A night on the town isn’t always easy on the waistline, especially after a hearty meal. However, a night of bar-hopping or clubbing doesn’t mean you have to break your diet or pack on pounds of “alcohol weight.” While you’re not going to be able to avoid the calories, as nearly all, if not all alcohol has them; but you can limit or eliminate carbohydrates from your night of drinking.
Why would cutting down on carbs even matter? Well, alcohol slows the burning of calories, carbohydrates, and fat, by being burnt first of all of these when consumed. When you add extra carbohydrates on top of your alcohol, you’re just adding extra carbs that aren’t going to be burnt off until the alcohol is gone. Thus, you might as well eliminate this extra source of energy since it really won’t be needed during the night.
As most of the youth of the world has discovered, beer seems to pack on the pounds. Not only does this common male favorite have around 150 calories per 12 ounces, but it also contains 13 grams of carbohydrates. All hard liquors contain zero carbohydrates, however, they do contain calories. Vodka, tequila, bourbon, gin and rum all contain around 65 calories in a single ounce. So, mixing this with sugary sodas or fruit juices only adds to the calorie count, and adds carbs that need not be present in your night time beverage. Instead of drinking a long island, mai tai, or blue Hawaii, ask for a martini (straight up, or with flavored vodka)*. Other low carb drinks are vodka or gin and diet tonic. You can make these at home with diet tonic bought at the liquor store or your local grocery store; unfortunately, it is hard to find a bar that stocks it. Bloody Mary’s are also low in carbohydrates, if you’re up for it. Another way to cut down on carbs, if you’re a whiskey drinker, is to mix your drink with zero carb and/or calorie sodas.
If you’re a fruit drink lover you’ll either have to change your ways, or live with the count of calories and carbs in your beverage of choice. As mentioned earlier, flavored martinis might be a good choice for you, but there really is no way to cut the carbs and calories from a rum and pineapple, or pina colada. An eight ounce glass of cranberry juice contains 36 grams of carbs, and an eight ounce glass of pineapple juice follows close behind with 34 grams, orange juice has 26 grams. Try squeezing a lime or lemon in your drink instead of adding juice; an ounce of lime and lemon juice has only 2.7 and 2.5 grams of carbs respectively, and you’re probably only going to add half an ounce.
Beer drinkers can find low carbohydrate beers available, but like hard liquors, calories are still present. Addtionally, beer drinkers usually indulge in more alcohol than hard liquor drinkers since the alcohol content is lower. This is one consideration. A Bud Select will get you 3.1 grams of carbohydrates and 99 calories, which is decent for beer (Shea, 2008). Wine drinkers can take refuge in the fact that their carbs are typically lost in the fermentation process, about 5 grams of carbs remain in a typical 5 ounce glass. However, the calorie count rivals beer at around 110. Then again, wine drinkers don’t usually go through bottle after bottle in a night, so this is a definite plus to drinking wine. Additionally, wine drinkers are in the habit of sipping, allowing the alcohol to slowly enter the system as opposed to beer and alcohol drinkers that typically flood the system with loads of alcohol. Thus, the body has more time to deal with the alcohol intake.
In the end it is important to remember that low carbohydrate doesn’t mean you’re cutting down on calories as there really is no way to eliminate those from your drinks, save simply not drinking at all. One ounce of Vodka has around 65 calories…now think about the fact that a typical martini contains about two and a half ounces of vodka. However, the difference between that martini and a beer or a long island ice tea is that there are no carbs in it. So, you may be drinking the calories, but at least you’ve cut the carbs, which is better than nothing. It’s actually a great way to help keep from packing on the pounds when enjoying a night out. It is also important to remember that genetics have a lot to do with how a body handles alcohol, so figure out how your body reacts to it and plan your night out accordingly.
*Some martinis are made with fruit juices, around 1-2 ounces per drink. This amount is quite small, but if you’re looking for zero carbs, you’ll have to get it straight, with vermouth, or with flavored vodka (like green apple, blue berry, citrus, etc)
References:
Shea, L. (2008). Low Carb Beer Comparison Chart. Retrieved February 24, 2008, from:
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art14302.asp
Cocktail Times. (2008). Low Carb, Low Calorie Cocktails. Retrieved February 24, 2008, from http://www.cocktailtimes.com/dictionary/carb.shtml
