Top Least Fattening Ways to Get Drunk

It’s summer after all. The pubs are finally open, the sun’s shining and the ‘fancy a pint?’ texts are flowing in with alarming regularity. If you want to move forward in a health-conscious way, then you need a plan; an approach that gives you full control over what you’re drinking, without robbing you of any of the fun or spontaneity that the silly season calls for.

Your favourite beer isn’t far behind either, with an average of 149 calories per pint. Don’t forget also that when we drink our blood sugar levels struggle to stay balanced so in addition to the booze you’ll probably want to devour something nasty on the way home. And this is on top of the calories you consume for the same reason whilst hungover. Life is hard.

High alcohol/ low sugar cocktails

Feel like treating yourself but don’t want to blow the six-pack plan? Not all cocktails are created equal. Many of the concoctions you get served up in bars are basically desserts, packed with sugars and calories.

A mojito without sugar or sugar syrup – just soda, lime, mint and rum – is better for you. Other classics of the low-fat genre include:

• Martini (vodka/gin, vermouth, lemon peel)
• Negroni (Gin, vermouth, Campari, slice of orange)
• Old Fashioned (Whiskey/bourbon, Angosturan bitters, orange slice)
• Bloody Mary (Vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, splashes of Worcestershire sauce and smoked Tabasco, celery stick)

Eat a sizeable meal before you go out

We know this sounds slightly counter-productive from a weight loss perspective, but hear us out. How many times have you picked up a light bite on your way to the pub, to “line your stomach”, only to grow ravenously hungry over the course of the night as the hours pass and the drinks go down? You’re not going to order that exorbitantly-priced salad on the menu – your beer brain will simply not allow you to even consider it, and your body needs something more substantial anyway.

It’s just not healthy to stave off hunger or drink on an empty stomach! Even if you do manage to resist ordering that burger/Sunday roast/sharing platter of nachos, you’re only kicking the can down the road towards the kebab shop, where you’ll soon be jabbing at a big styrofaom box of meat and chips.

Practise mindful drinking – and drink some water

Why is it that we’re able to down pint after pint of beer over a short period of time, when the prospect of doing so with any other drink feels weird and slightly nauseating? Well, it’s because alcohol is a diuretic, and stronger booze can have a dehydrating effect on your body.

It’s not just FOMO keeping you out for one more drink and the promise of a weekend-ruining hangover – it’s science, too. This is especially the case if you’re drinking on an empty stomach, and alcohol takes a while to metabolise, so you’re not feeling the full impact of your pint immediately.

Get out of the round system

You arrive at the pub to meet your friends, and someone immediately asks you what you want from the bar. You don’t want to complicate their order with an obscure light beer or expensive cocktail, so you just go along with the crowd. A pint of non-specific lager, please.

And now you’re trapped in a high calorie round-cycle, trying to keep pace with everyone out of politeness and buying endless drinks that you never even wanted in the first place.

Take your spirits with low-sugar mixers

Unsurprisingly, straight spirits contain the least amount of calories as are nearly entirely ethanol without added sugar. Vodka is the alcohol with the lowest calories, at around 100 calories per shot (that’s a 50 ml double-measure). Whisky is slightly more, at roughly 110 calories a shot. Gin and tequila are also 110 calories a shot. More sugary spirits, like sambuca, come in around 160 calories a shot.

If you can’t face endless shots of vodka then substitute your soft drink mixer with soda water or diet tonic which have very little sugar. Even water if you’re feeling particularly bulgy post-dinner.

Embrace Prosecco

Prosecco is around 70 calories per 100ml glass, compared to its more glamorous cousin Champagne, which comes in at roughly 95 calories per glass (it’s less expensive, too). Prosecco or champagne cocktails usually mask the sharpness of the sparkling wine with sugar, so avoid these and just drink the bubbly stuff on its own.

It’s an especially good choice if you somehow find yourself at one of those bottomless boozy brunches (though if you’re trying to move forward in a more health-conscious way, the entire concept is far from ideal, obviously). While limitless pints might seem like the more appealing option, plastic flagons of beer will do absolutely no favours to your waistline.

Avoid sweet wines

Wine varies depending on the sweetness of the grape you choose, but a glass of red or white wine ranges on average from 84 to 90 calories. Dry wines contain minimal sugar and commonly have less than one gram of sugar per ounce.

Comparatively, sweeter wines can be in excess of 2g per ounce, which will make a difference if you’re picking a bottle. Or three. Dry red grapes include Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

If you’re really committing to the new year’s diet, then there are plenty of low-calories options, too. Non-alcoholic and light wines, which generally come in at 0.5% ABV per glass, are improving in quality and are widely available from supermarkets (although you might have a harder time at restaurants).

Swallow your pride and buy light beer

If you can’t resist a cheeky pint (you #lad) then light beer is on average around 100 calories per can. This retains some of that flavour whilst saving about 50 calories compared to regular beer. However, a lot of diet beer also cuts out the alcohol meaning you need to drink twice the amount the get the same buzz – a fairly pointless idea.

To reap the health benefits of alcohol visit a liquor store in Avon, Colorado.