regular beer - much more alcohol, same amount of calories, and you sip it vs chug it. Wine is the drink of choice.
Side note: GMOE and I self-proclaimed ourselves as the "classiest tailgaters" due to our fancy beers in glass bottles and the fact that we did not actually get out of the car to tailgate. To others we may just be pansies.
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