Most of us enjoy having a cocktail after work with some friends or a glass of wine with dinner. Maybe you look forward to your Friday evening happy hour.

You might think you have to give up these rituals while focusing on your weight loss journey. You don’t! Instead, shift your focus to what it is you are truly trying to accomplish and act accordingly.

When I was coaching fitness classes, women would always ask me why they weren’t seeing the results they wanted. They were exercising religiously without making progress. My first question was always, “What do you eat and drink each day?” Most often, they were consuming more calories than they were burning. Additionally, many of those were empty calories that came from alcohol.

They didn’t always like my answers, but they started seeing significant results in no time when they followed my advice! Here are six tips to implement if you want to feel better and lose weight without depriving yourself of alcohol forever.

1. Track everything you consume in a week.

This may seem overwhelming at first, but there are great tools out there to make it easier. It’s also not something you need to do for the rest of your life, but it’s important to know what the problem is in your diet in order to find the right solution. It’s imperative to track ALL food and drink for the week, including water. I recommend doing this for seven straight days to really see what you are taking in. You might be surprised.

Remember the great tools I mentioned? My favorite is MyFitnessPal. I use it for all of my tracking needs, including exercise. The free option is great to start. If you like the app and decide to continue keeping tabs on your diet and exercise, you can always switch to premium. I use the premium option to track my macros. The premium plan also offers features like an ad- free experience and a custom home screen dashboard.

2. Track how many calories you burn in a day.

Once you know what you are taking in, you should track what you are burning. I recommend wearing a watch that shows you how many calories you are burning in a day. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. I use the Fitbit Versa 3. Fitbit is specifically designed for fitness tracking. The front screen shows you how many calories you have burned and steps you have walked.

It also tracks your heart rate, but my favorite part is that it even tracks your sleep! I love waking up in the morning to open my app and see how well and how long I slept. It is so satisfying to see a fabulous night’s sleep. Sleep is a vital but often overlooked component of your mental and physical health.

3. Increase your water intake.

Up your water intake by two more glasses a day than you normally drink. I find it easiest to hit this target when I start my day with at least one glass of water. Work your way up to your recommended daily water intake to help flush out toxins, which may include alcohol. You can use this free calculator to see how much water is right for you. Don’t want to get that specific? The typical eight glasses a day recommendation is still a pretty good rule-of-thumb.

On the days you want to consume alcohol, drink at least eight more ounces of water immediately after. If you want a second drink, consider mixing it with sparkling or flat water or having another glass of water afterward. The extra liquid helps you to feel satisfied faster and aids your body in eliminating the alcohol.

4. Consider the type of alcohol you are drinking.

What’s your pleasure? Beer, wine, mixed drinks? Each one has different degrees of alcohol content and calories.

Beer and wine usually have the fewest calories. Hard liquor usually has more. Liqueurs are even higher in calories because they tend to be sweeter. Mixed drinks typically have the most calories of all due to sugary mixers, but they are not all created equal. Giant cocktails or those containing high-fat mixers like coconut cream can have way more calories than drinks like mimosas or rum and Cokes.

According to registered dietitian nutritionist Lauren Harris-Pincus, most people can have drinks in moderation and lose weight. Reducing the amount you drink and paying attention to what you are consuming can often do the trick.

5. Mocktails, anyone?

I know, but before you knock them, give ’em a try! I am blown away by how delicious mocktails have become. To top it off, no one even knows you’re not drinking alcohol. You might even forget! Mocktails helped me realize that much of what I love about drinking is the socializing. With new mocktail offerings coming out all the time, you can enjoy mingling without forgoing your goals. My favorites are low-calorie, vegan, and non-GMO. They are even available on Amazon.

6. Make sure your goals are realistic.

Picture this. Your best friend is getting married in the coming weeks. There will be a shower, bachelorette party, and wedding you must attend. There will be nonstop drinking and celebrating. This may not be the best time to ditch the booze for your weight loss goals.

When you fail at unrealistic expectations, you may be reluctant to start again when the celebration is over. Know that as long as you are watching what you are consuming and burning MOST of the time, you will be successful long-term! Start with goals you know you can achieve. The success will feel so good you will want to keep going!

Bottom Line

You can hit your weight loss goals and enjoy a drink once in a while. Keep in mind the times you would most like to have one and save it for those occasions. This way, it feels like a treat. Then get back on track the next day. You can have your cake and eat it, too. In this case, you can have a drink and your fitness, too!

Cheers! I’ll drink to that!

❤️ GG

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