Beer and Weight Loss

In our weight loss clinics in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky we are often asked about alcohol and how it can be used during a weight loss plan. Our standard answer is that if you can avoid drinking alcohol then you should. We do, however, make exceptions for people who occasionally drink socially. In this article I am going to focus specifically on beer.

Beer is one of the alcoholic beverages that we disallowed across the board for a long time. In our weight loss clinics in both Cincinnati and Florence Kentucky we advised that if patients were going to drink alcohol they should stick to liquor or wine in very small amounts. We have recently backed of this hard line however. With the emergence of ultra-low calorie beers we feel that some can be used during a weight loss program. Our general rule is that the beer has to contain 100 or less calories and 3 or fewer carbohydrates. Beers such as Michelob Ultra or Yuengling Flight would fit this bill. We still put a 2 drink per week cap on during programs. I hope this helps to answer if beer can be consumed when trying to lose weight.