Which are the worst alcoholic drinks when trying to lose fat?

It’s science…

Sometimes you just want to go out and have ten too many. I’m not abdicating alcohol abuse, drunken 3am ATM withdrawals or sleeping with random people. What I’m really trying to do, is show which alcoholic drinks are the LEAST harmful to your waistline.

But alcoholic drinks contain ZERO fat! They must be loaded with five kinds of awesome!

Hold a second there, imaginary person with your naive quote…

Whilst it’s true that alcoholic drinks contain zero fat, they are also sugar filled and contain the last legal drug currently known as ‘alcohol’. Alcohol is bad news for the never-lean as it suppresses fat oxidation and adds unnecessary calories to your diet. The fact is, you can certainly get leaner while drinking, as long as you stay in a caloric deficit, but it won’t help you maintain motivation, intensity or anything else which will get your arse to the gym.

Make no mistake, these bad boys are the enemy when it comes to serious long-term fat loss. Yes, I’m looking at you, Fatty McChinChin with extra McChins™.

Fat doesn’t burn itself off when passed out on the pavement

The run-down on which are the worst alcoholic drinks

Below are a bunch of tables which will hopefully give you an indication as to what’s bad and what’s not. The thing to keep in mind is, the more alcohol in a beverage, the more calories it contains, and thus the further away from your fat-loss goals you’re likely to become.

Beer(330ml bottle)

As you can see, beer offers some pretty decent bang for buck. The serving sizes are large, and the calories consumed with each one aren’t near as bad as their counterparts (read below) due to the large water content in each one.

Also note, that the low-carb option, although it’s the clear winner, still has 3/4 of the calories anyway. The major benefit of low-carb beer is significantly reduced bloat.

Compared to beer, there are a heck of a lot more calories per ml than with beer due to the higher alcoholic content. In fact it’s TWICE as evil. At the rate a lot of people drink wine (especially white), it’s easy to see how one could over-indulge.

That being said, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be seen drinking pint-size servings of wine any time soon.

Spirits (per 25ml)

Not surprisingly, when you drink spirits ‘neat’, they offer less of a caloric hit (due to their measly 25ml size). You are, of course, less likely to be sipping on 6 or so of these bad boys in anyone session.

This idea obviously turns to sh*t when you have ‘shots at the bar’ with your friends and you suddenly find yourself at an all-night pizza joint competing for the most slices consumed in 10 minutes.

Spirits Mixed (per 125ml)

You start mixing spirits with other bad-boys like Coke or Sprite and you can easily double the calories you consume with one tiny exception — Vodka + Lime/Soda is the clear cut winner here offering HALF the amount of naughtiness found in the others (due to the lack of coke).

Cocktails

These babies offer a whole new level of fat-gaining disaster. Loaded with sugars and fruits — the figures above speak for themselves.

If you are looking to keep the weight off, perhaps its time to ditch the 4 rounds of Pina Coladas.

Corona Cat™ is watching you gain fat

So which alcoholic drink is the best when trying to lose fat?

The winner is… The Bloody Mary Cocktail! I’m doubting that many of us could ‘spend a night’ drinking these cocktails let alone be able to afford them all of the time. Add to that a nasty case of heart-burn and acid reflux and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a techni-colour yawn on the way home in the cab.

My personal favourite alcoholic drink

Without a doubt it would have to be a Vodka + Lime and Soda. Despite it’s inherent lack of manliness, it offers the following benefits:
– zero bloating (which beer offers)
– half the calories that a glass of wine offers
– half the price of a Bloody Mary
– served over ice – if you let it dissolve a little over the course of consumption, you’re ‘kinda’ getting hydrated as you’re getting intoxicated.

The conclusion

At the end of the day, there is no ‘safe bet’ when trying to avoid weight gain whilst drinking booze. It’s like anything containing epic calories. Chips, burgers, sweets or alcohol. They are all calorie dense, and won’t help you achieve a beach body any time soon. If you MUST drink, then go for options without the added sugar, or limited the times you choose to indulge in a cocktail or two.

Moderation people. Moderation.

Further reading…

Here’s an article taken directly from Reveal The Steel on ‘Why Alcohol Makes Your Fat’

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Editor’s Note: Most people like a drink. How do you keep yourself from over-indulging? Comment below.