2010 Resolutions and Beer

We are at that time of the year when nearly everyone makes some sort of a resolution, pledge or promise for the New Year. These typically are changes that we want or need to make going into the New Year. If you are like me, then some of these resolutions tend to repeat from year to year and, generally, I am not all that successful at keeping these sometimes hastily made affirmations. In this article, I will not be bearing my soul to share all of the resolutions that I have made for 2010, but instead will take a brief look at the history of resolutions and the New Year celebration and then talk more about how your choice of beer can significantly affect one of the more commonly held resolutions.

The History of the New Year’s Celebrations

The beginning of the New Year has not always coincided with January 1^st. In ancient Babylonia (cir. 2000BC) the New Year began with the first new moon after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring). They used this time as the start of their New Year primarily because this time of the year meant new planting and blooming plants that signified a restart of events important to their lives. Their New Year’s celebrations stretched over 11 days and, I’m reasonably certain, made our wildest celebrations pale in comparison. The Romans also originally celebrated the New Year in the spring, but Julius Caesar changed all of that in 46BC when he established what has come to be known as the Julian calendar, which began on January 1^st. In more modern times, January 1^st has been the date of preference in the Western world for about the last 400 years. That is not to say that everyone uses that date, however. The Chinese still use a lunar calendar, rather than a solar-based one (Julian). Their new year begins at the time of the first full moon (over the Far East) after the sun enters Aquarius – sometime between January 19 and February 21 each year.

The Making of New Year’s Resolutions

Many believe that the first day of the New Year should be spent reflecting on past mistakes and resolving to improve oneself in the new year. Once a tradition of performing good deeds in order to bring good luck going into the New Year, the modern day version of these traditions more frequently takes the form of promises to break negative patterns in one’s life. From various sources on the Internet, below are the most common resolutions made by people in the US:

According to recent research from the University of Minnesota, nearly 80% of Americans that make these resolutions will break them (or give up on them) within the first 2 months of the year.

But What About the Beer?

Enough about traditions and calendars. How can beer affect the outcome of these resolutions? Quite simply and unfortunately, beer has calories and not all types/brands of beer contain the same amount of calories. Calories and how your body deals with them is the primary focus of Resolution #1 on the list above… to “Lose weight”. The beer that you choose to drink (and how many of them) can significantly affect the amount of calories that you consume. Consuming fewer calories (or getting more exercise) will cause your body to use the stored energy of your body fat to produce what it needs; thus causing weight loss over time. Below is a sampling of various types and brands of beer, that shows their caloric content:

A rule of thumb is that each pound of body fat represents 3,500 calories. That means that in order to lose that pound of fat, you need to create a “calorie deficit” over time that equates to that number of calories. An example of how this works is easily demonstrated.

Daily caloric requirement:       2500 calories

Daily caloric consumption:     2000 calories

Daily caloric deficit:                   500 calories

If you create a daily calorie deficit of 500 calories, it will take about seven days (500 x 7 = 3500) to lose that pound of body fat. While easy to demonstrate in principle, it can be much more difficult in practice; particularly for beer drinkers. Since beer contains calories and these calories get added into the “Daily caloric consumption” figure above, it is easy to see the effect that even small amounts of beer can have on your attempts to meet your weight loss goals.

Daily caloric requirement:        2500 calories

Daily caloric consumption:      2000 calories+Redhook IPA

Daily caloric deficit:                    312 calories

With just that one beer per day, it will now take you over 11 days (312 x 11.2 = 3500) to lose that same pound of body fat. Have a few beers over the weekend and you could (easily) entirely erase any weight loss progress that you had made during the week. I am not saying that you need to stop drinking beer <gasp> in order to lose weight, but I think that the above clearly demonstrates that continuing to drink beer while attempting to shed a few pounds makes the battle that much more difficult and lengthy.

Bodyweight issues and the health problems that go along with them are already at epidemic proportions in the US and many other Western nations. Recent figures classify 67% of Americans over 20 years old as either overweight or obese and this incredible number is, unfortunately, increasing! The simple resolution to “lose weight”, difficult that it may be, has far reaching benefits for those that are able to stick by the promise that they made to themselves. If you are one of those, like me, that have made this pledge for the New Year; I wish you luck in reaching your goal. I do not believe that giving up drinking the beer that I love will be necessary, although it will make the task more difficult. The trade off, for me, in losing that element of joy in my life is simply not worth it in the long run even though I risk remaining “fat and happy” for the next year.

Good Luck and have a Happy New Year!!

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