BIRTHDAY ALCOHOL OPINION

Happy Birthday! Have Fun!

Real quick: hard alcohols like gin, vodka, clear run, tequila and whiskey contain about the same amount of calories. You need to buy something that is more-or-less mainstream. For example, jimador tequila is comparable to jim beam whiskey, in terms of calories. When you get into dark rum, bourbon whiskey or canadian whiskey, they start rising in calories. Amazingly, Guiness is a low-cal beer. It doesn't contain too many more than a Coors, so appearances can be deceiving (dark doesn't always equal worse for you... but usually it does). I would do a hard liquor that mixes well with club soda (zero cal), not tonic (high cal), unless you want to do diet tonic water (not all bars carry this).

Otherwise, straight up go for red wine. It's my new go-to. You get more bang for your buck (alcohol content vs. calories) and you get the health benefit of whatever makes wine that lovely dark red (that's right, white wine doesn't give you the same benefit).

When you start drinking more (especially at home), my wife suggests zero cal crystal light lemonade mix with vodka. I suggest huckleberry vodka with club soda. Gin and tonics (with diet tonic water) are life-saving in the summer, especially if you aren't letting yourself drink beer.

I think you're doing the right thing by reducing your caloric intake before drinking, to make up for all the calories you'll be consuming. Just remember that sugar = a worse hangover. Less food = a faster buzz, so don't totally overdo it. But it's your birthday... so you should probably wake up with a hangover tomorrow.

Party on, Wayne!

Alcohol is metabolized to acetate in the liver which is pure energy. Our bodies LOVE pure energy because it's so easy to burn. Just keep in mind, any other calories you consume will be unnecessary for energy use and stored, so keep your food calories reasonable. Stick to proteins and avoid sugary carbs, which will be stored for as long as there is acetate to burn. Drink lightly, try to dodge sugary mixed drinks like margaritas, mai tais or anything mixed with straight soda versus diet. Make it a rule to finish one glass of water for every alcohol-based beverage to slow you down. Get home safely, and have an awesome birthday! I was a 25-yr old single mom myself back in the stone age, and boy that was a fun night. :laugh:

If it's a lifestyle change, it doesn't matter what you do today, because tomorrow it won't matter. Have as much fun as you can without thinking about it. Happy Birthday.