Chris Pratt’s Shirtless Selfie Reminds Us All That Taking a Beer Break Can Be a Very Good Thing

Who doesn’t love Andy Dwyer (a.k.a. the hilarious Chris Pratt) on* Parks and Recreation*? But…wait a second. This doesn’t look exactly like the Andy we’re all used to:

In fact, this is Chris Pratt, who has clearly been working out steadily for his upcoming role in Guardians of the Galaxy. He posted the photo above to Instagram, along with the caption: “Six months no beer. #GOTG Kinda douchey to post this but my brother made me.”

Obviously, he’s done more than simply trade one kind of six-pack for another, but it brings up a good point: Beer (and alcohol in general) can get in the way of weight-loss goals, big -time.

According to HealthTap’s Dr. David J. Wyatt, a family medicine physician in Atlanta who works with patients to achieve healthier weights:

“People see beer, which is often easier to access and more affordable than wine and mixed drinks, as a sustenance and refreshment instead of a treat. We find that beer hinders weight loss because it raises caloric intake quickly, and its empty calories can’t be metabolized correctly, which impacts the drinker’s fat deposition, often leading to the beer gut and ‘flat tire’ at the midsection.The biggest thing to avoid is replacing water with beer—I recommend 80 ounces of water (and that doesn’t include the water in beer!). Also avoid bingeing on beer and alcohol. I recommend one or two drinks per day at most. And the ‘light’ options with lower calories are certainly much better than standard high-calorie beers.”

__So! What do you think of Chris’ transformation? And when you’re trying to lose weight, do you cut out alcohol completely? Or do you have some other secret? __

More celeb health:

• 4 fitness moves supermodels actually do

• A peek into Bar Refaeli’s workout

• [Stars who work out with pals, daughters, and dogs

](/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2013/06/jessica-biel-eric-dane-hugh-ja.html)

Photo: Instagram