Something low-cal to replace that precious, precious beer at the bar!

Hi All,

I love beer. There's my confession. I love beer, and more specifically I love Guinness beer. But now that I am calorie counting I cannot afford to throw away those 170 calories or more (usually more if I am out with friends) on alcohol.

I am looking for suggestions on what people drink that is somewhat low on the calories. I had some G&T's this weekend, but according to some tonic water is high in calories. Is this true? The number vary so much!

SO any alternatives to beer will help. Not drinking would be ideal, I know, but I don't think thats an option right now. I do enjoy a drink once in a while so it's all about finding the right one for my diet.

Thanks for your help!

i drink wine, depending on how big of a glass you have it can be moderated to 100 calories. i like red or rose wine, so a merlot would work, i love a good blackberry wine though. Thats my guilty pleasure lol.

Why not just allot space in your caloric intake for beer? I do it all the time.

Thanks, good ideas. I def. prefer big bold reds, but I am thinking of getting into some nice whites. They are better on the count!

One problem with counting beer into my day is (A) I only have 1550 cals alotted for the day, so going out for a couple comes to almost a third of my allowed intake! Just with booze! and (B) Beer has a magical effect on me; my tolerance is pretty low, so as soon as I start feeling tingly I tend towards indulgence rather than moderation. Going out for one usually translates into three for me!  

So thats the idea behind wanting something low cal when I do go out for a couple. That way I can have a few but it wont add up to 500 calories. eek!

Well if you love Guinness you're probably not going to like my suggestion but here goes.  I like Beck's Light, which tastes very similar to regular Beck's but is only 64 calories per bottle.  Now keep in mind that I don't like the very strong flavor of Guinness and only drink it if it's cut with something like Harp's.  I really a lager girl myself.  I agree with pezzle, you can allow for beer on your calories for the day or have a weekly (or biweekly or whatever) cheat day where you're allowed what you want within reason.  I do this myself on sometimes.  Usually I try to allot Fridays for this but since my weight loss has slowed, I think I'll have  to limit this for a time.  One trick that I've come up with for evenings out with friends is to alternate beer with water.  Have a glass of beer and then drink a glass of water with lemon before you have another beer.  That way you're still socializing and having a good time but you're not drinking as much.  That will lower your calories for the evening and it will be cheaper as well.  Good luck to you!

oooo, I like the idea of altering water and drink! I think I might just try this. Good on the count - that is on the calorie AND bank ac!

I like lager and will definitely see if the lite is carried at my local watering hole. 64 cals, wow!

Thanks:)

Tonic is very high in sugar & 125 calories per 12 oz. Gin is 65 calories per ounce.

I like seltzer and raspberry vodka. Vodka is 65 calories per ounce, seltzer is 0 calories.

Scotch or Bourbon on the rocks! 50 - 80 calories/ounce, depending on the proof. And absolutely delicious.

A trick that one of my friends used to pull in college (so that she felt like she was drinking, when in reality she almost never did) was to order seltzer and lime.  The bartender would serve it in a highball glass like a "real" drink, so it didn't look like she was just having water=nobody giving you a hard time about cutting back.  Also, yes, tonic water does have quite a few calories--as much as any other soda, I believe.  They sell diet tonic, sweeted with Splenda or Equal or whatever, but I've never seen it at a bar.  Most bars have diet coke, though, so you can have rum/whiskey and coke if you can't do on the rocks (I know I can't)

Just stick with Guinness, it's only 125 calories per 12 ounces.  Moderation is the key.

Crown Royal on the rocks with a squeeze of lime.  You can only bare to sip on it and you don't need much!

I am a fan of the vodka & water with a lime - its refreshing and I pretend it helps with the hydrating at the same time. ;) if you switch to water with lime later nobody will notice and give you a hard time if you are prone to drinking due to peer pressure.

Another good 'on the rocks' drink is amaretto.

Any hard liquors its easy to keep a drink to 100 calories... but pretty much impossible to go below that. It is always the mix that kills you! (I know nothing of beer.)

Diet pops/water or straight is the only way to avoid the extra mix calories!

Original Post by trhawley:

Just stick with Guinness, it's only 125 calories per 12 ounces.  Moderation is the key.

Yeah. I couldn't give up my favourite Trappists. They're so expensive it's easy to be moderate with them. There is no substitution for fantastic beer.

I also second the whiskey option. Whiskey is always appropriate. Whiskey neat. Whiskey on ice. Whiskey with soda (i.e. soda water = club soda). Whiskey delicious.

