New Beer Fires High-carb Shot At Atkins Diet

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New beer fires high-carb shot at Atkins diet

Scott Craven
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 28, 2004 12:00 AM

In this ever-expanding world of Atkins followers, leave it to a beer company to provide the voice of reason.

No, not macro brewers such as Budweiser and Coors. They quickly caved to the low-carb trend, either touting their light beers or creating such patronizing brews as Michelob Ultra and Aspen Light (which are more like malt-flavored seltzer water).

The honor goes to Petaluma, Calif.-based brewer Lagunitas and its new XS (extra special) ale. Its label proudly proclaims it is "Guaranteed Fad-Diet Free." The label does not say how many carbs are contained within the 22-ounce bottle because those who buy it will not care. They are among the common-sense folk who know better than to order the salad at fast-food joints or the skinless chicken at a steakhouse.

XS is a decent gimmick ready to cash in on Atkins backlash, and for that alone is worth the (assumed) carb splurge just to make a statement. Fortunately, there is a good beer behind the gimmick.

XS has a rich, dark color and creamy head. The nose detects a pleasant bittersweet odor, but the beer's complexity is not revealed until it hits the back of the mouth.

At first XS releases a hoppy, somewhat smoky taste, but as the liquid runs over the tongue, you pick up a surprisingly sweet finish. It lasts just a few seconds as the bitterness reasserts itself in the aftertaste.

Lagunitas has established itself as a quality brewer and XS doesn't disappoint. This is not a "Just mowed the lawn and need a cold one" beer; this is a "Time to unwind and enjoy the moment" beer. With an alcohol content of 6.9 percent, you can unwind plenty.

XS sells for about $4 per bottle at Sun Devil and Top's Liquor stores in the Valley.
 
Nice! Those atkins buggers are weird ones, I once found a recipe on an atkins forum for making french toast out of pork rinds.

Now, don't get me wrong, I think that's an awesome idea... just a really ****ing dumb one if you're trying to lose weight.
 
Kai said:
Nice! Those atkins buggers are weird ones, I once found a recipe on an atkins forum for making french toast out of pork rinds.

Now, don't get me wrong, I think that's an awesome idea... just a really ****ing dumb one if you're trying to lose weight.
Now without trying to open up the old Atkins debate, I tried the diet several years ago before it became a fad (if it had been a fad at the time I became aware of it, I probably would have steered well clear of it). I did infact lose weight with my bacon and egg breakfasts and scotch eye fillet dinners, and did feel better. Cholesterol was down etc ... just as it said it would be in the book. Unfortunately, I was working shift work at the time, and there's just no freaking way a shift worker could possibly stay on that diet with no time to prepare meals in advance. I eventually succumbed to the macca's and meat pie diet so prevalent in the security industry and went off the diet completely. I don't condone the diet, and certainly don't think anyone should go on it unless they are willing to excersise ALOT - and if their willing to do that, there really is no need to cut down on the carbs anyway.

Cheers,
Pete

:chug:
 
if you willing to excercise alot then you have no worries. how people expect to lose weight without doing anything is beyond me. its all about the quick fix and the supposed immediate results. most of the fad diets results are basically based on the dehydration of the body.
 
Yep. Theres a plethora of people out there who seem to want something for nothing, and weight loss is no different. And then you have the people who want to go for a walk for excercise - which in itself is fine - but refuse to walk far or fast enough to break a sweat. What a joke! Five minutes around the block is NOT excercise! </rant> :rolleyes:

Cheers,
Pete

:chug:
 
forest gump said it best

stupid is, stupid does....
 
Kai said:
Nice! Those atkins buggers are weird ones, I once found a recipe on an atkins forum for making french toast out of pork rinds.

Now, don't get me wrong, I think that's an awesome idea... just a really ****ing dumb one if you're trying to lose weight.
Dont knock it till u try it.
I went from 108kg's to 87kg's in about 6 months doing the Atkins thing. Bacon, egg's & ham for breaky and all the good fatty stuff for the rest of the day and the kg's just fell off :) :)
Then the wife buys me a homebrew kit :D :D
 
good stuff mate. what else did you change though?? did you start doing excercise as well?? you cant lose weight just by eating. or can you?!?!?!
 
According to a doco on Catalyst a few weeks ago the Atkins diet works because the high fat content makes you feel full & you actually eat less. Apparently high carb meals don't fill you up so fast so you eat more & come back sooner. All that fat can't be doing your circulation any favours though.
 
Pretty good Ken.
Bobby, I lost the bulk of the weight doing very little extra, but once it came off i got stuck into it and kept it off. The idea is if you dont feed yourself carbs the body uses its own fat for energy, so if you exercise it just speeds up the weight loss. The book is a real good read anyway.
 
KenEasy said:
According to a doco on Catalyst a few weeks ago the Atkins diet works because the high fat content makes you feel full & you actually eat less. Apparently high carb meals don't fill you up so fast so you eat more & come back sooner. All that fat can't be doing your circulation any favours though.
Actually, what the study they mentioned on Catalyst found was that high protein makes you eat less, the people on high fat meals were eating more by the end of the trial.

To me, the whole Atkins idea is a perversion of simple common sense; knock out the high energy foods in your diet, knock back how much you eat and you end up losing weight. However, I don't think it's a healthy nor a balanced diet, and I reckon people should just get off their butts and exercise. Jog to the pub.
 
Exercise is the key to losing weight. Fat burns when exercising at the lowest intensity, walking for example. You dont have to build up a sweat to burn fat, you just have to walk, but obviously for longer periods of time (which is why people are still fat, they're usually lazy as well).

As soon as you lift the intensity, you begin to use other fuels for energy such as carbs, that is why if you ask any athlete about their diet, they will tell you that their diets are high in carbs.

A balanced diet with some forms of low, and moderate to high intensity excersice is best because, not only will you burn the fat you eat (low intensity excersice) but will also reduce any risk of other conditions such as bowel cancer (no carbs will prob increaese the risk) and cardiovascular disease (potential heart attack) because you dont ever get the heart working. Plus any of the other endless amounts of deficiency diseases.

But most importantly for us men, we need plenty of fibre to flush our arses and prevent prostate/bowel cancer. If you dont do good healthy poos you're at risk. I wouldnt recommend the Atkins diet to anyone, men especially, only if it was a short term thing to lose weight initially and then revert to a balanced diet.

Just my thoughts...

I have a degree in sports science (Human Movement) and health and physical education, thats why i felt obliged to comment.
 
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