Is Nightly Wine Why Your Weight Loss Goals Won’t Happen?

August 6, 2018 Ashley 0 Comments

A glass of Cabernet can be a heavenly thing.

A gift from the fermented grape gods. A nice reminder that not all of life is traffic fumes, bank lines, or stepping on your spawn’s left out Legos. But, if you’re trying to lose weight, Buzzkill Betty just landed to issue you some solemn news. (Yes, it’s the kind you’d probably want wine before you heard, but that you ironically should hear before you reach for your next glass.) And that’s that your evening glass of classy adult fruit juice is every bit as calorie ridden and bad for you as the stuff your teen’s sneaking out to drink each weekend when you think she’s having a sleepover at her soccer pal’s house.

Especially if “one glass” actually means two.

(…and waistline, apparently.)

And just how bad is it?

Well, it varies. Not all wines are created equally. But, assuming you’re truly only having what you say you are – that one glass alone is anywhere from 107 cals to 320 or more. And that’s only assuming that “glass” is the standard 250 ml. (Versus those Roman king goblet glasses that you need to be a Crossfit cult member in order to lift.) And what wine aficionado (a term that’s rapidly morphed over time into a fancy euphemism for “wino”) stops at 250 ml? Most don’t. Depending on the awfulness level of your day, coupled with the fact that alcohol makes you care less about calories and weight loss alike (not caring about stuff that usually bothers you is kinda the whole point of drinking), you may not be up for downing any less than two cups of the stuff.

So what’s the fix?

Well, because you’re drinking it before bed and it’s dehydrating, wine’s not like other calorie sources; you can’t exercise it off in an hour. It’s gonna get stored as fat, along with the high sugar content. So what we’ve gotta exercise, instead, is some self control. If stopping at one’s a thing you can’t do, then control your more sober decisions – like what calories you’ll cut during the day to even things out or how frequently you’re going to drink at all. (Maybe not every night?) Caveat? Those cut calories during the day should come from your coffee stand danish or that batch of Dunkin’ D’s lard and sugar pastry rings sitting on the counter at work. They shouldn’t come from the healthy, macro balanced lunch you prepped that’s supposed to fuel your post work workout. And, as for deciding when you’ll drink, maybe turn this thing, which you feel highly entitled to imbibe nightly, into a weekend reward instead. (The plus is how awesome it finally feels come Friday, after your tolerance has had all week to simmer back down.) To make that transition simpler, sub in something else at night in lieu to calm you – like some holy basil tea (try Tulsi brand), magnesium citrate (to relax muscle tension), or melatonin (to help you sleep).

Because, even if you stop at one, that stuff still adds up after just one month:

(And, remember, that 175 is a mid to lowball estimate…)

So, if you wanna drop weight, drop your daily dose of grape drank, ladies ‘n gents. And if unwinding with wine is simply a non-negotiable evening treat you’re unwilling to relinquish, then no sweat. Simply nix the Starbucks carbs, the pastas, the pastries (or other cals you could do without) from another area of your daily diet. Or, ya know, don’t. If you decide weight loss isn’t worth missing out on the sweet witlessness wine brings you each eve, keeping chugging. Stay buzzed and chunky.

It’s no skin off my backside.

But it’s also no fat off yours.

Just sayin’