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Scotch as a Diet Hack
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- dermatthias 16y agoWhy don't you just skip the extra candy bar after dinner and drink as much and whatever you like?
- ShardPhoenix 16y agoIf you want to drink less, can't you just do it however you want?
- InfinityX0 16y agoPretty easy to say, harder to do. It's best to set up barriers like this to prevent overeating. Another barrier is eating foods with low calorie density. The barrier here is the harshness of the drink - it is very hard to chug scotch. It is not very hard to chug a beer. When I don't want to eat a lot, I set up barriers. I have literally no food in my apartment. 0. I am a former fat person, who has gotten into shape purely by avoiding the need for willpower. I like this hack - I'll try it this weekend.
- ShardPhoenix 16y agoI suppose it makes a certain amount of psychological sense.
- Confusion 16y agoJust ordering Scotch wouldn't work for me: I love the stuff and, corrected for the alcohol content, I will consume it faster than beer. If you have the same 'problem', what may work is ordering water on the side.
- smartrly 16y agoReading this hack just cost me some calories. I read it, and poured myself two fingers of scotch.
- dotBen 16y agoI have/used to have this problem - which is why I gave up drinking. In fact as I read this, I thought to myself "yeah, that's fine if you have the will-power not drink the scotch very quickly and order 2 more in the course of your friends single bottle of beer.
- notahacker 16y agoI find spirits much easier to drink in rapid quantities without realising I'm doing it. Quite apart from the lower volume, the lack of carbonation makes the onset of drunkenness less evident
- elai 16y agoso you eat out every day? Do you live in a developed country?
- bonzoesc 16y agoI go to the store every day; it's only a half-mile walk, and a nice way to switch from "working at home" to "evening at home."
- Kuytu 16y agoAlso you need to drink beer faster, because it gets warm and stale pretty fast. With scotch (and other strong alcohols) you can take as much time as you want.
- gaius 16y agoNot beer, lager. Ale you can take your time over.
- alf 16y agoI think many alcohol drinkers would find it easier to drink 1.5 oz of liquor, than 12 oz of beer or a 6 oz of wine, especially if the beer is in a bottle. I think the main benefit here is that holding a different drink separates you from the people who are heavy drinkers. It would work the same if the group were taking shots, and you chose a sip on a beer.
- rodh257 16y agotrue, but he's talking more from a social point of view.
- forsaken 16y agoLast weekend I went out with a flask of Laphroaig (some damn good scotch), and was just sipping that most of the night. I let a bunch of my friends have some, and always came back with some left in the flask. It's a great way to drink really delicious scotch, share with your friends, and drink less.
- megablast 16y agoCame here to talk about Laphroaig. Laphroaig is the smokiest whiskey you can get, really nice drop, from the Isle of Islay. Very flavorful. Perhaps worth saying as well, please do not buy a nice whiskey, and ask for coke mixed in. If you tried that in Scotland or Ireland, they would at best refuse you.
- greendestiny 16y agoHave you tried the 10 year old Ardbeg? That might change your mind on the smokiest.
- bmcleod 16y agoOr the recently released Ardbeg Corryvrecken, which, I think, trumps the 10 year old.
- rudyfink 16y agoBruichladdich Octomore (~130 ppm) and Ardberg Supernova (~100 ppm I think) are way up there beyond the Ardberg 10. Off the top of my head I'd guess the Ardberg 10 is something like 20-40 ppm. The "ppm", in the Scotch context, is for the amount of peat phenols, which is essentially a peatiness metric, and it is recently a competition metric, for some reason, between at least a few distillers ( http://blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2009/03/bruichladdich-octomore-ardbeg-supernova-tasting/ http://blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2009/03/bruichladdich-octo... as an example article but you can just google scotch ppm and get a ton of articles ). I haven't had the Octomore but the Supernova is not that great in my opinion. It was interesting to taste a Scotch intentionally that peaty, but I'd consider it more of a novelty than a great taste improvement. That said taste is an amazing thing, so it might be precisely your cup of tea. In terms of enjoyable smokiness I'm with you on the Ardberg, but in terms of the crazy +peatiness competition in Scotches, it isn't the winner.
- russell_h 16y agoAm I the only one who eagerly clicked through hoping that through some scientific miracle drinking scotch could lead to weight loss? As to the actual topic, I'm not sure that its so much that people think scotch has a higher alcohol content, I've always imagined it had more to do with seeming somewhat classier and in control. Sipping a scotch while your companions pound beers establishes you (perhaps on a subconscious level) as the leader of the group whose choices aren't really up for discussion. Of course I rather like scotch so maybe I'm biased.
- varjag 16y agoHard liquor abuse actually leads to weight loss. Plenty of alcoholics are dried out like raisins.
- gaius 16y agoBut no-one really wants weight loss, and that should be easy to prove: say you were offered a choice, drop 5lbs of fat or convert 5lbs of fat to 10lbs of muscle, what would you do?
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- nl 16y agoReally? The only time I'd have taken the additional weight is when I was playing rugby, and then mostly because I couldn't really afford much food. I was 20, 65kg and worked really hard to try and get to 70kg. Being hit hurt when I was that light (ok, it hurt at 70kg too, but at least then the other guy noticed me when he ran over me) I think anyone into endurance sports would take the weight loss too (based on the running & cycling I've done).
- gaius 16y agoThe point I was making along the lines of, just because a heavy drinker might be quite slender, it doesn't imply that they're healthy. They've lost their muscle mass along with their fat. PS I am a Marathon runner and I'd take the muscle... And have you seen the quads on a serious cyclist?
- danielsiders 16y agoSeems equivalent to being the one person with a D-SLR and 5 lenses when everyone else carries a point and shoot. Even if you take fewer pictures people assume you're the more serious photographer. Apparent overkill is an effective way to preempt annoying comments?
