What’s in a serving?

A 175ml serving of wine (one of those little bottles) has around 140 calories.

 But if you are pouring from a bottle you can easily pour a 250mls glass which is almost 200 calories.

Spirits are a little lower in calories with around 75 calories in a pub measure.  If you go with a sugar-free mixer, you can limit the calories.  A bottle of gluten free beer can have up to 130 calories. 

Alcohol and Appetite

People often talk about getting the “munchies” when they drink.  This is because alcohol stimulates your appetite – making you want to eat more and reducing your ability to resist temptation.  So, with alcohol, it’s not just the calories you drink, it is the calories you eat along with it.  Limit how often you do drink or take a break for a few weeks if you find your weight is not going the way you want it.

Alcohol and Sleep

Experts now know that too little sleep or broken sleep makes it harder for people to lose weight and to keep it off.  When you drink, alcohol makes it harder for you to stay asleep or to get the good, deep, sleep that you need.  Even one glass of wine or one beer is enough to impact your sleep.  Broken sleep makes you want to eat more and makes it harder for you to feel full – leading to lots of extra calories.  This is one of the reasons you’ll often find that you eat more the day after you’ve had a few drinks. In fact, studies now show that broken sleep can lead people to eat up to 300 calories more the next day.

Do you need to give up alcohol?

No! Do stay below recommended limits (see below) and make sure you have lots of alcohol free days each week. 

The upper limits are:  17 standard drinks a week for men & 11 standard drinks a week for women

1 standard drink is:                ½ pint of beer

100mls of wine (not ‘a glass’ of wine)

1 pub measure of spirits

This is equivalent to 8 pints a week for a man or 1 ½ bottles of 12% wine for a woman.

Stress and Weight

There is no doubt that stress can make you eat more.  In fact, stress is a big driver of weight gaain.  Many people find themselves craving foods – especially sugary and starchy foods –  when they are stressed.  It is easy for people to have a craving for crisps, sweets and chocolate as well as pasta, bread and other carb-rich foods.  This is because carbs can actually help you to feel more relaxed.  This is fine if it is now-and-again.  But if it is all the time, it can add more weight than is healthy.  So, what can you do?

A month in the sun would probably help…but as most of us can’t do that we need to look for other solutions.  The obvious one is to deal with whatever it is that is stressing you but that is easier said than done.  Sometimes it is work, sometimes it is a health issue, sometimes there are family problems.  If there is anything you can do to help reduce the stress, great.  If not, then it’s good to look for some other alternatives to eating when you do feel stressed and need some relief.

1. Set a timer. When you are going to stress eat, set a 10-minute timer. Stress eating is a bit like giving up cigarettes.  Sometimes you just want to eat (or smoke) in the moment.  If you wait 10 minutes, the urge can often go away.  Not always.  But a 10-minute timer can help. 
2. When you feel stressed, your body is preparing you for physical action – even if the stress you are feeling is not a physical threat.  Your body puts lots of chemicals in your system to get you ready to run or to fight.  These chemicals stay in your body until you use them.  Part of stress eating is trying to “push down” this feeling. If you can move, it can help your body to use up these chemicals.  This is why people feel more relaxed after they have done some exercise.  It doesn’t have to be a lot of exercise.  A brisk 10-minute walk is often enough to reduce stress eating.  If you can’t leave the house, jumping jacks, jogging on the spot or a minute or two with a skipping rope can all help.  When it comes to stress eating, it is a short burst of exercise that can make the difference.
3. Build an exercise habit. Short bursts of exercise are great when you are trying not to stress eat, but in the long term, a good exercise habit can prevent the need for stress eating in the first place.  Can you add in a daily walk? Could you swim? Can you go for a run? A cycle? Getting 30 minutes of exercise 5 times a week helps you keep stay more balanced, even during stressful times.  See what you can do – and remember that even 10 minutes is better than nothing.
4. Deliberately relax. Can you listen to a relaxation exercise on your phone? Can you have a bath (if you are feeling rich with energy costs these days…), can you do a yoga class? Pilates? Reading in a quiet room is very relaxing for some people. Whatever it is that can help you feel relaxed, try to plan it into your day or your week.
5. Phone a friend. It is good to talk to someone about what is stressing you.  Even if you don’t want to talk about the problem that is stressing you, connecting with other people can bring relief.