Long lazy summer weekend lunches (you can still have them, even when it is rainy), weddings, barbecues, evenings in the local pub and impromptu drinks after work: when it comes to summer drinking, it’s easy for one drink to blend seamlessly into another, resulting in the consumption of a lot more alcohol than you realise.

We all know that overdoing the booze is not good for our livers, but it can also lead to unexpected weight gain at a time of year when every extra pound shows in clingy clothes and skimpy beach gear.

It is easy to see how this happens. How often have you arrived at a “do” and gratefully grabbed a long cool glass of ice-filled Pimm’s, sangria or rosé and treated it as a thirst quencher rather than the calorie-laden beverage it is?

This desire to gulp rather than sip as a result of that sweaty commute is exacerbated when drinks are iced or well chilled because their temperature widens the valve at the top of our stomachs, making it easier to swallow liquids (and food) more rapidly. The combined dehydrating effects of warm weather only increases the likelihood that you quickly reach for a top-up.

There is a simple solution if you can remember to employ the tactic: have a glass of water before you have your first alcoholic drink, and one between every subsequent one. Water helps to maintain hydration while you keep control of the calories and alcohol units.

White-wine drinkers can also use the obvious tactic of opting to mix it with sparkling water to create a cooling, less calorific spritzer. Go for water rather than soda as the latter contains sodium, which makes you thirstier still.

Spritzer or not, you do still need to keep a mental tally since an average 175ml glass of medium-sweet wine has 130 calories. A 250ml serving, which is common in many wine bars, gastropubs and when “free-pouring” with friends or at home, delivers 188 calories.

You can trim calories slightly by opting for dry white and rosé, which have 115 calories a 175ml glass. With Pimm’s, you can expect around 180 calories per average glass. If making your own you can use diet lemonade and this falls to more like 50. Remember that the fruit is attractive and colourful, but a few leaves of mint and a slice of orange or lemon does not turn it into an elixir of health.

Cocktails are where you can really come unstuck with summer drinking. The Mediterranean beach may cry out to be accompanied by Puerto Rico’s most famous export of a smooth and easy-to-drink piña colada, but it is worth bearing in mind that the mix of Bacardi, pineapple juice and coconut cream can easily clock up 495 calories a glass. In this case, the pineapple juice can technically count as a serving of fruit towards your “five a day”, but with up to 35g of fat per serving (half a woman’s daily maximum), it can hardly claim to be healthy.

A banana or strawberry daiquiri (banana or strawberries, white rum, crème de banana and lime juice) fares a little better in the calorie stakes, but still delivers around 197 a glass. You will be better off with the classic Mexican tequila sunrise. This tequila, grenadine and fresh orange juice cocktail has around 150 calories, but bear in mind that the size of servings of all local cocktails and drinks such as sangria vary hugely.

If you are really watching your waistline but still want to have fun then the only option in my view is to seek out Laurent-Perrier’s Ultra Brut champagne. A favourite of über-slim model Kate Moss and ultra-light jockey Frankie Dettori, fashionable weight-watchers who love their summertime bubbly are in the know: the drink has only 60 calories a 125ml flute. This means that you can sip three glasses for just two of normal champagne, although of course you still have to count the three units of alcohol.

amandaursell.com

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