In our weight loss clinics we are often asked about alcohol and whether it can be consumed 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 on beer consumption, specifically.

Beer is one of the alcoholic beverages that we did not approve for consuming across the board for a long time.  In our weight loss clinics we advised that if patients were going to drink alcohol, they should stick to liquor or wine in lesser amounts.  We have recently retracted this hard line, however.  With the emergence of ultra-low-calorie beers we feel that some can be consumed during a weight loss program.  Our general rule is that a beer must 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. Staying within these limits does not impact weight loss progress. I hope this helps to answer if beer can be consumed when trying to lose weight.