Alcohol can make you fat!
When it comes to alcohol, would-be slimmers make one of two mistakes: Either we think we can continue as before, or we think we have to stop drinking altogether.
In reality, alcoholic drinks are not much different to other types of beverages when it comes to weight management. While you must be aware of the general effects of alcohol use, there is no reason why you cannot fit alcohol into a healthy diet plan. But be careful: Beverages in general (NOT just alcohol) can be surprisingly high in kilojoule content and thus easily cause you to gain weight if you're not careful.
The Slimtrack approach is first of all to know exactly what goes into your body. This is slightly more difficult to do with alcoholic beverages, since the packaging of wine, beer and spirits usually carry no indication of kilojoule content or other nutritional information.
Fortunately Slimtrack users can easily search our Food Diary for this information. Here are some of them:
• Castle Lager or similar (340ml can): 570kJ
• Castle Light (340ml can): 440kJ
• Dry white or red wine (typical 125ml glass): 350-500kJ
• Semi-sweet white wine (typical 125ml glass): 780kJ
• Whisky, brandy, vodka or gin (25ml tot): 250kJ
• Typical mixer, such as Coke or lemonade (200ml): 345kJ
If you study this list, some useful tips become apparent:
• The sweeter a drink, the more kilojoules it likely contains.
• Serving size is important. A can of beer contains more than double the kilojoules of a tot of whisky. And a 500ml draught beer will contain more kilojoules than a 340ml can of the same stuff.
• Watch what you use as a mixer. A tot of brandy with 200ml of Coke added contains MORE kilojoules than a typical beer. Soda water can be a nice alternative mixer and contains no kilojoules.
Here are some more ideas to keep in mind about alcohol:
• Guys (especially), forget about that "liquid diet" as a way to lose weight. Beer is not a replacement for meals, and you will likely gain rather than lose weight.
• Drink a glass of water between alcoholic drinks. It's healthy, contains no kilojoules and helps fight the dehydration caused by alcohol.
• Don't drink alcohol on an empty stomach. Food in your stomach means you stay sober for longer, and you are less likely to have a hangover if you over-indulge.
• Alcohol will lessen your will-power and self-restraint. That greasy meal after leaving the club might do worse damage to your slimming ambitions than the drinking itself!
• Planning your alcohol use is not only clever when trying to lose weight, it also means you stay in control and lessen the chance of developing a drinking problem. And NEVER drink and drive.
More...
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