- aaronbrethorst 16y agoUntil you get cornered by the asshole with the Rebel and the abysmal EF-S 18-55mm kit lens who's badgering you with questions about why your 50mm f/1.2L doesn't zoom.
- elai 16y agoThere are seriously people like that?!
- danielsiders 16y agoSadly the merits of prime lenses and the subtleties of optics are lost on the masses. Show up with a hasselblad medium format film camera and a Zeiss prime anywhere amateurs assemble and be met with confused stares
- nailer 16y agoI don't know anything about photography and I still know a Zeiss lens is pretty damn good.
- modality 16y ago> Even if you take fewer pictures people assume you're the more serious photographer. Or that you're a pretentious rich kid.
- geuis 16y agoI have to agree 100% with this story. I have recently taken up a taste for scotch. Not only do I drink less, I save money because I'm drinking less. Here in SF a beer or non-scotch drink might range from $5-$10. I can get one scotch for usually $8-$11 dollars, drink it for 2-3x longer than other folks with their beer and cocktails, and in the end save money even if I have a second. I had some Blue label on Saturday. Oh my, so so lovely...
- 0xygen 16y agoI have had a totally different experience actually. I would assume that the following will hold true for most of the people in the simplest form of the arguement: The more i like the drink the faster and more i would drink it. I am an avid scotch drinker and have been a connoisseur for several years now and (unfortunately) the suggested practice would fail miserably for me and potentially for scotch-lovers.
- dagw 16y agoFunny, my experience is exactly 100% the opposite. I'm also a a huge whisky fan, and find that if I'm drinking whisky all night I both drink a lot more and spend a lot more than if drinking beer. Even when sipping slowly and taking my time I find that a scotch takes, a best, half as long to finish as my friends spend on their beers.
- iuguy 16y agoI'm surprised as to how you can talk about Scotch and Johnnie Walker in the same breadth. Sure it's technically Scotch Whisky, but it's a disgustingly promoted chain brand that convinces people they're drinking real Whisky instead of overpriced mass-manufactured tat, like Ginsters Cornish Pasties (made on the Cornish border next to the main road leading into Devon). I'm not attacking you, and I apologise if this has come across this way, but really, it's made in a factory in Glasgow, not the original Kilmarnock distillery and Blue Label is ridiculously overpriced for what it is. There are so many other beautiful Scotches out there, it's a sin to eschew them in favour of lining Diageo's pockets.
- khafra 16y ago
- zbyszek 16y ago"good ol’ Scottish Whiskey"? It's Scottish whisky, and Irish whiskey.
- paolomaffei 16y agoDoes not apply to people not in USA, UK or China.
- jpr 16y agoWhat do you mean?
- paolomaffei 16y agoWell in Italy at least you aren't really FORCED to drink more and more during a night out with friends.
- arethuza 16y agoFor anyone seriously interested in whisky I can recommend this: http://www.smws.co.uk/ http://www.smws.co.uk/
- fmw 16y agoAnother benefit to your diet is taking a glass of whisky as an alternative to your "evening snack". For me, it is a good way to avoid the urge to eat something. Especially when paired with a good cigar or tobacco pipe. Last night that was a dram of Highland Park 18yo accompanied by a Trinidad Reyes cigar, which was a wonderful experience. The only problem with giving in to vices like these is giving yourself an excuse to drink. Thankfully, I'm pretty relaxed with alcohol and often don't drink anything at all for weeks or even a few months on end, but you still have to be careful that it doesn't become a daily ritual.
- iuguy 16y agoI have to say I much prefer Irish Whiskeys like Bushmills Malt and Jameson. Then again, I'm not a lover of peat, so Speyside's the place for me.
- c00p3r 16y agoOne scotch, one bourbon, one beer - that is a hack!
- nhebb 16y agoUsing the word 'hack' is a linkbait hack.
- seven 16y agoMy diet hack: Do not give a sh*t about peer pressure and drink what you think is best for you. "Mach dein eigenes Ding, dann klappts auch mit der Nachbarin." - German for "Do your own thing and it will work out with the neighbours girl."
- barkmadley 16y agoA bunch of my friends and I have been organising a regular event we call Scotch Guard. It is a time when we come together and bring exotic alcohols to share and sample. I have noticed my gut has receded slightly since attending these events because I haven't been drinking as much beer, yet still socialising just as much. 'Tis a good hack I say.
- Alex3917 16y ago"Oh and you still get the anti-inflammatory actions of alcohol too, just without any of the extra calories." Alcohol causes inflammation, it's not an anti-inflammatory in any way. Maybe the author was confused because both alcohol and aspirin reduce your risks of heart attacks, and the latter is an NSAID. But taking alcohol if you have inflammatory problems is an extremely bad idea.
- mburney 16y agoFrom another post by the author: "it is interesting to note that small amounts of alcohol (the occasional drink) is associated with reduced levels of markers of chronic inflamamtion like IL-6, CRP and leptin." Don't have any sources of the research, but it seems like he may post it soon.
- Alex3917 16y agoI'd be interested to see this research. It's obviously no surprise that drinking would be associated with lower levels of inflammation, considering how much physcial/emotional discomfort alcohol causes to people prone to inflammation. I just have a really hard time believing there could be causation without seeing the research.
- garret 16y agoThe point of this article seems to be: people believe scotch has more alcohol than it does, so you can drink less without their pressuring you into drinking more. Obviously you could just have a water This is more about hacking other people than it is about diet. Managing other people's impressions of you without having to be upfront about what you're doing.
- isleyaardvark 16y agoAm I the only one here who thinks scotch acts as an appetite suppressant? Scotch reduces my hunger in a way that beer or wine doesn't.
- hysterix 16y agowhy does everything have to be a hack?