Can I drink and still lose weight? If I drink will that make me unhealthy?

Just some of the questions we got asked, so we thought we’d put together a handy little resource to help you navigate the world of drinking, whilst remaining healthy and working towards your goals.

As you well know, the FIT By Flo Collective is all about inclusion, rather than exclusion and that goes as far as even a cheeky bevvy or two.

Health is multifaceted - it’s not all about staying fit, training and eating well. It’s also about promoting your mental and social wellbeing. A diet that stops you being able to enjoy a drink with friends is one you are unlikely to be able to maintain long term.

When it comes to alcohol, it's all about moderation.

Drinking regularly and heavily will impact your performance. However, in moderation, it will not make you unhealthy. The research doesn’t support the idea that moderate alcohol intake will negatively impact health in any significant way.

If your specific goal is fat loss, then yes, alcohol can be unhelpful, but that doesn’t mean that with some tweaks and forward-thinking, it can’t be included even in a weight loss phase. Here are a few things to consider below.

Frequency & Quantity

How often are you drinking? How much do you drink at those times? How much are you consuming over the course of a week?

Asking all these questions will help give you a good idea of whether or not there are some changes to be made. If the answer is that you are drinking 5 out of 7 days of the week, and always at least 2-3 drinks, you might want to think about cutting back.

Some tips to cut back…

Try setting some loose drinking and non-drinking days to give yourself some structure and guidelines. Maybe you like a Thursday night after work drink? Or a Friday/Saturday night G&T? Great, how about dropping Monday & Tuesday and keeping those PG13?

Master the skill of just having one or two - it’s not all about getting boozed. You’re not a teenager anymore, my friend.

Alcohol Type

Alcohol can, unfortunately, rack up your caloric intake pretty speedily so it might be worth re-evaluating your alcohol choices when you are drinking if you are conscious of weight management.

Some tips...

Opt for something lower calorie. Wine and beer tend to be the most calorie-dense with white spirits and diet mixers the lowest. Some examples below.

Drink different things on different days. So you decided to stick to drinking Thurs, Fri & Sat? And you are only going to have one or two on Thursday? Great, maybe on Thursday go for the wine/beer that you enjoy as you know your consumption will be lower and drink the lower calorie alternatives when you know your alcohol intake will be higher.

250ml Gin & Slimline Tonic
70kcals

250ml Vodka, Lime & Soda
76kcals

Pint of Beer
195kcals

Pint of Cider
205kcals

250ml Vodka Diet Coke
60kcals

250ml White Wine
175kcals

125ml Prosecco
93kcals

250ml Mojito
208kcals

250ml Red Wine
190kcals

Tequila Shot
65kcals

Last - top tip!

Prioritise a healthy lifestyle the rest of the time - stay active, eat well and try not to allow alcohol intake to compromise that. Few drinks on a Saturday night? Still get that Sunday walk in.

Alcohol can absolutely be included within a balanced, varied diet but it’s important to be aware of the impact it can have. Your health is the cumulative effect of what you do most of the time. There’s no reason alcohol can’t be part of that, just make sure to find your version of balance with it.