For those of you that strive to live a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle but also enjoy some drinks here and there - don't fret! You don't need to let alcohol get you off track from your fitness goals! I use myfitnesspal as my tracking app - check it out if you have never used it - it's AWESOME!
Here is how you can track alcohol:
Alcohol = 7 calories/gram
The easiest way to track calories from alcohol is to track it as a carbohydrate or fat.
A carbohydrate = 4 calories per gram
A fat = 9 calories per gram
For instance, A Michelob Ulta has 95 calories.
To track:
Carbohydrate: 95 ÷ 4 = 24 grams
Fat: 95 ÷ 9 = 11 grams
OR you can split it up: 95 ÷ 2 = 47.5 grams
47.5 ÷ 4 = 12 grams of carbohydrates
47.5 ÷ 9 = 5 grams of fat
Simply open up MyFitnessPal and search “fat” or “carb” and enter the allotted amount of grams. That’s it! Easy enough, right? Not quite.
Don’t forget to account for the other ingredients in your drink of choice. The drink you opt for may have additional calories to account for such as mixers. When ordering or making a drink, stick to options such as diet soda and 0 calories fizzy waters.
Fun Fact: Alcohol is a macronutrient. However, since it isn’t an essential macronutrient most tracking apps don’t include it.
Please note: the picture above of me with a massive drink does have ingredients that I didn't account for 🙊