Making Smart Alcohol Choices

Making Smart Alcohol Choices

If you’re on a fat loss diet program, alcohol is something that you should be strictly limiting.  Not only is alcohol very calorie dense coming in at seven calories per gram, but it’s also going to put an immediate halt to all fat loss progress going on when you consume it.

Not to mention the fact that when you indulge in a few drinks your will power to stick with your diet will also go down, therefore it could cause you to start eating foods that you shouldn’t.

That said, not everyone can cut out drinking from time to time as it is something that’s heavily linked to normal socialization, so if you feel like drinking isn’t something that you can give the boot to, at the very least it’s helpful to know which drink choices you should be choosing.

Let’s have a look at the top considerations.

The Good

Straight Liquor With Seltzer Water

The very first choice that you should consider is one ounce of your favourite liquor with simple seltzer water or plain water.  This will contain only around 70 calories per drink, so is a much lighter option.

If you can alternate this with one glass of plain water, all the better.

White Wine

If wine is your thing, the good news is that this is also a relatively lower calorie choice as well.  Most wines range from 90-150 calories per glass depending on the variety, so if you keep your total number of glasses down, it doesn’t have to destroy your diet plan.

Like the above, it’s always a good idea to alternate one alcohol drink with one non.

Light Beer

Light beer is another choice that you may want to consider.  If you’re a big fan of beer but don’t like what it does to your weight, light beer is almost half the calories so will be much less devastating to your diet plan.

Light beer is also lower in total carbohydrates, so that’s definitely a plus as well.

The Bad

Creamy Liquors

Now we move on to the less than optimal choices.  Creamy liquors are one drink to beware of as they contain alcohol, fat, and sugar in one, so will really be a doozy as far as sticking with your diet is concerned.

Often these are mixed with milk as well, so while the milk is healthy, it will add extra calories.  Most creamy liquors will come in around 120 calories per ounce, so it will add up quickly.

Frozen Beverages

Frozen slushy beverages are also something to be very careful about. These can easily contain upwards of 400 calories once everything is added in and will do a real number on your waistline.

They contain far too much sugar as well, which will be very bad if you’re trying to prevent a hangover.  The combination of so much sugar plus alcohol entering the body is a sure-fire recipe for body fat gain.  The sugar will spike the insulin levels and since there is no carbohydrate oxidation taking place (as the body will be 100% focused on burning off the alcohol calories), this means that sugar will move right into body fat stores.

Cocktails

Finally, the last beverages to avoid are any fancy cocktail like drinks.  These also contain higher amounts of sugar and will often contain more than one different type of alcohol as well.

Most come in at around 300 calories or more, so will put a big dent in your diet if you have two or three that evening.

So be sure that you keep these points in mind if you do plan to drink on your diet.  Alcohol does tend to hinder your progress so you really must make a choice as to what is most important to you – weight loss success or indulging in your favourite drinks.