Budweiser Select, diet, health question ?

Question

Is beer the cause of my belly, or just over eating in general ?

I read something about only 3500 calories are needed a day for men. ( If I ate for example - 2000 calories a day, but in the day ... I had hot dogs, pizza, beer, and soda ) Basically junk food, at a low intake.

Would I lose weight ?

Answer 1

My personal opinion is that a big belly isn't caused by beer.  I think with all that processing of the alcohol, you burn more calories than if you were drinking water.  Also, if the ethanol is 7 calories / gram, and once you are sober there's no more ethanol, then those calories aren't magically transformed into fat cells, are they?  So, you need to know how much non-alcohol calories are in whatever you're drinking, and that's what can stay.  In this sense, beer, of all kind, is less fattening than regular soda.

3500 calories I think is for a blue collar worker.  2000 calories is for women, I think a somewhat inactive male would need at most 2500 calories.  So, it depends on what you do when you're at work.  Active, yeah, you need more; not active, desk job sorta stuff, 2500 should do it.

So, this myth of the beer belly thing.  I've read results from a few studies on this, and none of them have a clear answer.  Some argue that the increased calories of drinking beer versus water will lead to a beer belly.  While that's logical, so is the alternative.  Beer leads to a desire to eat more food.  How often do you drink a few beers and then have a pizza, chicken wings, burgers, bratwurst, or hot dogs?  Could it possibly be that food which is causing the belly, and not the beer.  Think about it.  I know when I'm drinking with my friends, theres a 90% chance we will order a couple pizzas.  If that doesnt work, one of us will make pasta, guaranteed.

Answer 2

As long as you use more then you take in it doesn't matter where the cals come from you will lose weight.