Can you drink alcohol and still reach your goals?
College Drinking & Fitness

Hi,
My name’s Melissa, I am a 20 year old university student and I’m not ashamed to say that I like to consume a few adult beverages every now and again (I mean what else is there to do in a small college town?).
· Side note I’m from Canada and the drinking age is 18 where I go to school
For me, life is all about experiences. I would never want to hold myself back from new or fun experiences just because “I want to stay lean”.
For those of you who are in the same situation as me, you know that the college drinking culture is real. Consequently the freshman 15 can also be very real.
But it doesn’t have to be…
For those of you who aren’t students but want to know if a night out with your friends will completely derail their progress, stay–tuned because I’m about to break it down.
Step One: Understanding Energy balance
I’ll say this time and time again but what it really comes down to in terms of making fat loss progress or just simply maintaining your current weight is energy balance.
So, if you drink thousands of calories in alcohol and tag along carbs every weekend (they still count even if you don’t remember them) then, yes, that is going to hurt your progress.
It’s important to know that alcohol is not a protein, carb, or fat (which are the 3 main macro nutrients). It’s actually in a category of its own.
· Proteins and carbs each have 4 calories/gram
· Fat has 9 calories/gram
· Alcohol has 7 calories/gram
As you can see alcohol is naturally more calorically dense than proteins and carbs and only slightly less than fats which means calories can add up quicker.
To put this in perspective 1 oz. of hard liquor (depending on what you’re drinking) has about 70 calories. If you’re drinking multiple double or triple drinks throughout the night this can add up significantly. And if you’re pouring your own drinks, chances are you’re not just putting in 1 oz.
On top of this, alcohol is often mixed in with very sugary drinks like juices and soda’s that are pure liquid carbs. Because these don’t really fill you up, many people would be surprised to learn that the margarita they just drank is actually 300 calories.
Luckily for you though there are some “drinking hacks” that you can use to minimize the effects of drinking on your progress. All it takes is a little preparation.
Step 2: Implementation
In an ideal world we would all have wonderful willpower and just drink the 2–3 drinks per week that our doctors recommended.
But if you’re reading this article, chances are that’s not going to fly with you so here are some things to do before a night of heavy drinking.
1. Drink lots of water the day of.
This will reduce your chances of being hungover the next day, allowing you to be a functioning member of society instead of sleeping in until noon and ordering pizza for brunch. Staying hydrated should also help you get fewer late night cravings because often we mistake being thirsty with hunger.
2. Bank Calories for your night out
This is probably the most important step because, as I said before, energy balance is key. I’m not saying that you should starve yourself during the day, however, being smart with your calorie intake in anticipation of your evening will pay off for you in the end.
If you track macros on apps like MyFitnessPal I would suggest simply tracking the alcohol you will be drinking (be realistic) and then going about your day at a maintenance level hitting your protein for the day and then getting in whatever carbs and fats you can while still staying within your total calories for the day.
If you don’t track macros that’s okay too.
If you eat relatively intuitively like myself here’s what I would do:
→ Eat a high protein breakfast that will fill you up but is low in calories. For example: a couple of scoops of protein + frozen fruit, a small bowl of protein oats, an egg white omelet with lots of veggies etc.
→ Eat a moderately sized lunch that’s also high in protein: for example a chicken salad or some form of lean protein and veggies.
→ If you’re going out to dinner before going out you now have lots of fats and carbs to play with. If not, you can now eat a decent sized dinner that will help you avoid the late night binges and have room for the extra alcohol calories.
3. Decide before you go out that you will not spontaneously hit up McDonald's
This is a big one. Not only do late night binges lead you to eat a crazy surplus of calories on top of all the alcohol you consumed, but often you don’t even get to enjoy your food. I’m all for treating yourself every now and again but if I’m going to do it, I want to enjoy it.
I would advise either prepping something you can eat as “drunk food” when you get home that won’t do too much damage like a bowl of air popped popcorn or something similar (lame I know) or just hitting the hay as soon as you get home.
Either way, just do yourself a favor and only bring the amount of money that you need for the amount of drinks you’re going to get and leave the rest (and the cards) at home.
4. Choose a low calorie mix
Mixing your alcohol with calorie dense sodas and juices can really make a big impact on your overall calorie intake.

What I would suggest, and what I like to do is mix my alcohol with diet soda or other calorie free beverages.
My ultimate hack is mixing vodka with crystal light pink lemonade water flavouring packs. I swear it’s a game changer!
5. Do an extra cardio session if you can swing it
My last tip would be to try to get a workout in on the day that you’ll be going out and if possible do some extra cardio at the end of your workout. This will just allow you a little more wiggle room in terms of energy balance.
Lastly I’d just like to say that coming from a very poor relationship with food in my past and lots of restriction I used to hate going out for dinner with friends and family because I couldn’t “eat clean”.
Going out for a night of drinking would have terrified me.
Recently I have found a much more balanced approach to life and I’ve realized that I’m only a university student for four years, so I might as well enjoy it.
I hope this article is helpful to some of you in some way. Keep in mind that excessive drinking probably isn’t something you should do every weekend, however, there is a way to make it work so that you can reach your goals and not miss out on life.
All the best,