ENJOY A DRINK — WITHOUT GUZZLING TOO MANY CALORIES
A FRIDAY night, a celebration or — when Covid restrictions allow — the chance to meet up with friends, are all occasions when you’d love to raise a glass, but how does this fit into your weight-loss and health plans?
‘The good news is that myWW+ is so flexible that nothing’s offlimits, and that includes alcohol,’ says WW’s head of programme Julia Westgarth.
But alcoholic drinks all contain calories ( and SmartPoints values) and you’d be surprised at how calorific some can be — particularly exotic cocktails — so it pays to spend your Budget wisely.
Of course, you may feel you’re protected from this pitfall if you’ve embarked on a Dry January or don’t drink much.
‘A break from alcohol can be great for your health, but make sure you know the SmartPoints values of any non-alcoholic drinks such as Nosecco or Seedlip, as well as mixers and other soft drinks,’ advises Julia.
‘You can easily check this information in a couple of taps on your myWW+ app.’
Here are some other tips to help you navigate your New Year heath plan. FACT:
ALCOHOLIC DRINKS CONTAIN ‘EMPTY’ CALORIES
‘By “empty” we mean they provide plenty of fuel or energy without many, or any, essential nutrients to go with them,’ says Ray Kaur, a nutritionist at WW.
This means drinks have more Smartpoint values than you think: Glass of red wine (175ml) — 4SP Glass of prosecco — 5SP Shot of gin ( 25ml) — 2SP TIP: Set a drinks budget, bearing in mind your SmartPoints Budget. To help you stick to this, drink a glass of water between every alcoholic drink. And choose a tall glass as we tend to pour 30 per cent more alcohol into short glasses.
FACT: FOOD SEEMS MORE ATTRACTIVE AFTER A FEW DRINKS
This is backed by scientific research, meaning you not only ‘spend’ SmartPoints on alcohol, but extra ones on food, too. TIP: Eat a protein-rich snack such as veggie sticks and hummus before you have your first drink so you’re less tempted to graze later.
FACT: SOME DRINKS ARE A BETTER CHOICE THAN OTHERS
A creamy cocktail could contain up to 1,200 calories — four times as many as a glass of wine. And beware of drinks, particularly beers, that are marketed as being better for your waistline, purely because they’re ‘low carb, warns Ray Kaur. ‘In fact there’s little, if any, difference between the calories (and SmartPoint values) in a lowcarb beer and a regular one.’ TIP: Look out for ‘extra’ calories in mixers — opt for soda over tonic, lemonade or cola. FACT:
ALCOHOL AFFECTS YOU FASTER ON AN EMPTY STOMACH
Without food in your stomach to slow down the rate at which alcohol passes into your bloodstream, it takes just a few minutes after your first sip for the alcohol to reach your brain, mak- ing it harder to judge when to stop. TIP: Eat something that contains carbohydrate and healthy fats (such as a wholegrain cracker and peanut butter) beforehand as both slow down the absorption of alcohol. Men and women are recommended not to drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week on a regular basis.