Q: I’m giving up alcohol until Easter. Apologies for sounding shallow, but will doing so lead to weight loss as well as being good for my soul?
A: It all depends on what and how much you drink and if you compensate for the calories “saved” by eating more and/or slurping sugary beverages to replace your usual tipple. For instance, if you usually drink two 175ml glasses of medium wine each night, this would save a total of 259 calories a day and 10,360 over the 40 days of Lent. This is equivalent to only 3lb in weight. Were you to replace your wine with, say, a sparkling grape juice (with 122 calories for two 175ml glasses), you would lose only half this weight.
The one-glass effect
Interestingly, drinking only one glass of wine has the effect of slightly lowering blood sugar levels. This can help to keep down insulin levels and to act as a a slight appetite suppressant. Without the wine, you may find that you feel hungrier and eat more.
And, of course, you may feel so virtuous at having given up the booze that you either wittingly or unwittingly “treat” yourself to extras thinking that you have lots of calories “spare”. Or you may just feel so deprived at having to forgo your usual drink that you turn to chocolate to compensate.
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A regular Guinness drinker would, surprisingly, see only slightly better results by giving up their daily drink, losing only 4lb over Lent and only then if they did not replace it with other calorific soft drinks or turn to crisps in the pub for comfort.
The moral of the story is clear. If you are going to give up alcohol for Lent and you are usually a moderate drinker, then don’t expect the pounds to melt away and that you will emerge on Easter morning looking svelte – a couple of chocolate eggs will undo all that hard work almost instantly.
Liver boosters
While your waistline may not benefit hugely from 40 days of alcohol abstinence, your liver certainly will. If you choose at this time to also give this usually overworked organ a helping hand, it will emerge a clear winner. Try a daily dose of The Organic Pharmacy Liver and Kidney Detox tincture (£10.99 for 50ml; www.theorganicpharmacy.com, 020-7351 2232). Containing milk thistle, dandelion and artichoke extracts, it can help to regenerate liver cells, preparing them once again for “normal” life. (www.amandaursell.com)
For more of Amanda Ursell’s ideas for healthy comfort food visit the health club: timeshealth.co.uk/diet