The Beer Diet?

Now let me explain. We took my husband out to dinner last night to celebrate his birthday at a local British pub. We each ordered a pint of beer to go along with our prime rib dinners (well, we were celebrating!). After an afternoon of celebrating another special event in our family with a variety of high-fat, high-starch, calorie-laden goodies (I won't even mention the cheesecake and homemade ice cream), and having had no time to exercise yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale this morning and found I'd lost a pound since yesterday. Wow!

I attribute the weight loss to a few things. First, even though I didn't exercise, I did do a lot of running around preparing for this big day (it was my father-in-law's second bar mitzvah, which is a story in itself). Also, I limited my lunch-time serving sizes to tastes and slivers so I didn't stuff myself. Drank plenty of water and green tea during the day, and even got a serving of fruit and some veggies in.

But I believe the major thing that kept the scale in my favor was the pint of beer. It filled me up to the point where I didn't want to "pick" at my daughter's fries (which looked so golden and yummy) or even order dessert. I was full! And I only ate half my portion of prime rib (gave the rest to my daughter). Now, I'm not advocating beer as a diet aid. But I do think that the liquid was so filling that I wasn't tempted to eat too much. If the liquid had been water, it probably would have had the same effect--except it wouldn't have gone down as easily!

I'm not saying you should drink a six-pack a day to achieve six-pack abs. My point is, don't forget to drink relatively low-calorie liquids while your eating meals or at holiday parties. It keeps your hands and mouth busy so that you don't munch down hundreds of empty calories. Water, seltzer, flavored water, iced tea and, OK, occasionally beer, can prevent your hands from wandering to the chips and candy, and your full stomach will tell your brain "enough." Always drink responsibly, please. Happy New Year!