Good things come to those who wait. The bartender picks up a clean, curved, harp-embossed glass from under the counter. He smiles back as he lifts it up to the shiny brass tap and black nozzle. Tilting the glass at a 45-degree angle, he releases the tap. Slowly the glass is filled with a liquid substance. It turns from a creamy light brown colour to a marvellous ruby red. Roasted malted barley hits the nose. Beautiful bubbles travel up and around the glass. In a two-part process, the liquid hits around the three-quarter mark the tap is snapped off. Bubbles continue to move towards the surface. The liquid wriggles with excitement. A full minute has passed as the liquid cascades inside its new snug home. The bartender has the time to take payment. He smiles again as he addresses the pint for a second time. Releasing the tap, he fills the glass to the top. A perfect dark ruby-red liquid and a shiny layer of around 18-20mm of white foamy goodness. A total number of calories of 210. The result is a perfect pour of Guinness.
Drinking Guinness & When I Was Younger
It was not uncommon for me to drink ten pints of Guinness at the pub. I have travelled to St James’ Gate brewery and sampled the “freshest of fresh” pints with 360 views of Dublin. As Dad, I am much more of a lightweight. To make up for it, I have friends who regularly drink six to sixteen pints of Guinness in one session. Absolute legends and powerhouse drinkers respected by all Dads. You definitely have more Dad points if you can handle upwards of six pints of 4.2% ABV Guinness and you can still function the next day with the kids. Personally, my level of tolerance is an unimpressive three to four pints. Sleeping after any pint is never great. I put that down to the alcohol content in each serving. I love the social aspect that comes from the pub. Before writing this article I was not sure about the number of calories in a pint of Guinness. I no longer drink a lot and still love the odd Guinness, especially after Rugby. Watching the two-part pour always gets me a little excited.
Addressing the Number of Calories In A Pint Of Guinness.
Occasionally I will get a weekend that I overindulge or get a little excited. We all know we need to drink in moderation. Sometimes it is hard not to drink a few when the week has been chaos. The only issue I have is the number of calories in a pint of Guinness and how many we consume during a drinking session. There have been beautifully executed marketing strategies to suggest Guinness is good for us. There might be benefits outside of what I know. When it comes to calorie counting, I beg to differ. In this post, I will attempt to show you the math on calories when drinking Guinness.
Counting The Number Of Calories In A Pint Of Guinness
A single Guinness is not too bad when counting the number of calories. It is a manageable number to add to our calorie counting.
Number of Calories In A Pint of Guinness: 210
Grams of Protein: 1.9
Grams of Carbohydrates: 18.2
Grams of Fat: 0.3
Grams of Fibre: 0
Grams of Alcohol: 23.9
However, let us look at the math and the number of calories in ten pints.
Number of Calories: 2100
Grams of Protein: 19
Grams of Carbohydrates: 182
Grams of Fat: 3
Grams of Fibre: 0
Grams of Alcohol: 239
Then drink as much as sixteen pints of Guinness.
Number of Calories: 3360
Grams of Protein: 30.4
Grams of Carbohydrates: 291
Grams of Fat: 4.8
Grams of Fibre: 0
Grams of Alcohol: 382.4
As a Dad, my optimal amount of calories to maintain my weight is roughly 2,593. Protein 158grams, carbohydrates 346 grams and 74 grams of fat. When we run the math on more than one pint, our calories start to add up. You might be arguing at this point that exercise will consume some of those calories. Yes, you are right. As a Dad, we struggle to get the time to exercise. Sometimes we fall asleep on the floor of our child’s bedroom, holding his hand as we wait for him to fall asleep. Which means we miss our evening workout. Getting to the gym is a ball ache when we have a commute. That leaves lunchtime as the only opportunity to work out. That is if our boss gives us an hour lunch break or as a business owner we give ourselves one.
Drinking 16 Pints Of Guinness
This is how it stacks up if I drink 16 pints of Guinness and do not work out.
Calories In: 5953
Calories needed to function normally: 2593
Grams of Protein: 188.4
Grams of Carbohydrates: 637
Grams of Fat: 78.8
Grams of Alcohol: 382.4
The only thing that matters for weight loss is to have a calorie deficit. No one wants to go on a lemon juice diet! With the extra sixteen pints of Guinness, we are roughly 3085 calories over what we need. That is before adding any food. So you are one of those Dads who gets plenty of time to exercise and hits the gym every morning before work. For the example below, I will use my average calories burnt to give a rough idea. Or you can cross-check it with your calorie counter on your Garmin or something equivalent.
Counting The Number Of Calories During Exercise
The average number of calories burnt at the gym during regular strength work: is 200
The average number of calories burnt at the gym for high-intensity workouts: is 500
The average number of calories burnt on an hour jog is 400
The average number of calories burnt in an hour of squash: is 600
The average number of calories burnt on a 30km trail run is 3000
The average number of calories burnt on a 50km trail run is 4600
Not everyone will be running 30km or 50km trail runs or training for these types of marathon events.
The math on one gym session and sixteen pints
Calories In sixteen pints of Guinness: 5953
Calories Need + Exercise: 3093
Result: + 2860 Calories without eating any food
We have to play around 5 hours of high-intensity squash to burn an extra 2860 calories. Fuck that!
Marketing, Weight Loss & Guinness
I am in the marketing industry and can tell you that a lot of what we see in the weight loss or weight management industry is a beautifully crafted marketing strategy to get you to BUY a product or service. We like to believe there is a magic pill or a method to help us. Or that a new research document proves a particular diet works. Some diets do work for Dads wanting to lose weight. Not because of the specific diet process but because it works well with their lifestyle and is easy to execute. Establishing good habits around a calorie deficit is the only thing that matters when you want to lose weight. Why do we all not count our calories? Because it is a pain in the arse, especially as a busy Dad. I am a Dad that loves a challenge, but counting calories is not something I am interested in. So how do we fight the number of calories in a Guinness? If you are not worried about calories, crack on and enjoy the beautiful pint when it hits your lips. If you want to look good in your clothes, get rid of your manboobs, lose weight or tone up, then we need to build a healthy habit around our consumption of Guinness.