Alcohol alternatives

AuroraCoL

Hello!

I'm doing fairly well on my diet but I'm struggling to find alternatives to my favorite treats: wine and hard cider. Lately I've been treating myself to either a glass of iced tea or club soda mixed with juice in the evening, but I'm wondering if anyone would like to share their favorite beverages. Or any motivating phrases to keep me away from the liquor cabinet!

Cheers,

Emily (UniqueSnowflake)

ElBence

I have never drank alcohol, but one of my favorite drinks is a good lemonade (I prefer fresh squeezed, but Simply brand makes a good lemonade) mixed with frozen fruit of your choice in a blender and a single mint leaf blended. This works particularly well with strawberries, cherries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, and mangoes. The best solution if you want to keep your calories down is to cut the lemonade with water.

jaimeeknudson

Oh man, I am the exact same! There is nothing better after a long day, to come and have a glass of wine, or a nice cold beer! and I tried to measure out the 4oz of wine that is "per serving"...and that is crap. hahaha I do not have advice for you on that actually, because I struggle as well.. Just wanted to show you moral support ;-)

MamaFunky

Have you tried warm green tea or warm chamomile tea with a touch of honey. They can be very calming after a busy day. I enjoy a glass of wine or a cold beer on occasion, but have found that warm tea is great too! HTH!

IronSmasher

Have you tried spinning on the spot?

AuroraCoL

Thanks everyone! Some great suggestions already.. and lots of support!

AuroraCoL

Have you tried spinning on the spot?

Har har :P

Will_Run_for_Food

I suppose it depends on what you miss about the wine/cider. Is it the taste, or the feeling? For me it's both, but I find the MADD alcohol-free wine tastes all right (red tastes closer to the real thing than white).

IronSmasher

Have you tried getting a single serving bottle?

Sreneesa

For me its the feeling. I like to feel buzzed. Always been a vice of mine.

I do once a week. ... on average. That is cutting way down on my end.

But there has been weeks where I didn't drink. I try to fit it in cals and accept that some of the cals will be empty and macros will not come close to being met. Its worth it though as I do not plan to never not drink again! No fun! Gotta have my type of fun sometimes! lol

cmira5ol

I second ^^^^^^

After a long day, I like to have a beer, a glass of wine, or a shot of Bourbon.....l too will never not not drink again, life is too short......in moderation.

Will_Run_for_Food

Agreed - in moderation, so long as you can control it!

GenoPrice

For me its the feeling. I like to feel buzzed. Always been a vice of mine.

I do once a week. ... on average. That is cutting way down on my end.

But there has been weeks where I didn't drink. I try to fit it in cals and accept that some of the cals will be empty and macros will not come close to being met. Its worth it though as I do not plan to never not drink again! No fun! Gotta have my type of fun sometimes! lol

I used to drink 2 - 4 beers/cider or glasses of wine a night but have cut down to once a week. I do 2 workouts on this day to account for the extra empty calories.

christopherphillips1983

Man, Angry Orchard hard cider is like the only alcohol I drink anymore. That stuff is delicious.

I don't really substitute anything for it, I simply don't drink as much as a whole. If I have one drink a week, that's probably about it unless there's some specific event going on (like my cousin's upcoming birthday party on the same day as the Superbowl... and we live in Seahawks territory. There will be booze). Generally speaking, the less I drink, the less I want to drink. I had a soda with my lunch earlier today, but other than that, all of the liquids I'd had in the last week were water, two cups of milk, and some fruit juice.

Bigmitch41

I dont drink anywere near the amount I used to (booze), just weekends now with one or two bottles of pear cider on ice. Water, diluted squash, Ginger beer and Tea is what usually drink most of the time.

ccole1009

I'm not a huge drinker to begin with, but I mainly drink lemonade (and strawberry lemonade) now. Its got some flavor, and its not as bland as some of those diet drinks (like crystal light).

randomtai

Life is too short to give up booze. :drinker:

Unknown

This content has been removed.

davidsonl13

I just have fizzy water our of a wine glass

zmzmzm19

Have you tried the Skinny Girl line of drinks? I know they have both red and white wine and 100 cals a serving, not bad, and you can still enjoy an occasional glass.

Betty_Rubble

Alcohol is my #1 diet wrecker. I just can't drink alcohol and lose weight no matter how hard I work out or how healthy I eat. Although I didn't drink during the week, I love(d) my weekend libations! I like decaf tea in the evenings... :-/

futuresize8

I really like the flavored LaCroix and sometimes can find them in glass bottles instead of cans. Somehow, it seems more elegant. I have it over ice and it is a nice substitute on my drink free days. Cheers!

kickassketo

If you're missing the flavor, then I would just have one glass maybe once a week. But, if you are missing the feeling, you can switch to hard liquor - whiskey, gin, vodka, rum, scotch, etc. - which only has 64 calories per ounce, as opposed to the wine, beer or cider, which had tons more. I personally like gin and seltzer, but if you want, you can mix it with diet coke or crystal light or any no/low calorie beverage of your choice. I go out socially once a week, and even if I have three drinks, I can usually still fit it into my calories. One thing to note is that most bars do a 1.5 ounce pour, so be sure you're counting as accurately as you can.

Escloflowne

Weed.

Too many calories.....man!

sheenarama

Hahahahaha... alternative. Just do so in moderation.:drinker:

eldamiano

Cant beat a cup of tea....

MinkeyMe

It's hard for me too. I love coming home from work and having either a beer or a glass of wine. I still drink but only if I have calories to spare that day. I too have found that the flavored LaCroix seltzer water to be a decent substitute for a beer. It's cold and fizzy but not sweet. And it helps me get more water in.

Snow__White

Weed.

^^THIS

Teksavvy

... But, if you are missing the feeling, you can switch to hard liquor - whiskey, gin, vodka, rum, scotch, etc. - which only has 64 calories per ounce, as opposed to the wine, beer or cider, which had tons more. ...

I did the same thing. Beer is like eating a slice of bread (wrt calories) and wine is as bad a fruit juice. They have flavored vodkas which can be mixed with water and still give a nice buzz without the influx in calories from needing several to get the same feeling.

sillyvalentine

Too much sugar!

Try brut champagne. I switched from wine because it has only 450 cals a bottle and like 12g sugar!

F00LofaT00K

Hello!

I'm doing fairly well on my diet but I'm struggling to find alternatives to my favorite treats: wine and hard cider. Lately I've been treating myself to either a glass of iced tea or club soda mixed with juice in the evening, but I'm wondering if anyone would like to share their favorite beverages. Or any motivating phrases to keep me away from the liquor cabinet!

Cheers,

Emily (UniqueSnowflake)

Have you considered just having less? I still drink wine and beer, but sometimes I'll only have 3 or 4 oz instead of a few glasses. My boyfriend is always happy to finish the other half of my beer if a whole one doesn't fit in my calories. If you definitely want to stay away from alcohol entirely, my mom used to make me and my sisters virgin cocktails out of cocktail mixes. I'm pretty sure they have some that are lower in calories. Mix it with some sprite zero or seltzer water. I bet you could mimic hard cider by finding the right combination of club soda and real apple cider.