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Alcohol in your diet
By WLR Dietitian
Q: I’ve managed to lose a few pounds thanks to WLR but
have realised I’m drinking too much alcohol. I usually have
half a bottle of wine a night and always go to the pub on
Friday although I’ve swapped my usual cider for gin. A big
slice of my pie chart is always alcohol which means I’m not
getting a clear picture of how my diet’s shaping up. Can you
give me any advice?
A: The only way to lose weight is to stick to the daily
calorie allowance recommended for you by WLR. In theory, it
doesn’t matter where those calories come from. In reality
though, it’s not sensible to spend too many of these calories
on alcohol.
In general, most alcoholic drinks are high in calories, but
alongside this, they provide few other nutrients. This means
your half bottle of wine each day is using up a significant
block of calories from your daily dieting allowance but giving you
little in the way of vitamins, minerals,
protein or
fibre –
effectively, you’re getting around 250 ‘empty’ calories each
day. In contrast, spend that 250 calories on 5tbsp branflakes
with skimmed milk and a small banana, and this meal would also
provide you with 19 percent of your needs for protein, 34
percent for fibre, 21 percent for
calcium and 56 percent for
iron. In other words, you’d get a lot of other nutrients for
those 250 calories.
Added to this, of course, is the fact that consuming too
much alcohol is bad for health and can cause kidney and liver
damage in the long term and increase the risk of accidents in
the short term. Health guidelines recommend that women consume
no more than 2-3 units of alcohol a day, and men no more than
3-4 units. Half a bottle of wine (12 percent) in itself
provides four units, which means you are currently exceeding
the recommended limits for alcohol. For other drinks, one pint
of normal strength lager (3-3.5 percent) contains 2 units, a
275ml bottle of alcopops (5.5 percent) contains 1.5 units and
a single (25ml) measure of spirits like vodka, gin, whisky or
brandy contains 1 unit.
The other problem with drinking too much alcohol is that it
can increase your appetite (that’s why aperitifs are served
before a meal), whilst at the same time weakening even the
strongest dieting resolve. After a few drinks, you’ll be less
likely to say no to that packet of peanuts or cream with your
dessert, and depending on how much you’ve had, even that kebab
or fish and chips on the way home will seem like an attractive
option.
You already know that you’re drinking too much so it’s now
up to you to find ways to cut down. Many slimmers find it
helpful to avoid alcohol during the week and allow themselves
a treat at weekends only. It’s also important to choose your
drinks sensibly – both from a calorie and alcohol content
point of view. For example, two single gin and slimline tonics
provide just 2 units of alcohol and 100 calories compared with
two glasses of wine that provide 4 units of alcohol and 250
calories. Yet both take roughly the same amount of time to
drink.
If you drink spirits at home, buy a measure and use this
rather than pouring straight from the bottle. This will help
to control the amount you’re drinking. And always remember to
go for low-cal mixers, too, such as diet cola or slimline
tonic. And when you’re going out, why not offer to drive so
that you won’t be tempted to drink? Your friends and partner
will love you for it, too!
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