Slimline (or light) tonics

SarahMollie

*Mods - feel free to move if this is better suited elsewhere but I'm coming at this as a person who is serious about G&T's and trying to lose a few lbs, rather than a person who is serious about dieting and with only a casual interest in gin!

I'm looking to join Slimming World soon as I'm a bridesmaid for a wedding later in the year and I've committed myself to a slightly ambitiously sized dress, with little or no room for alterations, so basically what needs altering is my waistline!

Anyhow, long story short, a basic premise of SW/WW etc is to not drink your calories, so I'm going to limit my alcohol consumption as much as I can, but where I want to have a drink, G&T is probably my favourite of spirit based drinks. I usually drink regular Schwepps tonic which i find delish but I've never been a fan of slimline.

To put it into context, I used to be a fiend for Diet Coke but gave that up completely 3 years ago and now I really only drink water/coffee/tea as far as non alcoholic drinks go. Now that I'm no longer used to drinking things with sweetener, I find slimline tonic a bit terrible to be honest.

So, can anyone suggest a better class of slimline tonic that might work for me? Or indeed even an alternative mixer for Gin that would be considered a light option. Simply using sparkling water has occurred to me although I don't know if this would be a terrible idea or not.

I bought the light version of Fever Tree over the weekend and even though it has no artificial sweeteners, I still didn't really like it (although it was an improvement).

Thoughts welcome!

loyatemu

How many calories are in a G&T and how many are you drinking a week. I can't imagine it's making that much of a difference, it's not like drinking a 500ml bottle of coke.

SarahMollie

Not a lot really - but if I'm going to give SW a go, I think I have to do it according to their rules. I'm the type of person that if I start by bending one rule, then I'll bend them all


From the website its 37 calories per 100ml

I'm going to try to limit alcohol to one night per week (not that I'm a huge drinker anyway) and would probably have 2/3 large G&T's at home over the course of an evening. Accounting for home pours, maybe thats 5-6 pub measures?

L1011

Club's diet tonic is the one that tastes the most like a full sugar one that I've found.

SarahMollie

Actually, I should probably start measuring my Gin also, otherwise I could be fooling myself wtih the slimline tonic etc.

Does anyone know when you can buy one of those little metal pub measure yokes?

L1011

SarahMollie wrote: »

Actually, I should probably start measuring my Gin also, otherwise I could be fooling myself wtih the slimline tonic etc.

Does anyone know when you can buy one of those little metal pub measure yokes?

Stock on South King Street if you are anywhere near Dublin; Nisbets online if not. Tiger actually have jiggers in at the moment but it doesn't say how big it is!

Most people's home pours would be coming up to a Irish double (60+ml) from what I've seen. Most calorie counters assume a British 25ml measure!

SarahMollie

L1011 wrote: »

Stock on South King Street if you are anywhere near Dublin; Nisbets online if not. Tiger actually have jiggers in at the moment but it doesn't say how big it is!

Most people's home pours would be coming up to a Irish double (60+ml) from what I've seen. Most calorie counters assume a British 25ml measure!

Oh grand, I know the place so I'll pop in whenever I'm next in town - thanks for the tip!

I'm assuming my home pours are doubles, just to be on the safe side, but it would be nice to know for sure
Not sure about Slimming World but I know WeightWatches calculate on the Irish 35ml measure, so assuming SW have similar localisations. Will find out later this week!

RasTa

Slimming World and Weightwatchers are scams btw. You'll just put the weight back on. However if it's an instant weight loss you're looking for then go ahead.

Think Wine has less calories.

Losty Dublin

You need to consume over 3,000 extra calories over the week to make for an extra pound of weight onto you. That's a lot of G&T's, slimline or regular! You'd almost be better off walking to or from the pub to equalise the sugars taken in . If it is any help, Mum found Finches light tonic to be a little nicer tasting over Club or Schweppes. There are white label tonics as well. Fine for home but no use when you are out. You may find sparkling water works as well; it is almost calorie free.

And oh yeah, limit the nibbles when you are having a few drinks. They are far worse than the gargle for adding on unneeded calories.

SarahMollie

RasTa wrote: »

Slimming World and Weightwatchers are scams btw. You'll just put the weight back on. However if it's an instant weight loss you're looking for then go ahead.

