As personal trainers, one of the most common questions we are asked by clients looking for fat loss is “can I still drink whilst trying to lose weight?”
The answer is pretty straightforward. Yes, you can.
You already know drinking alcohol isn’t a great idea for weight loss, but there are definitely options you can take if you want to enjoy a drink but still drop weight. We’d be lying if we said that you can still go out and sink 10 pints of Guiness every weekend and lose weight, but with a little careful planning and clever choices, you can enjoy a few drinks with friends.
So, knowing that any sensible diet approach would allow you to let your hair down and have a couple of drinks, here’s our suggestions…
Lowest calorie alcoholic drinks
Stick with these choices and you’ll see the calories low whilst still enjoying a few drinks with friends…
Single vodka and soda: This classic drink is made with vodka and club soda, and it has only around 50 calories per 240ml serving. By switching out the coke or lemonade mixer you save around 70 calories, which will add up over the course of a night. If you make it a double vodka, it’d be around 100 calories.
Tequila with lime: This is a refreshing but punchy drink! It is made with tequila and lime juice, and it has only 97 calories per 1.5-ounce serving. It’s a really short drink, so that’s where the calorie savings come in. If you were to add a mixer to this, you would add anywhere between 70 and 100 calories to the drink.
Dry white wine: Dry white wines such as pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc have only about 130 calories per 175ml serving. It’s important to remember that this is a SMALL glass of wine in a pub or bar. If you were to have a large glass, that’s over 200 calories per glass.
Champagne: Champagne is a sparkling wine that is typically lower in calories than other types of wine. A 175ml glass of champagne has about 150 calories, although this varies depending on the sweetness. Generally speaking champagne is served in a smaller glass, but we aware.
Light beer: Light beers such as Coors Light, Michelob Ultra and Bud Light have only about 100 calories per 350ml serving. If you’re going for a pint, it’s going to be around 170 per serving. When you compare this to standard lager which can be 200-250 calories, it adds up.
Gin and slimline tonic: A 200ml glass of gin and slimline tonic is around 115 calories, which is really quite low. If you were to switch this for standard tonic water, you’d be over 170 calories per serving. As a popular drink, this is a simple switch that will save you a lot of additional calorie intake.
There’s 6 different drink options to suit a range of tastes, so you should find something in there to enjoy!
Alcoholic drinks to avoid on a diet…
There are plenty of alcoholic drinks that are REALLY high in calories. If you’re dieting, you’ll really want to avoid these drinks…
Cocktails…
Cream Liqueurs (e.g., Baileys Irish Cream): Cream-based liqueurs like Baileys Irish Cream are known for being high in calories due to the combination of alcohol and cream. A standard serving can have around 327 calories or more.
Frozen Cocktails (e.g., Piña Colada): Frozen cocktails often contain sugary mixers and can have a high calorie count. A Piña Colada, for instance, can have around 500 calories or more, depending on the recipe and serving size.
Long Island Iced Tea: Despite its name, Long Island Iced Tea contains various types of alcohol along with sweet mixers, which can make it quite calorie-dense. A typical serving can have around 250-300 calories or more.
Mai Tai: The Mai Tai cocktail can be high in calories due to the combination of different types of rum and fruit juices. It's estimated to contain around 300-350 calories per serving.
White Russian: Similar to cream liqueurs, the White Russian cocktail contains cream and coffee liqueur, contributing to its calorie content. A standard serving can have around 300 calories or more.
Mudslide: Another creamy cocktail, the Mudslide combines vodka, coffee liqueur, and cream. It can have approximately 500 calories or more per serving.
Beers and Ciders…
Stout: A stout beer such as Guiness is the highest calorie-containing type of the ‘standard’ beers. Per pint of Guiness you’d be consuming around 210 calories, with some stouts going as high as 250 per pint. This can be a problem across a drinking session.
Premium lagers: A premium lager is generally considered anything over 5% alcohol. These generally start at around 250 calories, with some going well over 300 calories. It doesn’t take many pints of premium lager before you really hit your diet for 6!
IPA: Like the stout and lager, the calories in an IPA differ from brand to brand. The alcohol content is the biggest factor in how many calories per serving there is. In some cases, a stronger IPA can be more than 300 calories per pint.
Cider: Like the others, alcohol content is a big determining factor in calories per pint of cider. For the drier ciders they’re typically around 200 calories per pint, not unlike the lagers. When you go to the stronger, sweeter ciders you’re heading towards the 330 calories per pint mark.
Alcoholic fruit juices: Here you’ve got a couple of issues to contend with - the alcohol content and the sugar content. Whilst these drinks aren’t usually sold by the pint, you can easily hit around 230 calories per 275ml bottle, which is the equivalent of over 470 calories per pint!
Tips to identify high calorie drinks
Even if you don’t know the amount of calories in a drink, there are several clues you can take. The key to identifying the calories in a drink revolves around three major points…
Fat content - think cream based drinks. They are always higher in calories.
Alcohol content - for wines, beers, ciders etc, alcohol is a big difference
Sugar content - cocktails, high sugar mixers, alcopops etc all have higher sugar content
Check for these before you make a decision. You don’t want to assume that you’re having a low calorie alcoholic drink, then later on found you’ve drunk your way through a whole day’s with of calories with a handful of drinks!
Drinking on a diet - the bottom line
It’s entirely possible to drink on a diet and still lose weight. It’s not ideal, but it’s doable. The problem is that you can quite easily fall in a trap of over-consuming calories easily.
By following the advice in this article, you’ll be able to identify low calorie alcoholic drink options that won’t ruin your diet. It means you’ll still be able to enjoy drinks with friends, and not live like a social outcast when trying to lose weight!
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