The Beer Drinkers Diet

The majority of Americans drink alcoholic beverages, but many may give up this habit when on a diet - too many empty calories.

But one enterprising individual appears to have seen the gap in the market and created the Beer Drinker's Diet.

Bradley Cailor, the founder of this diet, was a yo-yo dieter who tipped the scales at 266 pounds at his highest. But then he abandoned traditional diet wisdom and lost over 100 pounds eating the foods he loved and drinking beer in moderation.

"It's a mental thing, guys. Knowing that you're allowed to have fun makes it work for you," Cailor explains.

It seems that the key point of the diet is to eat the foods you enjoy, but eat smaller portions. Cailor eats small meals five or six times a day, and drinks beer on weekends. His philosophy? Shoot for 80% "good" and 20% "bad."

I think there's actually some credibility to the idea of allowing your favorite foods in moderation. Unlike restrictive diets where people can feel deprived, this one allows all non-diet foods - as long as you don't overdo it, especially beer and alcohol.

But many Americans drink too much - which will ruin more than your figure! Binge drinking is a big problem. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 92% of adults who drink heavily admit to binge drinking in the past 30 days. Binge drinking is most common in college students, but many adults 26 and older also binge drink.

The American Heart Association (AHA) lists high blood pressure, obesity, stroke, and cancer as potential health risks linked to heavy drinking. The AHA encourages moderate drinking; no more then 2 drinks per day for men and 1 drink per day for women.

So its hard to believe you can actually sell a book based around beer drinking, but then again, lots of people like to party hard!

Image credit: k a t m