What is Drink Your Carbs?
- The short answer: Drink Your Carbs is a guide to losing weight without giving up alcohol.
- The long answer is more complex.
At its core, Drink Your Carbs is a diet built on calorie restriction. We strongly believe that all successful diets are methods of calorie restriction. This is because gaining and losing weight comes down to a simple equation: calories in versus calories out. If you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight. If you consume more calories than you burn, you gain weight.
Fact: There is an emerging body of research that may indicate that some calories are worse than others in terms of causing obesity. We fully address this new research in our new, Drink Your Carbs book. For now, suffice it to say that substituting Coke made with high-fructose corn syrup for the Mexican variety containing cane sugar is not a viable weight-loss strategy. The difference between the two types of sugar is simply not large enough. In the end, successful dieting will continue to come down to the quantity of calories consumed, not the type.
What about the calories in alcohol?
There is no shortage of experts who delight in pointing out that half a bottle of wine with dinner adds roughly 300 to 325 calories to your day; a couple of pints of microbrew can add even more. The calories in alcohol, they argue, are too high and therefore incompatible with any form of dieting.
These prohibitionists are making a simple assumption: that the calories in alcohol are purely additive. In other words, they assume that people will make no other changes to their diet beyond adding a few drinks. Under this theory, the calories in alcohol are like the rainbow sprinkles on a banana split; they are excessive and unnecessary.
The no-alcohol crowd holds similar beliefs regarding exercise. They assume that few people will make any effort to burn off those extra calories. Recent statistics support their assumption. According to a study by a team of researchers at Penn State University, the average American between the ages of 18 and 64 gets only 17 minutes of exercise per day. Shockingly, this includes as exercise walking across a parking lot from your car into an ice-cream parlor.
Drink Your Carbs is based on very different assumptions. We are not in denial about the calories in alcoholic drinks. We trust the validity of the exercise figures from Penn State. We fully acknowledge the hideous state of the American nutrition and fitness landscape. The difference is that we refuse to hang our heads in defeat and declare alcohol forever unworkable. Instead, we celebrate the current state of American health because it makes Drink Your Carbs easily doable for nearly everyone.
The whole point of Drink Your Carbs is that if you want lose weight while continuing to drink, the calories you consume in alcohol must be burned and/or offset. We are also adamant that these calories be eliminated without sacrificing the quantity of food eaten or daily nutrition. The dreadful state of the American diet makes this as easy as pie.
There is no shortage of experts who delight in pointing out that half a bottle of wine with dinner adds roughly 300 to 325 calories to your day; a couple of pints of microbrew can add even more. The calories in alcohol, they argue, are too high and therefore incompatible with any form of dieting.
These prohibitionists are making a simple assumption: that the calories in alcohol are purely additive. In other words, they assume that people will make no other changes to their diet beyond adding a few drinks. Under this theory, the calories in alcohol are like the rainbow sprinkles on a banana split; they are excessive and unnecessary.
The no-alcohol crowd holds similar beliefs regarding exercise. They assume that few people will make any effort to burn off those extra calories. Recent statistics support their assumption. According to a study by a team of researchers at Penn State University, the average American between the ages of 18 and 64 gets only 17 minutes of exercise per day. Shockingly, this includes as exercise walking across a parking lot from your car into an ice-cream parlor.
Drink Your Carbs is based on very different assumptions. We are not in denial about the calories in alcoholic drinks. We trust the validity of the exercise figures from Penn State. We fully acknowledge the hideous state of the American nutrition and fitness landscape. The difference is that we refuse to hang our heads in defeat and declare alcohol forever unworkable. Instead, we celebrate the current state of American health because it makes Drink Your Carbs easily doable for nearly everyone.
The whole point of Drink Your Carbs is that if you want lose weight while continuing to drink, the calories you consume in alcohol must be burned and/or offset. We are also adamant that these calories be eliminated without sacrificing the quantity of food eaten or daily nutrition. The dreadful state of the American diet makes this as easy as pie.
Fact: According to the American Heart Association the average American eats 22 teaspoons of sugar per day. This represents 355 utterly empty calories. There is no denying that Americans mainline sugar with the same unbridled lust that Amy Winehouse brought to a brand new dime bag.
Drink Your Carbs is designed to help you identify the empty calories in your diet and eliminate them. Moreover, our exercise recommendations will send your calorie burn skyrocketing. We will show you that by making simple changes to your existing diet and exercise routine there is room for alcohol in your weight-loss plan.
To make the task simpler we created the Drink Your Carbs Food List, a comprehensive list of what should be eaten, limited or altogether avoided. There is no need to keep a food journal or download a carb counter to your phone. Eat and drink according to the rules of the Food List and your caloric intake will drop even though you will likely be eating more. There are plenty of options to keep your diet both diverse and interesting. Don’t even think about portions. All we ask is that you stick to the Food List and stop eating when you feel full.
To make the task simpler we created the Drink Your Carbs Food List, a comprehensive list of what should be eaten, limited or altogether avoided. There is no need to keep a food journal or download a carb counter to your phone. Eat and drink according to the rules of the Food List and your caloric intake will drop even though you will likely be eating more. There are plenty of options to keep your diet both diverse and interesting. Don’t even think about portions. All we ask is that you stick to the Food List and stop eating when you feel full.
Fact: Finishing your plate does nothing to help starving children in Africa. Stop eating when you feel full and make a donation to the aid organization of your choice.
Furthermore, our exercise recommendations will send your calorie burn skyrocketing. If you follow our food and exercise program, you will have no problem burning through and/or offsetting the calories in wine, beer or even the hard stuff.
We believe Drink Your Carbs is the most easy-to-follow diet you will ever find. Drink Your Carbs is not a temporary solution. You will not live in constant state of denial. You will not be hungry. You’ll get plenty of food and have plenty of energy. Exercising and eating well will leave you feeling great. Above all else, you will not have to give up happy hour. Drink Your Carbs allows you to continue to enjoy a social life while cutting calories and losing weight.
We believe Drink Your Carbs is the most easy-to-follow diet you will ever find. Drink Your Carbs is not a temporary solution. You will not live in constant state of denial. You will not be hungry. You’ll get plenty of food and have plenty of energy. Exercising and eating well will leave you feeling great. Above all else, you will not have to give up happy hour. Drink Your Carbs allows you to continue to enjoy a social life while cutting calories and losing weight.
