How to Drink Alcohol while trying to Lose Weight

So you are wondering how to drink alcohol while trying to lose weight.   If you’re trying to lose weight and live a healthier life sometimes we feel we need to completely cut out alcohol but then life happens and you start feeling deprived because you can’t enjoy a few drinks at the weekend – the whole healthy eating gets thrown out the window and you are back to all your old habits again and feeling frustrated, unmotivated and stuck in a rut.   It doesn’t have to be that way.  You can still enjoy a few drinks while trying to lose weight but we need to make smarter choices.

It can be difficult to know what type of alcoholic drinks you can drink that is not laden with calories and sugar.  We do have a few suggestions however it doesn’t mean you should overindulge in these options as we all know no matter what calories from alcohol are high and it has no nutritious benefits.

So here a few tips on how to enjoy alcohol with out completely sabotaging your weight loss goals.

1. Drink water. As alcohol dehydrates you try and drink extra water over the day before you go out and when out try and have a glass of water for every alcoholic drink you consume.  Don’t be afraid to order a sparking or still water during the nights.  People don’t even notice and if they do just say you have a big day tomorrow and need to be on form.
2. Limit the number of drinks you consume.  A good way to make a drink last longer especially spirits is to ask for a larger glass and keep adding ice to the drink.  This will also help with hydration.
3. Order slimline or zero sugar mixers.  They are lower in calories and have less or no sugar.
4. Ensure you are drinking on a full stomach.  Don’t drink when you are hungry as the alcohol with hit you a lot quicker.  Having proper meals throughout the day will stop you absorbing the alcohol too quickly. And of course, drink sensibly a single night out could be 1000 in calories from alcohol alone.

See below a list of popular alcoholic drinks you might be surprised how many calories are in your drink.  It might also help you make an informed decision when choosing your drink for the evening.

• Pint of Guinness (210 Kcals)
• Pint of larger (164 Kcals)
• Bottle of larger (110 kcals)
• Jager bomb (209 Kcals)
• Gin & Slimline Tonic (115 kcals)
• Vodka & Soda water (97 kcals)
• A glass of Prosecco 125ml (84 kcals) – Full bottle 504 Kcals
• A glass of White Wine 125ml (118 Kcals) – Full bottle 708 kcals
• A glass of Red Wine (126 Kcals) Full bottle -756 kcals

Another great alternative, of course, is non-alcoholic drinks.  This area is getting more and more popular.  Before we could only get non-alcoholic beer but in recent times we have a larger selection available in both supermarkets, off licences and bars.   For example, the new non-alcoholic gin & tonic Noki is gorgeous – on a blind taste test recently  I did not know the difference.  All the benefits without the hangover or extra calories !!