How Much Alcohol Should You Drink?

Lifestyle is not something you hear about in diet books. Lifestyle is something you hear about from your doctor. So, for purposes of this blog post, I am your doctor.

And you kind of are, in luck…

No co-pay, no waiting room, no nasty receptionist and this blog posts doesn’t smell like your doctor’s office. (You know that smell I’m talking about, right?)

What Should You Drink?

Lifestyle means you need to cut down on your drinking. Now, you don’t have to quit drinking unless you drink Jager-bombs.

Alcohol is OK. But you need to drink it in moderation.

This either sounds like your doctor, mother or ex-girlfriend and unfortunately they were all correct.

Instead of drinking heavily, you should have:

• a glass of wine (preferably RED) once a day.
• Or have a light beer (Corona).
• Drink some straight vodka (Grey Goose).
• Try some rum and Diet Coke.

You get the idea.

And no crazy mixed drinks! My Dad always told me never to drink anything with an umbrella in it. He was so right.

You need the best bang for your buck. High calorie drinks are off limits. So, check the caloric content of what and how much you are going to drink BEFORE you get to the soiree.

When you have had your 2 glasses of Patron straight up, you are done.

Your Caloric Curfew for Drinking

This brings up caloric curfew. We will discuss this in detail a little later, but, 11pm is the time you stop drinking.

Last call for you is 11pm. It doesn’t matter what time you start only how much you drink and when you finish.

So, to recap: stay within your allotted calories, know how many calories each drink is and limit the number.

And the lights go on at 11pm. You don’t have to go home…but you can’t keep on drinking.

Dr. Rick Lehman is a globally recognized orthopedic surgeon in St. Louis, Missouri and Menlo Park, CA. Learn more about Dr. Rick.