The first thing that a dieter needs to know about beer is: beer is food. It is not a beverage you can guzzle down and not feel the caloric content of. Darker beers are, naturally, higher in caloric content than lighter beers. So if you are trying to lose some weight, start by lightening your brews – and limiting them. Mixing dieting and beer drinking is simply a question of where you put your priorities. Suddenly, a hamburger and a pint aren’t going to mix anymore.

Let’s look at the hard facts – your average beer has about 148 calories per twelve ounces. Assuming your average daily caloric intake is 2,ooo calories, this means that a couple of beers already counts as one of your meals for the day. I recommend skipping dinner.

If you are drinking darker beers, you may be in even more trouble. Some stouts rank as high as 220 calories. Compared to a light beer’s caloric content of 70-99. Surprisingly, Guinness is one exception to the dark calorie rule. Guinness ranks at a moderate 125 calories for a 12 ounce pub draught, whereas many stouts and porters are around 210. If you are not sure about how your favorite beer ranks, you can contact them and find out. Sadly, this is one area where microbrews are outperformed by the bigger brewing companies. Those microbrews just have so much flavor – and it shows in their caloric breakdown.

Now for a word about dieting. Dieting, as most people consider it, is not the healthiest way to lose weight. Suddenly changing your eating (& drinking) routine, then reverting back to the old ways a couple weeks, or a month later, is not as effective as permanent and slight changes to your routine. These changes become your permanent diet – not your two-week miracle diet. They are changes you can live with – for good. Rules are made to be broken. Most people are more likely to listen to suggestions to themselves than follow rules they make for themselves.

There are a lot of “beer diet” books going around right now. I dare say that many of these books are using the word beer just to get people to buy them. Beer has carbs, it has calories, and must be considered carefully if it is to be taken during a period of effective dieting. While beer is nutritious, it would be ludicrous to assume in any way that a beer only diet could be healthy or effective. One of the biggest difficulties facing the dieting beer drinker is just knowing which beers are high in calories, and just how much starch and carbohydrates are in each variety of beer. Fortunately, there are many calorie counter websites and books out there, and if you are unsure about the nutritional information of the beer you are drinking, it is advised to call the brewery during business hours and find out.

Being well informed is the best weapon you have in your arsenal if you want to drink beer and diet to lose weight. Adjusting your beer diet towards lighter beers with less body is an important step. Realizing that beer is food is another important step in configuring your diet. Moderation and daily routine changes are key to becoming who you want to be.