I as well do love a good beer here and there, but I think one of the best things you can do is moderate. Only allow yourself a certain amount and keep track. I recently became a fan of tequilla shots with a light beer chaser. It gives you the buzz without having too much extra calories. Also I started working out before I plan to go out drinking, so that it cancels things out a little more. Anything on the rocks is going to be the best, or a gin Martini will be better than a G&T.

you could also use it as a motivation at the gym. say if you know you are going out that night, spend an extra 15 minutes on the tredmil and bam! thats another drink!

stick with light beer if possible, or ask the bartender to make a mixed drink w/ diet soda. stay away from long island iced teas and the likes.... tasty, but packed w/ calories.

also, if you like dancing, def go to a club or bar w/ live band. dance away those drinks!

Great ideas! Thank you. I guess moderating some nights, like altering water with the Guinness could work. I do love that dark, creamy goodness so I guess just  planned drinking may be a good solution! Go to the gym before the bar, I like that.  

For the nights I plan to have a few I think I will change it up with some scotch on the rocks, or even try the water, vodka and lime. That sounds yummy.

Very helpful suggestions. I guess because I am new to cc everything is in limbo (my old habits...) till I find ways to adapt to my new lifestyle. Thanks a bunch y'all!

I encourage you to consider why, when losing weight is such a priority for you, that abstaining from alcohol is not an option?  

I, too, once considered total abstinence from alcohol to be 'not an option'.  I loved the bars and drinking with my pals too much! However, when a cardiologist made it clear that I HAD to stop smoking I knew that I was going to have to give up alcohol in order to stop smoking.  I braced myself for a bland, boring, horrible new lifestyle.  

I was so wrong.  When I stopped drinking (I was a drinker of 1-3 glasses of wine on most days) I immediately shed 7 pounds (I was a 165 pound woman).  Most of this was probably water weight because alcohol causes you to retain water.  But it was still weight LOST and made a huge difference--especially when my face lost its puffiness (probably after 3-4 weeks of abstinence).  And alcohol really increases hunger, so I began to eat less.

Not drinking also gave me MUCH more energy and the loss in calories allowed me to quit smoking without gaining weight.  In face, without any effort or change in diet (other than and INCREASE in occasions on which I had dessert) I lost 10 pounds over the course of the year.  Not bad for the year you quit smoking!  Exercise also was much more pleasant and easier so I toned up considerably.

Two years later I have adjusted to not drinking (though I still love the bars) and am glad to have dodged any worry about a drinking problem.  After quitting drinking and smoking I have also changed many other bad habits in my life (change is like a snowball).  

So let me encourage you to seriously consider a break from alcohol.  I have learned gained enormous benefits from doing this simple thing.

I didn't get the impression anywhere in the OP that the poster had a problem with alcohol, just that he/she likes to go out to the bars with friends and likes beer. I don't see any problem with having a few beers now and then. I've lost over 40 pounds and still have some beers on the week-end and sometimes I have wine in the evening. I know of at least one person who has lost a lot of weight and still enjoys some beer now and then. I think moderation is the key combined with planning. If you cut out everything you like in your attempt to lose weight you will soon become frustrated which can lead to diet failure and even if you succeed, it will be difficult to maintain the weight loss long-term.  If, on the other hand, you plan some of the things you enjoy into your schedule, you are more likely to see success and long-term maintenance. 

You are correct Caverlady, its not that I have issues with controling my alcohol intake in the least, and I hope I did not give that impression in my post. I really enjoy a great glass of wine here and there, or I love going out with friends to watch the hockey game over a pint. Social things like that.

It is social, its something I enjoy privately, but definitely not an addiction or dependancy. Because I enjoy wines, beers and other spirits (mostly for flavour, not for alcohol content) I don't think I am in a place where I want to give that up, though that may be an option for others. So I agree with you Caverlady that I think planning and moderation is a better option for me personally.

I am not afraid that cutting down on alcohol would lead to a boring life in the least. I am perfectly happy doing many other things in my life and the bar is definitely not a central part of it. But we do go out and I do need to be aware of other options when I do want to enjoy a drink or two. I have lost 5.5lbs in three weeks and I feel I am on top of that snowball for now. This is just another area I need advice on as a cc newbie!

Thanks

Savor the Guinness or have one and then switch to hard liquor + low or zero calorie mixers (diet soda, selltzer, water, rocks).