Everyday Systems

Okay, Day 1 here for hubby and I, and I have a clear-cut idea of MY rules. I don't drink calorie-laden anything between meals. That would be a snack in my opinion. He's currently testing the waters with a beer. Dinner will not be ready for half an hour. Is he snacking?

(I am hungry, too, and waiting for the meal, so I'm a bit testy on this subject...) Anxious to hear from some seasoned NoSers.

I generally have a glass of wine while cooking dinner. Reinhard says in the book and on the home page that he will have a couple glasses of wine; I am assuming that is before/with/or after dinner...I don't recall him stating the "when"

Stacy

Alcohol is treated separately from food and other beverages. The glass ceiling is 1-2 drinks daily.

Since the goal right now is to build a no EATING between meals habit, the beer is fine. Obviously he doesn't want to have 6 or 7, but one before dinner won't hurt him. No S has to be livable to work. Too many restrictions now will not help you succeed later.

Darn, I hate when he's right!!

Okay, okay, I'll let him have his beer. Come to think of it, a glass of wine while I'm cooking sounds like a piece of heaven that I have denied myself for a long time. Maybe tomorrow night I'll join him.

One thing about beer is that it is highly estrogenic. If he has stubborn belly fat, it's possible (and highly likely) that the fat is estrogen sensitive. Thus consuming something like beer (even one before dinner) will make it that much harder to lose weight. It's just empty calories like soda except it has the estrogen factor added. Plus the liver has to detox the alcohol.

Estrogenic? Do you mean like yams are?

Blithe Morning wrote:Estrogenic? Do you mean like yams are?

I don't have a clue about yams. Sorry.

I adhere strictly to No S and I drink wine on regular N days. My husband will have a beer or wine on N days too.
We stick to Reinhard's glass ceiling recommendation of 1-2 tops.

Tulsa wrote:

Blithe Morning wrote:Estrogenic? Do you mean like yams are?

I don't have a clue about yams. Sorry.

Yams have a chemical that is similar to low levels of progesterone. I guess I don't understand what you mean by estrogenic.

Lots of foods have phytoestrogens in them. Phytoestrogens are estrogen like compounds found in nature. Not all of them behave them same in the body. Some are beneficial. Some mimic the effect of the hormone estrogen in the body. What I mean by "estrogenic" is a food or drink that has phytoestrogens of the right type and sufficient concentrations to mimic estrogen in the body. Excess estrogen can cause scores of health problems including prostate trouble in men.

Men have been drinking beer for thousands of years. For most of that time, most of them were skinny.

Obviously, beer has calories, and if you drink too much they'll add up -- but if you stick to a "glass ceiling" of a drink or two a day (depending on how big you are) I don't think you'll have a problem. If you drink more than that, you have a far more serious problem than excess calories.

I wouldn't worry about beer being "estrogenic" or whatever. That's dangerously overanalyzing the situation (see Michael Pollan's excellent article on "nutritionism"). Just look at the historical record. Look at the obesity rates of countries that quaff far more beer than we do.

Reinhard

P.S. beer actually isn't just empty calories, it has significant amounts of protein, vitamins B, magnesium, polyphenols, cadmium and iron -- and alcohol, which in moderate amounts seems to be very good for you.

P.P.S. sorry if I'm a little sensitive about this issue, I'm German

My point in my original post was that the phytoestrogens in beer can hinder fat loss especially in the belly for men and the hips and thighs for women. If you're already happy with he way you look in those areas, then a beer or 2 isn't going to hurt anything. But if you are trying to lose weight, then beer or any other estrogenic food can hinder or slow the weight loss. This info comes from The Anti-Estrogenic Diet by Ori Hofmekler. Take it with a grain of salt just like most all dietary info you find. For every "expert" there's another "expert" with a different story.

Blithe Morning wrote:Estrogenic? Do you mean like yams are?

You sure about that? It's a very typical and encouraged "bodybuilder food". (Which beer most certainly isn't!)

Reinhard wrote:
"Men have been drinking beer for thousands of years. For most of that time, most of them were skinny.

P.S. beer actually isn't just empty calories, it has significant amounts of protein, vitamins B, magnesium, polyphenols, cadmium and iron -- and alcohol, which in moderate amounts seems to be very good for you."

Let's hear it for beer! I'm not really one to drink beer very often, but we have some great microbrews here in San Diego and I really enjoy the tastings. Usually I'll order a tasting sample, but if I find one I like then I'll drink a bit more (my husband always benefits 'cause I can't usually finish a whole glass). I like wine but I'm super, super sensitive to sulfites and wine brings me out in a rash and makes me sweat (not a real attractive look). Now I won't have to feel guilty about drinking beer! Thanks, R.!

Diane (happen to be part German too)