Weight intake or weight loss is dictated by your carbohydrate intake.
The goal is to choose the drinks that contain the least. If we classify the alcohols by family we obtain the following order (from the lighter to the worst):
Strong alcohols
Wines
Beers
Cocktails
From a strictly energy point of view, the wine is more caloric than beer: about 80 Kcal in 100 g (equivalent to about 10 cl) compared to 50 Kcal in 100 g of beer. But in practice, a glass of wine contains about 12 cl while half pint of beer contains 26-27 cl.
Thus, a glass of red wine contains a little more than 80 Kcal while half pint of beer contains about 130 Kcal.
On weight loss plans, I do not recommend drinking alcohol at all because alcohol suppresses fat oxidation and adds unnecessary calories to your diet, which either displaces nutritious calories or erases your caloric deficit.
However, since no one will respect this piece of advice, here are a few tips you can take into consideration when going out with your friends:
-Do not cut your drink with soda. Sodas are stuffed with sugar so even if you take a shot of vodka low in carbohydrates and you mix it with cola, juice or an energy drink, your calorie intake will go through the roof.
-Avoid cocktails or alcohol mix that are stuffed with sugar. As we will see later in this book, a glass of Cosmopolitan contains more than 200 calories, a Pina Colada can easily reach 250 calories!
-If you want you can cut your drinks with sparkling water, it goes well with most strong alcohol. Carbon dioxide bubbles will also bring ethanol faster in the blood thus accelerating the effects of alcohol, isn’t it why we drink alcohol?!
-Add lemon in your drink. This will prevent insulin to reach its peak, hence limit fat formation.
-Generally, you should always prefer wine to beer and cocktail. Red wine preferably, being less caloric than white and rosé wine.
-And always limit your alcohol consumption to 1 or 2 glasses.
Thanks for reading
My French Dietitian