Inspired by an article I read a couple of months ago written by a nutritionist, I thought I’d have a go at addressing the modern day dilemma of enjoying life, whilst maintaining a good body shape.

For anyone looking to get in better shape with improved body composition, my advice is always the same – “Think Caveman!” If it didn’t once fly, swim or grow from the ground, it’s probably been made by a scientist in a laboratory and not by nature.

I appreciate this is a simplistic view but there is something about single ingredient foods that just makes sense to me. The body was surely designed to consume food from the land, not from the cake and biscuit aisle in Tesco.

With food taken care of, we are just left with the problem of alcohol, as I am sometimes reminded that cavemen didn’t have a pub!

With the exception of a few, the majority of the people I know like a drink (or two). Drinking seems to have become ingrained in our society with just about all occasional calling for a drink.

For the average person (including myself!), I think it is unrealistic and unsustainable to simply cut out alcohol all together given our social dependence on it (and of course the good times that come with it).

So, here we are - We want to look good, feel good and be able to enjoy ourselves too. It’s a balancing act of course but there is something interesting about alcoholic drinks that we need to bare in mind – they are not all created equally.

If you want to get drunk but not fat, then I’ve found a website showing us exactly that:

Get Drunk, Not Fat

The site is pretty exhaustive with a load of drinks I’ve never even heard of so I’ve collated the info below for a few favourites:

The higher calories from alcohol (%) the better.

• Absolut Vodka 99%
• Jack Daniels and Diet Coke 98%
• Gin and Tonic 75%
• Sauvignon Blanc 74%
• Merlot 73%
• Becks 69%
• Stella Artois – 65%
• Guinness – 63%
• Corona Extra 59.23%

They aren’t listed on the website but I can safely say that cocktails would be at the very bottom of the list so make sure they are only consumed on special occasion, assuming you do you want to be drunk and not fat of course.

It’s actually not that different from the caveman theory really, the purer the drink with alcohol, the better it is. Alcohol isn’t good for the body but it’s the ingredient that gets us drunk, whereas the majority of the other ingredients in popular alcoholic drinks are contributing to ‘empty’ calorie intake, ultimately making us fatter.

So what does this actually mean in particular terms?

If you simply want to get the drunk the most ‘clean’ way, then it’s shots of tequila, vodka and gin for you.

If you still want to fit in with your friends, then there are marginally better choices for both beers and wines.

Wine is ultimately better than beers (for calories) and the winning combo in my mind is a mixture of a spirit with a diet mixer or water (ice).

Cocktails are bad! At least in terms of non-alcoholic calorie intake anyway.

It should be noted that diet drinks are full of sweeteners in order to replace sugar that although represent no calories, we are yet to see the true long term impact on our health of the ‘fake sugars’.
In summary, my advice is:

Eat like a caveman, drink with less calories and most of all – enjoy yourself.

Plus – Keep training!

Through our sister company Challenge Central, we have developed a new website where people can create and find local challenges - My Challenge Central.

There are already challenges available for alcohol reduction, decreasing sugar intake and fitness challenges. Find a challenge and give it a go.