Adult Beverages-recommendations?

jaggerjia
jaggerjia Posts: 51
in Food and Nutrition
I am new to MFP and the lifestyle change that comes with it (honestly, am excited about it) and am looking for suggestions for an evening out with friends, what to order? I love wine with dinner and miller lite or gin and tonic if I'm at a bar. I used to not think about the caloric ramifications of drinking a few beers on a weekend night out but now realize just a few add up to a higher number of calories than my breakfast and lunch combined! What do you guys order/recommend? I'm not very picky, just looking for an alternative. I understand moderation is key, but wondering what works for you.

Replies

  • WVprankster
    WVprankster Posts: 430 Member
    If I want to stay sober, I order beers that I'm not a huge fan of or straight liquor on the rocks. If I want to catch a buzz, liquor in diet pop. If I want to wake up in a different time zone wearing someone else's pants, I'll order Jeager and give no ****s about the calories.
  • markrichtsspraytan
    markrichtsspraytan Posts: 89 Member
    Vodka, soda, splash of cranberry. Bacardi and diet Coke. Beck's Light. Hoegaarden. Bud/Miller light.

    I like gin and diet tonic, but most places have only regular tonic, which still has a good amount of calories. Soda has 0 though, so you could try it with soda and lime.
  • nickatine
    nickatine Posts: 451 Member
    Bacardi, captain, skyy vodka, pretty much any hard liquor, as for beers - I like busch light, natural light, bud select, michelob ultra, sleeman clear . All of those beers are 95 cal, except for bud select which comes in at 99.
  • JoeCWV
    JoeCWV Posts: 213 Member
    Bourbon or Scotch on the rocks. Generally about 65 calories a drink depending on which brand. Drinking Aberlour as I type this 65 calories per shot (oz). I about 300 calories in.
  • laurenjill
    laurenjill Posts: 94 Member
    If you wanna drink beer and you already like Miller Lite, it's your best bet for calories per ABV at 5.1%, 96 calories per 12 ounces. If I'm drinking liquor, I prefer bourbon on the rocks. Check out http://www.getdrunknotfat.com for some common adult beverage calorie counts.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Another vote for bourbon.

    If I'm in for beer and I want to watch it Coor's light for me.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    a gin and tonic is 100 calories. enjoy!
  • Cortelli
    Cortelli Posts: 1,369 Member
    a gin and tonic is 100 calories. enjoy!

    Tonic (ordinary, non-diet) is pretty calorie heavy - about 10 cals per ounce. If you're in the US and getting a 1.5 oz pour of gin, and having 6 or 8 ounces of tonic, you're pushing closer to 200 calories.

    Spirits (I favor tequila! but bourbon, vodka, gin, some rums, etc. are all more or less the same calorie-wise) are your best bet. If you prefer a mixer, a 0 calorie soda of some kind.

    For beer, my go to is Guinness as it is flavorful and remarkably low cal (only 125 cals in 12 oz; 155 in a draft pint).

    And I still indulge in hoppy IPAs of various persuasions from time to time, but best not to dwell on the calories there.
  • glasshalffull713
    glasshalffull713 Posts: 323 Member
    I like to get a margarita made with fresh lemon and lime juice and no sweetener. If that's not available, then maybe a vodka and soda with a few slices of lemon and/or lime.

    Otherwise, I just indulge and have ONE beer, especially if there is good craft beer, because I really love it and would rather have it than multiples of other drinks.
  • Dragn77
    Dragn77 Posts: 810 Member
    What I do when I go out is.... I get a gin and tonic, even with reg tonic, it has less cals / no carbs than most drinks out there. But I alternate it between gin and tonic, and soda water with lime. That way, it *looks* like Im still drinking (cause I wanna be social and all) but then I also *feel* like Im still drinking (cause its fizzy and limey)... but by alternating like that, every two drinks only counts for one.

    But Im not a big drinker when I go out...for me its mostly about making sure I have something in my hand..otherwise my friends will keep buying me drinks. So if you MUST have a drink at all times, this would not work, but if youre down for taking it easy, this is a great way to do it.

    Oh, and on the plus, I usually dont get charged for my soda with lime (and this is Miami, where drinks are mega expensive, so if they dont charge for it here, Im sure they wont charge for it elsewhere), so I only pay for half my drinks, so to speak. Half the cals, half the bar tab = more for me to be happy about :)
  • AceCC86
    AceCC86 Posts: 71
    I was a big gin & tonic fan, but couldn't justify all of the calories in the tonic water. I found that Hendricks or Brockmans gin and soda water is a good alternative. They both have less of a juniper bite so you don't need the quinine in the tonic to balance it out.

    A glass of wine is only about 150 calories, so I don't feel too guilty about it.

    Otherwise I'll usually go with straight whiskey/bourbon and cut out the middle man.

    Yep. I like the sauce. What can I say.
  • Whiskeytub
    Whiskeytub Posts: 96 Member
    I love straight bourbon or scotch. I'll often order a light beer on the side just to slow myself down a bit. If straight liquor isn't your style, try a bourbon and soda water with bitters and a splash of ginger ale if you need to sweeten it. If whiskey isn't your style, try tequila and soda water with a bit of cranberry and a couple of lemon wedges. Pretty much mix anything with soda water and a splash of something else for flavor. Bitters go with whiskey and gin really well and can really give depth to a drink without adding a ton of calories.

    If you're planning on getting schnockered, you're going to run up the calories no matter what, so if I know I'm going out I'll be really stingy with my calories until right before I go out then eat something protein-heavy. If you don't eat before you go out, you will certainly get more bang for your buck buzz-wise, but you're more likely to end up with a hangover and/or in another time zone wearing someone else's pants like one of the above posters said.
  • gamerguy123
    gamerguy123 Posts: 48 Member
    This is prob too simple/already thought off. I like a buzz while I'm playing video games on weekends. So what I do is instead of the regular size light beers I get the smaller cans/bottles. So what ends up happening is I have a few small cans instead of a couple of big cans...it think it's 12 oz vs 8 oz. So I have the same quantity of cans, but save maybe 4 oz per can. Obviously won't get as buzzed but it's sort of a trick thinking you already had two, but the two you had are smaller.

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