Alcohol choices when trying to get lean

I’d stay away from tonic bc of the sugar. I was a vodka club soda girl before. Now I can’t even smell vodka lol. Tequila & club soda with lime juice is my go to now. I also had to just give up the alcohol. I could easily have a few drinks back to back.

Just the one glass of sauvignon blanc and I pick good wines but keep sugar content at 2g, so extra dry. I use my food scale and pour no more than 5 oz. that's one serving. The fashionable wine glasses are HUGE!
Sometimes I'll top it off with Perrier and make it a spritzer. Under 110 cal usually.

I used to be able to drink a whole bottle of wine and now I just measure out using a spirit measure so I stay under 200 calories in alcohol. Other alternative is gin (again a measure), slimline tonic and lime wedges. This would be under 110 calories for 2 drinks. I exercise every day so have some extra calories for a drink most evenings. Also I wait until 9:30-10pm to have a drink so have less than if I had one at dinner

One bottle (~600 calories) isn't a crazy amount spread over 2 or 3 days if it is a treat you really enjoy.

Sometimes I do enjoy wine a lot and sometimes I'm meh. When I've focused on taste and what's enjoyable about it, I've recognized for me part of the enjoyment is the ceremony around it, sharing it with someone, the sense of occasion (e.g. kicking off weekend). I discovered I can enjoy all that, and taste, with mocktails. Some people's idea of a mocktail is what I would call a smoothie, but mine are low calorie- much lower than anything alcoholic. It's fun playing with tart and bitter tastes, and I don't mind using a splash of sprite zero, cider or some such for sweetness. I'm also not a purist about keeping it alcohol free and will use a dash of alcohol based bitters or amaro. Amaro's tend to be bitter and sweet and pretty caloric; despite that I usually come out ahead on calories going this route vs. heavier on alcohol.

My kids get a laugh out of seeing everclear on the kitchen counter when I've made ginger bitters.

ahoy_m8 wrote: »

One bottle (~600 calories) isn't a crazy amount spread over 2 or 3 days if it is a treat you really enjoy.

Sometimes I do enjoy wine a lot and sometimes I'm meh. When I've focused on taste and what's enjoyable about it, I've recognized for me part of the enjoyment is the ceremony around it, sharing it with someone, the sense of occasion (e.g. kicking off weekend). I discovered I can enjoy all that, and taste, with mocktails. Some people's idea of a mocktail is what I would call a smoothie, but mine are low calorie- much lower than anything alcoholic. It's fun playing with tart and bitter tastes, and I don't mind using a splash of sprite zero, cider or some such for sweetness. I'm also not a purist about keeping it alcohol free and will use a dash of alcohol based bitters or amaro. Amaro's tend to be bitter and sweet and pretty caloric; despite that I usually come out ahead on calories going this route vs. heavier on alcohol.

My kids get a laugh out of seeing everclear on the kitchen counter when I've made ginger bitters.

Not all bottles of wine are 600 cal, though...Depends on the ABV% of the wine. Many red wines in California come-in at 14.5% ABV, so you are looking at ~675 cal. Not much of a difference, but if you are a calorie-counting, it COULD make you lose that illustrious "under" for the day...

If you have "Everclear" on your counter, I wish you were MY Mom....;) lol

Personally, if I'm going to drink alcohol as a treat, I'm going to choose the specific drink based on taste-preference, then manage the portions. During weight loss, and even during maintenance, that has meant anything from gin or rye/bitters with soda (at about 70 calories per portion), to high-ABV DIPA or Imperials (350 calories or so per pint).

For sure, IMO, the most calorie-efficient for alcohol content are the clear spirits, with a no-calorie or super-low-calorie mixer/add-ins to spread out the drinking (vs. doing shots 😉). Another option, if the thought doesn't horrify you, is a wine spritzer with one of the sweeter/fruitier white wines and sparkling water, or a not-super-sweet premade sangria with sparkling water. This won't be appealing to the true wine conoisseur (😉). I like a nice wine as well as most people, but the spritzer is pleasant and refreshing, especially in hot weather, IMO.

It's helped me, while trying to moderate alcohol for calorie reasons, to make it a habit to alternate a serving of alcohol with a serving of water (even sparkling water with a citrus wedge, if you want your friends to think you're still doing the gin & soda 😉), which spreads the alcohol over time while still still keeping me sipping something nice. The extra hydration doesn't hurt, either.

I alternate alcoholic drinks with a glass of plain soda water with ice and lime. It’s refreshing and keeps me busy and feels as though I’m joining in when others are drinking.
I also enjoy lighter beers (Pure Blonde is my fave) which are pretty low in cals. Maybe try the lighter cal options that are available in your area to see if you like them.

If you like tonic, try diet tonic. It helps cut the calories.

How can you take it the razor's edge and still drop it like it's hot. I can have one shot of gin and leave my body. My father is the same way. He doesn't touch a drop of alcohol. His coworkers harangued him one time before a company dinner. He passed out cold and hit his head on the cement sidewalk. They never did that to him again. I'm similar. Some of us just weren't meant for alcohol. Our mileage will always vary.