Alcohol – the word sounds intimidating, but it’s actually something that is a part of a lot of people’s day-to-day lives, including mine (not now because I am breastfeeding 🙂 ). We can label alcohol just a Drink from now on, as it sounds more social and fun and there is no disease called Drinkism.
When I was at university I was studying and also working. The stress was overwhelming. The first thing I did when I came home was to pour myself 25 ml hard liquor and a Coke (Wow, how long it has been since I last drank a Coke! Centuries I think 😀 ). After I drank I was relaxed, I felt good. I didn’t drink more, I had my dose and I didn’t like the taste of alcohol itself. I only liked the relaxation I was getting of it. After some time I stopped drinking every night and I don’t remember why or if the stress was reduced.
My friend Ira taught me to drink red wine, again in my university years. That love lasts until now. Several times a week I drink 100-200 ml red wine and the weird thing is that I like to drink it either before or after dinner, and not while eating.
I don’t really like white wine. Once I went too far with it, I can’t throw up and it wasn’t pleasant at all. I still remember this and it has been more than 10 years.
There was a period I drank 1-2 glasses of whiskey, but that was a long time ago. Now I drink red wine exclusively. I don’t like hard liquor at all (I only have it in cocktails, I like Margarita, Mojito, Cuba Libre and I annoy all bartenders when I say “no sugar in my drink”. Last summer I ordered a cocktail and it was sweet, so I asked ‘I ordered sugarless cocktail, right?” and they told me there wasn’t any sugar. ‘Why is it sweet then?’ I ask. ‘Well, there is sugar syrup.’ Well, what to do with this bartender).
Alcohol is socially acceptable. A lot of families sit down at dinner and have a drink together while talking. I bet that you’re now wondering if I am actually encourage you to drink.
Nooo, drink or don’t drink, it’s completely up to you. I am writing this for the people who like having an occasional drink and are wondering if that is good or bad.
Drinking 1-2 glasses of wine, up to 30 g hard liquor has a positive impact on the overall health and even weight. I inform my clients that if they like to drink alcohol, especially if that gives them the feeling of no restrictions and strictly dieting, they can allow themselves to have a glass of wine (red is best because it contains resveratrol, which is an antioxidant). Alcohol has calories so you should have that in mind when calculating your daily calorie intake, especially if you want to lose weight. It’s a wide known fact that 20% of alcohol calories are used up while absorbing it. For protein, the number is over 20%, carbs – around 5-10% and fat – 5%. If you want to read more about the thermic effect of food.
How to calculate how many calories your Drink is
For example, red wine contains 14% alcohol, so 100 ml wine has 14 g alcohol.
Beer has 5-6% alcohol, which means that 500 ml contain 25-30 g alcohol.
Benefits of drinking small amounts of alcohol
– small amounts of alcohol are connected with lower weight for women
– improves insulin sensitivity
– people who drink small amounts of alcohol live longer than those who don’t drink at all
– 1-2 glasses of red wine can prevent you from Alzheimer’s disease
Martin from leangains.com has a wonderful article on the benefits of small amounts of alcohol. It’s backed up by a lot of researches and it’s worth reading.
Calories in alcohol
1 g alcohol = 7 (7.1) calories per gram
Comparison to macronutrients:
1 g protein = 4 calories per gram
1 g protein = 4 calories per gram
1 g fats = 9 calories per gram
Question: Do you allow yourself a Drink? What kind of Drink?
Rumi: There is a period when 3-4-5 times a week I have 100-200 ml red wine. There are periods that I hardly drink at all (I am in such period now). I don’t know what influences my Drink intake.
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