The I-Love-My-Beer Diet - First in a series

I am on a diet. And just so you don't think it hasn't been effective, at my heaviest I weighed 289 pounds. I am down to 258. I'm shooting for 180, but don't hold your breath. One of the things I did was cut down on beer.

Anyway, a friend loaned me a copy of The I-Love-My-Beer Diet by Martin R. Lipp, M.D. (If you want to buy a copy of it and other books like it on Amazon, click the ads below.) , and I've been taking notes as I read it, just trying to see whether or not it's workable.

I won't try to reproduce the whole book here. Every so often, though, I may post my notes.

Here's the first batch of notes, comprising the first few chapters:

The I-love-My- Beer diet is a fad diet, like so many before it. . .Fad diets have their usefulness.

Why Beer?

Why not?

A 12 ounce bottle of beer has 150 calories, less that the same amount of apple juice (174) or milk (240) or half a cup of cottage cheese (172) or three slices of bologna (184).

“The simple fact is that one gets fat on beer only by drinking it in huge quantities, or—even better—by consuming copious amounts of beer and platters of full food as well.” p. 13

Advantages of beer as a diet component:

Beer is filling. Most diet foods aren't filling.

Beer feeds the mind as well as the body. Beer provides a relief from tension

Beer is a social beverage. Other social beverages aren't as low calorie

Beer is nutritious. In addition to large amounts of water and a small amount of alcohol, beer contains substantial numbers of B vitamins and modest amounts of carbohydrates and proteins. The calories in whisky, for example are empty calories in that they derive from alcohol and are useful solely for energy if they aren't used up quickly.

Beer is healthful. Chronic ill effects from alcohol commonly occur with an average intake of 80 grams a day. Beer is about 1 gram an ounce. With two beers a day, alcohol may help with heart disease. (Moderation.)

Beer makes a wonderful evening snack. Both hops and alcohol help you sleep.

Next: The principles behind the I-Like-My-Beer Diet.