Think Wine has less calories.

Well, I know a fair few people who've lost considerable weight on SW and have kept it off. You only aim for 1-2lbs a week so its not rapid weightloss, and is primarily based around cooking from scratch at home. I have 10 months before this wedding so I've loads of time to achieve what I want, and I'm going to small group training 3x per week also so I'm doing a diet+exercise approach.

Alcohol is always an issue whatever weightloss method you choose. I don't want to go completely teetotal but would like to have some options that won't set me back too badly if I want to indulge on occasion.

Also, wine is quite high in calories. Clear spirits are the lightest options.

SarahMollie

Losty Dublin wrote: »

You need to consume over 3,000 extra calories over the week to make for an extra pound of weight onto you. That's a lot of G&T's, slimline or regular! You'd almost be better off walking to or from the pub to equalise the sugars taken in . If it is any help, Mum found Finches light tonic to be a little nicer tasting over Club or Schweppes. There are white label tonics as well. Fine for home but no use when you are out. You may find sparkling water works as well; it is almost calorie free.

And oh yeah, limit the nibbles when you are having a few drinks. They are far worse than the gargle for adding on unneeded calories.

Thanks for the tip about finches, I don't think I've seen it before but I'll keep an eye out next time I'm in the supermarket.

I'm not really worried about putting on more weight, I've just told the bride to be to get my dress in size X, which she duly did and its defo on the smaller end of that size, so now I've to fit myself into it! Also, the other bridesmaids are all quite slim and petite so it will do be no harm to lose a few lbs before standing beside them!

irish_goat

If you're allowed a squeeze of lime/lemon juice you might find the healthier tonics taste a good bit better.

beardybrewer

Actually we were surprised how many calories are in regular tonic. Guess it takes a lot of sugar to counter the bitterness of the quinine.

As far as a metal jigger goes, a €1 shot glass from nearly any homeware shop would accomplish the same thing.

Lastly, if you aren't squeezing in a wedge of fresh lime you're really missing out. Makes it so much nicer.

rubadub

Losty Dublin wrote: »

You need to consume over 3,000 extra calories over the week to make for an extra pound of weight onto you.

for heavy drinkers studies show this does not ring true for alcohol. The likes of Shane MacGowan would need to be carried about on a forklift if this was true, you will hear of plenty of rock stars allegedly drinking loads per day yet are not morbidly obese. I found the same myself, and its evident from plenty of heavy drinking friends of mine.

Petrol is also very high in calories and a good car fuel, just like alcohol, but it would not have the same effect as sugar on your system.

Losty Dublin

rubadub wrote: »

for heavy drinkers studies show this does not ring true for alcohol. The likes of Shane MacGowan would need to be carried about on a forklift if this was true, you will hear of plenty of rock stars allegedly drinking loads per day yet are not morbidly obese. I found the same myself, and its evident from plenty of heavy drinking friends of mine.

Petrol is also very high in calories and a good car fuel, just like alcohol, but it would not have the same effect as sugar on your system.

My belly would beg to differ :pac:

On topic though, this is more of a general point re dieting and nutrition as a whole and isn't specific to alcohol consumption.

oblivious

@Losty Dublin and @rubadub, lads please keep the pseudo medical knowledge to PM's, please

Sleepy

Mrs Sleepy drinks gin with sparkling water and wedges of mandarin (instead of lemon / lime). Fresh fruit is usually "free" on any of those points based diets and sparkling water should be calorie free?

IME, the better the gin, the less need to add flavour with tonic. I'd happily drink the Drumshanbo Gun Powder Gin on the rocks tbh.

Jentle Grenade

- syn the tonic, 250ml is 3.5 syns which is enough for 2 G&Ts. 35ml of gin is 4 syns. I only usually have one, OH gets one too, and I count it as 5.5 syns.

- slimline tonic, varies wildly depending on what gin you're drinking in my experience. I personally like slimline Schweppes with Blackwater and similar. I think the light Fever Tree is nice with the heavier tasting gins.

- soda water, how I mainly drink it now. Heavy on the garnish and I'm more than happy to drink it.

I wouldn't get too hung up on it. I might have 2 or three a week but I'm happy to spend the syns on a good drink.