Wedding season is here, with breakfast brunches, parties galore and longer days.
Trying to get healthy this time of year can be an absolute nightmare if you have a healthy social life.
Fear not, here’s the top 10 low calorie cocktails you can order at the bar and not blow your calorie budget, cheers.
10 tasty cocktails to get you drunk and not ruin your weight loss goals!
So, you have a calorie target to hit daily, you’re doing really well, all of a sudden a spur of the moment night out with the girls is on the cards. You fear that it will undoing all of your hard work and mentally set you back to the point where you feel so bad for going off the rails with your nutrition, that you just chalk it up to another failed attempt and give up entirely. Fear Not! I’m here to tell you, you can have your cake and eat it …. or drink it, you know what I mean.
Before I get in to the list of cocktails (calm down, its coming) I want to stress 3 things:
- 1) You cannot drink these cocktails and think of them as amazing tea-tox drinks that promise you all the world of weight loss and bikini bodies (those detox teas infact will leave you on the toilet more than you would like; lick a chicken breast if this is how you want to loose weight.)
- 2) Making the smarter choices listed below will make it easier for you stay within the realms of your calorie deficit. If you do not know what your recommended calories are you can find this out using a macro calculator; I usually use iifym.com/iifym-calculator. As much as you may want to try the whole list all in one night out, this again will probably not allow you to maintain a calorie deficit, sorry I didn’t invent the game I just know the rules.
- 3) You are an adult, I’m not saying in this fairly click bait title, that 4 litres of alcohol while at the gym will turn you in to Rhianna, what I am saying is you can fit a good social life in to a progressive fitness lifestyle and enjoy both.
Without further adieu, get your glad rags ready for a night out. For I present to you, the 10 best cocktails you can order from the bar and keep in a calorie deficit.
Wine Spritzers: 96 calories
Take any wine and it can be transformed into a spritzer taking out a good chunk of calories. A Large glass (250ml) of average strength wine =214 calories. A spritzer typically would contain 110ml of wine making this a 96 calorie serving, ask for a diet soda and again you keep the calories down.
Martini: 176 calories
Not just for Mr Bond. Have the bartender make it dry and you’ll get more booze and less mixer in this gin and vermouth cocktail. If your struggling to hit your fats for the day have some olives in there as well.
Mojito: 168 calories
This one needs some attention, usually a standard mojito will be around 250 calories. Ask the bartender to hold back on the sugar, ideally under half, if they have sweeteners then you are on to a winner. Get it made with diet soda and you’re laughing.
Old Fashioned: 154 calories
Now were getting on to my personal favourite, whiskey. I know most of London right now is all about that gin life, but not me; more specifically bourbon. If, however the idea of a neat whiskey isn’t your ideal party drink (why not?) then an old fashioned can be ordered as normal from any bar. Citrus peel, sugar cube and whiskey and there you have it.
Sangria: 154 calories
Having made my fair share of Sangria at home after coming back from Portugal, I know that this this drink can be dangerously easy going down, which can just as easily result in far too many glasses (sangria is a banned word in our house if you speak to my wife). The calories in this tasty drink come in a lot higher if it’s made with fruit juice, so just make sure that it’s made with an orange liqueur and diet lemonade instead. Added calories if you eat the fruit obviously.
Gin and Diet Tonic: 59 calories
The big buzz drink of London and the UK at the moment is gin. It contains 59 calories per standard unit of alcohol (25ml). You are going to be hard pushed to find a better trade off of calories to booze than this one. Combine with a diet tonic and a wedge of lime and you have one of the capitals most popular cocktails that will put a guilt free smirk on your face. Just remember that 10 times 59 is still 599!.
Custom Long Island Ice Tea: 144 calories
Easy there, before you go splurging on these, a standard long island ice tea will be closer to 300 calories, mainly due to it being made from sweetened ice teas. However, to get that New York cocktail lifestyle without the typical American waistline, ask for the tea to be freshly prepared ice tea. This will also work with many other alcohols. Pick your spirit of choice and have it mixed in with a neutral iced tea.
Gin Gimlet: 174 calories
Made with Gin ( can also be prepared with vodka ) this comes in at one of the higher options but is still securely under 200 calories. Coming traditionally with 4 parts gin ( this one is for gin lovers ) and some sweetened lime juice this is where the calories lie. You could bring this down if the bartender has a diet lime juice made with sweeteners, probably not at the local weather spoons though.
Whiskey Sour: 163 calories
Bourbon whiskey, protein and a drink that comes in under 200 calories again, this is a winner in my book. The traditional and proper whiskey sour comes with a dash of egg white, amongst lemon juice and a little sugar. Yes, you read that correct. If I can just try to persuade you a little more, egg whites are one of the easiest absorbed proteins that human body can ingest, so really this one has lots of advantages. Still I probably wouldn’t prescribe this as a post workout solution.
Margaritas replacement – Tequila and soda:100 calories
Standard Margaritas can be upward of 300 calories, this is obviously going to be a struggle to fit in to any one’s plan. Fear not, if a Mexican twist is what you are after, try a diet soda, tequila and fresh limes to get you in the spirit. At 100 calories only, this is also a far better way to drink tequila. Make sure you stop that one friend who scurry’s off to bar to get a round of tequila shots in to get a round of these in and your friends will thank you for it.
There you have it, a strong guide for a few cocktails to try and keep under calorie budget, just make sure that your smart choice evening isn’t undone by a stop at the dirty chicken shop and undue it all.
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