Most of us forget that when we go out, majority of what we actually consume in the form of liquid is in reality, higher in calories compared to what we eat on an everyday basis.

Although you might see it as a reward for being so healthy #rosaypartay #vinoplease it might just be the one thing stopping you from losing those last few inches. Especially when the calories you’re drinking, aren’t even that beneficial – calories in alcoholic beverages are considered ‘empty’, they don’t really provide any nutritional value at all.

For example…a gin & tonic, 170 calories – the equivalent of two tim tams and a margarita, 280 calories, is the equivalent of one slice of pizza. Probably not something you’d eat three or four times in one serving right? Yet at least with the later, you’re getting a good intake of dairy and other nutrients from fruit and vegetables.

Depending what kind of pizza you like of course…

I mean it’s obviously not something you typically think about when you’re out, but when you are out next it might be worth taking a second to re-evaluate what you really want to drink. Most of the time, it’s just the feeling of having something in your hand that you crave as opposed to the substance itself.

But in saying that, not all of us have the luxury of taking the time to order anything and everything from the menu. In our industry there are so many events and typically there isn’t much of a selection to choose from; ultimately having to decide from one cocktail to the next.

So to help you out we’ve put together a bit of a list on how you can swap and save on your next night out.

Red vs White

Calories here are derived from the alcohol content as opposed to the sugar. So you’d be totally mistaken for thinking sweet wine is actually bad for you, in reality it just depends on the alcohol content.

Generally speaking, white wine will always have a lower calorie count, around 140 calories per glass as opposed to a red which can be upward of 200 per glass.

Cocktails

If possible, try and stay away from anything with more than 3 ingredients. Common sense here. As we established above, the higher the alcohol count, the higher the calorie intake so no pina colada’s or long island iced tea’s here.

Try stick with the basics… a martini (vodka and vermouth), paloma (grape fruit juice, tequila and lime) or gimlet (gin & lime juice).

Even a Bloody Mary is actually considered quite good for you – although it does have a higher calorie count, the tomato juice and celery carry calories your body actually wants and needs.

Spirits

If you’re going for the hard stuff, try and water it down with a bit of soda water as it has zero calories and steer clear of the tonic water – the fizziness speaks for itself (unnecessary sugar).

Surprisingly, all hard liquor (at least the clear stuff) produces the same amount of calories, roughly around 97 per shot. That is however based on 80 proof alcohol, the higher you go in alcoholic concentrate, obviously in turn, the higher your calorie intake.

Not to mention all the additives – ginger ale, lemonade, lime cordial, sugar syrup etc.

Our advice is to keep it simple – if you want flavour, add some lemon or lime. There’s a difference of close to 100 calories between a vodka lime soda and a vodka lime cordial and soda.