Weight Loss with Bourbon, Bordeaux and Beer?

Many of you know I work at Stanford conducting nutrition research for a very large weight loss clinical trial. Participants show up on the first day of class and are told if they are going to be following a low carb or low fat diet for the next year….and after they find out what diet they are on, the first question seems to be “can we drink alcohol?”

I joke with all my clients that I am also a quasi AA counselor in addition to being a dietitian, since alcohol seems to be the main habit that is so difficult for many to break when it comes to weight loss and behavior change.  My clients are not addicts, they just love their cocktail and don’t want to give it up.

I get it…trust me!  Bourbon on the rocks with an orange twist is a beautiful thing….I am a big fan. That being said, for many of you, the calories from alcohol are the thing that is holding you back from getting those pounds off.

I have yet to tell anyone to stop drinking, but I guarantee you all could drink less.

So here are my booze rules…

1. Take a good, honest look at your weekly routine and figure out how many servings of alcohol you are drinking in a week.  One serving is 5 ounces of wine, 1.5 ounce of hard alcohol or 12 ounces of beer.
2. Then, once you have that number, negotiate with yourself with what you want to set as your new number.  So if you have 10 drinks a week, could it be 6?  If you have 6, could it be 4?
3. Then decide if you want to manage how many nights you drink a week OR how many drinks you have per night.  Some of you really want to drink every night to wind down after your day and are okay with only one drink.  Some of you find having only one drink a waste a time and are willing to only drink on weekends. Everyone is different, make it work it work for you.

Write a clear and specific goal or yourself.  “I am committing to 5 drinks a week, only on the weekends” or “I am committing to 6 drinks a week and I will have them how I want” – go get em!  As long as it is less than what you are currently doing, I am cool with it.

Have a good summer!  I swear you can enjoy yourself with a little less booze in the system.  Honest!​

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Jae Berman, MS, RD, CSSD, serves as the Regional Registered Dietitian of The San Francisco Bay Club. As the nutrition expert and dietician for Western Athletic  Clubs, she thrives on helping people live healthier, stronger, more confident lives. With an extensive education in nutrition, Jae has been featured as an expert in Shape Magazine, Better Homes & Garden and more. Her background is in sports nutrition, weight loss counseling and disease management. She is also a personal trainer and yoga and Pilates instructor. Jae earned a master’s degree in Applied Physiology and Nutrition from Columbia University and completed her dietetic internship at UCSF Medical Center.