**This post contains gifted items, however as always all thoughts and opinions are our own**
It’s January and that time again where thoughts turn to what we’d like to improve as we plough head long into a new, fresh year full of possibilities. Personally I’ve long since given up on setting myself ‘New Years Resolutions’ per se as I always seem to set myself big goals that I know deep down aren’t achievable, ultimately setting myself up for failure before I’ve even started. Instead I now choose to focus on a couple of smaller things that I’d like to change that I know I can wholeheartedly commit to.
It’s safe to say that 2020 was an unconventional year in so many ways and like many people I found myself stuck at home for long periods of time during multiple lockdown’s. The impact of this has been (inevitable) weight gain from snacking & grazing during periods of boredom. However, I can’t contribute my weight gain to eating solely as I found myself drinking alcohol more frequently than I have in the past.
I enjoy drinking a variety of alcoholic beverages from cider to wine and everything in between, however I’ve never been a regular drinker; able to take it or leave it and mainly indulging on special occasions. I found though with the lack of other things to do to keep myself busy over the last year I had started to pop a few bottles of wine into the trolley during the weekly shop to indulge at the weekend. It has since become a bit of a habit to reach for the bottle every weekend as a way to unwind from the stresses of everyday life. This increase in consumption most definitely contributed significantly to the number of calories I was consuming – who knew a large glass of wine could be 228 calories or more??
Knowing I needed to cut down significantly on my alcohol intake to reduce the number of ’empty’ calories I was consuming I initially decided to cut it out completely. However, I was recently contacted by Good Stuff Drinks, a company that specialise in low & non alcoholic drinks who kindly asked if I’d like to sample a few of the products they stock. Now I’ll be honest I’ve never really tried or considered a swap from alcoholic to non alcoholic drinks before instead taking the option to abstain so I was intrigued to give some a try.
Good Stuff Drinks was created Tom a regular competitive distance runner who missed his favourite beers when he had to give up alcohol to help manage his weight whilst training. Missing his favourite tipple led him to widen his search for non or low alcoholic alternatives and on doing so he discovered a wide variety or full flavoured & tasty beers. Understanding that other’s must have the same dilemma Tom set up Good Stuff Drinks with the mission to “Help other health conscious drinkers to find and enjoy great tasting low alcohol wines and beer”.
Their easy to navigate website offers a range of beers, wines and cider which can be delivered direct to your door – perfect for just now when you can only leave home for essential trips! Tom kindly sent a real variety of drinks for us to try and we have been slowly, but surely working our way through them. We were sent a mix of branded bottles like Kopparberg & Black Tower, but it was also lovely to try some other craft beers & ales produced by micro breweries in the UK like the Solo Peach which is brewed in West Berkshire.
Full strength alcohol is not only laden with calories it also reduces the body’s ability to burn fat as well as having a negative impact by delaying recovery after exercise. All this combined presents a strong argument for a switch to low or alcohol free drinks as an alternative to help me in particular with my calorie intake. Unsure what to expect having never really tried drinks of this kind I have been pleasantly surprised with the flavours and tastes of the ones I’ve tried so far; my favourite so far though has definitely been The Very Cautious One. To me this wine tasted just like my normal tipple, full of flavours and taste, but with only 22 calories per 100ml.
After this positive experience with low alcohol drinks I will certainly be making wiser choices going forward. I’m not promising to never have a ‘proper’ drink again as that would be another one of my unachievable resolutions! However, knowing that the alternatives can taste just as good, if not better, I know I can use these to reduce my intake plus no hangover which is a real bonus when you have an early rising child!
If you fancy trying some of Good Stuff Drinks wide range of drinks head over to their website & sign up to their website to bag yourself a FREE bottle of sparkling wine when you spend over £40!
Fraser’s Fun House 