Healthy Alcoholic Drinks: How to Have Fun Without Getting a Beer Belly

Yeah, we all want to look sexier, more powerful, increase energy levels, and live longer. But when we guys TRY to get our health together in pursuit of these goals, a few common roadblocks keep turning up. One of these obstacles is cutting back on the booze.

As luck would have it, you can lose fat, build muscle, AND get your drink on, if you know how to do it correctly – go easy on the sauce and stick with healthy alcoholic drinks.

The Benefits and Hazards of Booze

Research has found that moderate consumption of alcohol is beneficial to your health. It increases insulin sensitivity and raises HDL (good) cholesterol, amongst many other perks.

Of course, you can go too far with drinking. Calling your ex at three in the morning is bad enough, but when you get into a bar fight or start driving on the wrong side of the freeway, you are putting yourself in a tight spot.

So remember this one rule: Have a couple drinks, but keep it classy. (Okay, okay. Cut loose every now and then. Just don’t do anything that will put you or someone else in danger.)

Sugar: A Terrible Drinking Buddy

If you rarely drink, it probably doesn’t matter what you have when you do. But for those of us who like to indulge a bit more, there is one villain that we need to be ever-vigilant of: sugar.

Once upon a time, men liked their drinks stiff. These days, we think the mark of a good drink is when you can’t taste the alcohol. Unfortunately, in order to do this, bartenders must load the drink up with sugar and syrups to mask it.

Sugar and other refined carbohydrates lead to chronically elevated insulin, which in turn causes your body to store fat away 24/7. I shouldn’t need to tell you that this is a very BAD thing. In order to enjoy healthy alcoholic drinks, we need to cowboy up and take all the girly, fruity stuff out of it.

In other words, drink what James Bond would drink, not the stars of Sex in the City.

The Basics

So, if the biggest thing we need to worry about is the mixers, it stands to reason that the straight stuff should be best. Here’s some good choices:

• Wine
• Shots (no fruity stuff!)
• Whiskey on the rocks

I didn’t include beer here because it packs such a caloric punch. Normally, I don’t worry about calories, but it seems like when you drink your energy in liquid form, your body doesn’t respond by feeling full like if you ate solid food. But I will recommend Guinness as a tasty and surprisingly low-calorie beer. If you just can’t give up your favorite microbrew, make sure you moderate it. They don’t call it a beer gut for nothing!

A Tasty Drink That Will Keep You Lean

I’m sure not everyone can handle shots of hard liquor or whiskey on the rocks, so let’s make a mixed drink that tastes good, won’t make you grow fat, and won’t knock you flat on your ass:

1. Fill a glass with ice.
2. Add a shot of liquor (whiskey, gin, tequila, etc).
3. Top the glass off with soda water.
4. Add a squeeze of fresh lime.

There ya go! A simple, quick, and refreshing drink. You can get it at any bar, and you don’t need to be well-stocked to make it at home.

The Cocktails

Like I said earlier, guys today are sissies when it comes to drinking compared to their grandparents. You can always go “old-school” and rest assured that you aren’t drinking too much sugar water. Here’s a few you can’t go wrong with:

• Martini
• Manhattan
• Bloody Mary
• Sidecar

While alcoholic drinks should in no way be considered “health food,” it certainly won’t hurt you to imbibe now and then, especially when you stick with these healthy alcoholic drinks. Life’s too short to avoid the things you enjoy, so let me raise my glass in toast. Cheers!

Tagged as: alcohol, drinking, liquid calories, rest and relaxation