Drinking Responsibly for your Waistline

When I hear ‘drinking responsibly’ I think of being safe while drinking. Things like limiting your drinks, never getting behind the wheel after you’ve consumed alcohol, and staying with a group of friends while you drink. Although all these are incredibly important and I absolutely believe them, this is not what I’m talking about when I say drinking responsibly in this article.

I recently turned 21 and it has been quite the experience. I have been at the bars trying all sorts of drinks, probably a little more than I should be. Something that I really didn’t think of until a few months ago was the calorie consumption that I had been taking in and how unhealthy I was being while trying all of these new drinks. Drinking responsibly not only has to do with being safe in the ways that we usually think, but also with how healthy we are being while consuming alcohol, which I feel is almost completely looked over in most cases.

Lets go over some nutritional facts of some common drinks, which aren’t the greatest of choices:

A light beer has roughly 100 calories with 3g carbs and 3% alcohol (12 fl oz.)

A regular beer has closer to 150 calories with 13g carbs and 5% alcohol (12 fl oz.)

Vodka & Red Bull 180 calories 14g carbs 13g sugars (5 fl oz.)

Here are some slightly better choices:

Gin and Tonic 100 calories 6g carbs 10% alcohol (4 fl oz.)

Champagne 80 calories 1.5 carbs 12-18 % alcohol (4 fl oz.)

Sour-Apple Martini 160 calories 0g carb 25% alcohol (3 fl oz.)

Vodka and Soda 100 calories 0g carbs 10% alcohol (8 fl oz.)

Bloody Mary 125 calories 6g carbs 10% alcohol (10 fl oz.) (Not to mention all of the vitamins and minerals in these drinks.)

Now obviously this doesn’t go over all of the nutritional facts of these drinks, but it covers the areas where people are concerned when it comes to drinking. A drink of beer is different from a sip of a lot of other drinks, not only because of the calorie difference, but also the size of the drink and the low alcohol content it contains. If you are trying to drink alcohol and be healthy about it, drinking beer isn’t going to be your best option. You can be taking in an entire meal with the calories and carbs you get from a night of beers. If you really love beer try and stick to lighter beers, but if you are trying to be a healthier drinker my advice would be to stick to one of the other options, since you can have one vodka soda and equal to two heavy beers for the fraction of calories and carbs.

While drinking mixers there is also almost always a healthier option. Vodka soda could be vodka soda water or just plain vodka water with a lime if you can stand it. A huge bloody mary with burgers and cheese in it may taste wonderful, but it isn’t the healthiest option and can be with healthy vegies instead and still taste great. You really can be creative when it comes to drinking healthy and responsibly.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that drinking is healthy by any means, but if you really want to go out and have a drink with your friend, I would try and stick to one of the healthier options I have listed. Also anything is fine in moderation, just remember to be smart about it and PLEASE drink responsibly!

-Yesterday you said tomorrow

Eric Hess