A little over a month ago, I went to a wedding. Afterwards, I was tagged in many pictures on facebook and I didn’t like what I saw. I had let myself go a little more than I wanted to. Not to mention that fact that overall I looked more like Winston Churchill than David Beckham With the tight collar and tie, my giant, Ted Kennedy, Mardi Gras float head looked like it was going to explode like it was full of candy. It looked like a giant, red pumpkin sitting on top of a seemingly normal sized body. Needless to say, something needed to change.
I’m six foot one. At that time, I was the most I’ve ever weighed at 215 pounds. That wouldn’t seem so bad if it wasn’t for the fact that I lacked pretty much any muscle definition whatsoever. At this point you’re probably tired of the self deprecating humor.
Since then, I’ve begun a simple transformation. I’m not going from nothing to crazy workout land. No P90X, no South Beach Diet. I’ve just started running often, eating healthier, limiting my carbohydrates and not immediately grabbing a beer at happy hour. I’ve lost fifteen pounds in the last month and I feel better than I have in a long time.
Ever since I turned 21 (nine plus years ago), I’ve never really worried about the carb and caloric count in the alcoholic beverages that I imbibed. Now, as I begin my thirties, it’s necessary to have a low calorie alternative to a frothy pint of beer.
Here is a list of some low calorie options that are perfect for a sunny, summer day (in no particular order):
- Mojito: soda water, little simple or slenda syrup and mint.
- Vodka diet tonic or club soda
- Gin and diet tonic or club soda
- Champagne: A four ounce glass of champagne is about 80 calories. Or try it as a mimosa with a splash of orange juice.
- White sangria White wine, soda water, diet citrus soda, mixed berries.
- Tequila with lime juice and club soda
- Michelada: You didn’t think I was going to completely leave off beer did you? One or two of these treats with beer, lime juice, spices and a splash of tomato juice is reasonably low in calories.
- Skinny girl products: This one’s for the ladies. Personally, I will never try these because of the name. You’ve completely lost me. But, I’m not the sex that these are advertised for any way. I am clearly just too manly to imbibe any of these cocktails. But when I tweeted that I was writing this article this was the overwhelming low calorie favorite.
*What are your low-calorie favorites? As usual, I know I missed some obvious choices. But, this is more or less a list of things that I myself drink (except skinny girl).
Chris Osburn
Rochester, NY
Editor at Chilled Magazine.
