Diet vs alcoholic beverages

InFitRealm
InFitRealm Posts: 36 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi Everyone!

I'd like to bring up the the subject of alcohol while you are on a diet. I don't mean the situation when you simply add a glass of wine to sip during your dinner.
What I have in mind is banquet, birthday parties, meetings with friends at a house party etc.
First what came to my mind are pure beverages. Vodka or whiskey are mentioned very often here, but they have a great amount of an alcohol (40%). So, another option would be red dry wine.
But such wine can have even up to 300 calories per glass (even the dry ones).
On the other hand, the calorie is in fact the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius. The alcohol has practically no fat and the trace amount of carbs and proteins. I've also seen some statements (backed with studies) that when you're on a diet you should not be in fact afraid of alcohol at all, but focus more what appetizers are served along. As the food you snack during such events is the problem.

What do you think about that?
Which alcohol is the best pick in such situations?

Replies

  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    I go by the rule of thumb that there are 25 calories per ounce of dry red wine. A big pour of red wine at 6 ounces would 150 calories. two glasses and you are in for 300 calories. I did that roughly twice a week as I lost weight and continue to do so now I am in year 2 of maintenance. I am a wine person, not a booze person, so wine (or beer) will always be my choice.

    My advice would be to drink what you like, just don't drink too much on a regular basis where you are sabotaging your weight loss efforts.
  • Miamiuu
    Miamiuu Posts: 262 Member
    A shot of tequila is usually great if you are low carbing. You get a buzz and hardly any carbs with it.
  • Kanuenue
    Kanuenue Posts: 253 Member
    Alcohol is 7 calories per gram, Almost as much as the fat grams contained in the rich appetizers. Alcohol, especially in excess, can disrupt your bodies ability to properly metabolize nutrients, favoring to process the alcohol and store food instead. Plus, the more you drink, the more likely you are to say "yes" to those naughty appetizers, especially if you are hungry. Treat alcohol like dessert, take it after the meal and have a reasonable portion.

    Drink whatever you want and enjoy it. Fit it into your macros if that matters to you. But don't do it in excess. No more than two drinks a day for a woman or three a day for a man.
  • toronto_j
    toronto_j Posts: 206 Member
    I've seen this site posted here a few times, there's also an app! http://getdrunknotfat.com/

    My problem with alcohol is that after a couple of drinks, I'll eat anything in front of me.
  • InFitRealm
    InFitRealm Posts: 36 Member
    Thank you all for the input! I'm definitely not going to excess :). As mentioned in the first post I'm thinking here about the occasions, not day to day activity. I even prefer a tee to my dinner instead of wine.
    Nevertheless it happens from time to time that you are invited to some event that is more or less formal. I don't want to avoid such meetings, but I'm aware that when you're on a diet you have to cut down drinking to minimum.
    I am just wondering how to approach this subject reasonably. You can describe me as diet neophyte. I've already incorporated some recommended eating habits and improved my lifestyle. But now I want to fine tune it even more, lose some weight and go on a diet. Previously I focused on exercising. I hope I'll reach my goal.

    You can hear or read a lot about meals. However when it comes to alcohol, this subject seems to be intact. If you eventually find something on that, then the statements often say otherwise. At one place you read that two or three glasses of wine at such occasion is ok, as alcohol should not interrupt your diet that much. After that you reach some other source which states that even an average glass of dry wine has like 200-300 calories and you should avoid drinking it too. Each standpoint of course refers to some studies.
    This is so inconsistent that I decided to ask here for advice on that. You don't only assume things but are practitioners and have better knowledge on this than me. I want to know for a fact what's the impact and how others on a diet find themselves in such situations.
  • emilyisbonkers
    emilyisbonkers Posts: 373 Member
    you could try mixing spirits with diet drinks, then a single is only about 58 calories a glass
  • Meggles63
    Meggles63 Posts: 916 Member
    you could try mixing spirits with diet drinks, then a single is only about 58 calories a glass
    ^^^^This! Best of both worlds.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    if it fits youre cals your good, but, in excess, it causes issues. When I put down half a bottle of whiskey after a leg day I feel like I got hit by a train in the morning. You dont recover at all while your liver processes the ethanol. This was said above, but, I'm stressing the reality of it. I thought I had a hernia once, my abs hurt so bad.

    That being said, wine and booze. Not sugary crap like jager, fireball, rumpleminz, etc. You might as well be drinking a beer at that point (calorie wise)
  • alison81az
    alison81az Posts: 5 Member
    When out, I try to stick to vodka soda (no cals in soad water) with lemon and lime, but love a good glass of wine at home.

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