Drink like a fish last night? (or shouldn't have) presents
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How many units do you really drink in a week? And how many calories
are in those units?
This handy diary lets you work it out. It'll also help you look at how
healthy your lifestyle is in general.
Keep it in your bag or your pocket when you go out, so you can scribble
in it on the way home. All the information you need on units and calories
is at the back of the diary.
Then, at the end of the month, turn to our “How did you do?” guide to
see how your drinking habits compare to the safe guidelines. You might
be surprised – pleasantly or otherwise!
Drinkaware is an independent
charity with the sole purpose of
providing people with information
about alcohol and its effects.
We want to dispel the myths and
present the honest facts about
alcohol, so you can make an
informed choice about drinking
for yourself.
How I did this week:
Units:
Calories:
£ spent:
Units:
Calories:
£ spent:
Drinks consumed:
Comments:
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SU
NS
AT
FR
IT
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ES
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Checklist:(Healthy things I did this week)
Two alcohol-free days?
30 minutes’ moderate exercise each day?
Healthy eating...most of the time?
8 hours’ sleep per night?
2 Large glasses of red wine
Stressful day so pubwith flatmate Scampi at night.
New bar in town.Didn't drink too much, but Scampi was slurring his words!
Bottle label says there's 9 units in the bottle, I've had 2/3 of it, so 6 units.
370
0
0
3
1
£0
£8
£10
£3.50
Gym after dinner,no booze today!
None!
3 Vodka and cokes165 from vodka,
260 from coke = 425
3 wines - medium, 2 beers and 2 tequilas
A few drinks became a big night, really drunk, might have fallen over, oops! Scampi probably the only person more wasted than me...Missed lastbus home and had to get a taxi - bloody expensive!
wine - 6, beer - 3.3 (says 1.65 on bottle), tequila - 2= 11.3
784 + 500 from pizza on way home = 1284!
£35 + £20 taxi = £55
one G+T55 in G + 80
in T = 135Cinema with Scampi,drink after. Just 1 though!
2 white wines (large)6
370
£0
Dinner at new squeeze's flat. Ended up drinking again. Oops.
Hungover day watching TV
long week, not enough sleep
Can't believe I drank and spent so much this week!
And the calories!Argh!
All the information you need to work outunits and calories is on page 21
None 0
0
nothing (good thing, after yesterday!)
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How I did this week:
Did you know...?
You might feel tired the day after because when you go to bed drunk you may only have 1-2 cycles of REM sleep (the type of sleep that leaves you refreshed) compared to 6-7 cycles normally.
All the information you need to work outunits and calories is on page 21
Checklist:(Healthy things I did this week)
Two alcohol-free days?
30 minutes’ moderate exercise each day?
Healthy eating...most of the time?
8 hours’ sleep per night?
MO
NT
UE
SW
ED
TH
UR
FR
I
Units:
Calories:
£ spent:
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N
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How I did this week:
Did you know...?
About 10 million people in England drink above the recommended guidelines-that's 1 in 4 people.
All the information you need to work outunits and calories is on page 21
Checklist:(Healthy things I did this week)
Two alcohol-free days?
30 minutes’ moderate exercise each day?
Healthy eating...most of the time?
8 hours’ sleep per night?
MO
NT
UE
SW
ED
TH
UR
FR
I
Units:
Calories:
£ spent:
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How I did this week:
Did you know...?
Drinking after a workout may cancel out your efforts because alcohol can impede muscle growth.
All the information you need to work outunits and calories is on page 21
Checklist:(Healthy things I did this week)
Two alcohol-free days?
30 minutes’ moderate exercise each day?
Healthy eating...most of the time?
8 hours’ sleep per night?
MO
NT
UE
SW
ED
TH
UR
FR
I
Units:
Calories:
£ spent:
Units:
Calories:
£ spent:
Units:
Calories:
£ spent:
Units:
Calories:
£ spent:
Units:
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Drinks consumed:
Comments:
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Drinks consumed:
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SAT
SU
N
Units:
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How I did this week: Did you know...?
It would take more than an hour of ironing to burn off the 130 calories in a medium-sized (175ml) glass of wine.
All the information you need to work outunits and calories is on page 21
Checklist:(Healthy things I did this week)
Two alcohol-free days?
30 minutes’ moderate exercise each day?
Healthy eating...most of the time?
8 hours’ sleep per night?
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This next section will tell you all you need to know about the effects
drinking at your level could be having.
The Government’s offi cial guidelines say that men should drink no
more than 3-4 units per day. For women, it’s 2-3 units per day.
Experts also say you should have at least two alcohol-free days
each week.
Obviously, it’s also recommended that you stay healthy in other
ways too, through a good diet, exercise and plenty of sleep.
So how do your drinking and other habits stack up?
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You drank...within the recommended guidelines all the time, and had at least two days off each week
Well done! By drinking within
the guidelines, it’s unlikely you’ll
do any damage to your health
through alcohol.
Extra brownie points if you’re
ticking most of the boxes on the
health checklist each week too!
But make sure to carry on being
aware of what you drink. It’s
easy to let your intake gradually
creep up with a few extra drinks
here and there, especially when
you’re on holiday and at certain
times of year, like Christmas.
You drank...within the recommended guidelinesmost of the time
Is one big night out a week
making your weekly total shoot
up? Or maybe you like a drink
or two every day, and you’re not
taking your couple of days off?
It might not seem like you’re
going over the top, but those
extra units can still cause
you problems.
Let’s start with your waistline.
There are loads of calories in
alcohol; one pint is the same as
a chocolate bar (250 calories).
Your drunken night out on a
Friday or Saturday could well end
up with you having an accident
too. More than 10,000 young
people end up in hospital every
year because of alcohol.
Then there’s the more serious
health stuff: you’re more likely
to get liver disease, cancer and
have a stroke or mental health
problems like depression.
Drinking at your level, it wouldn’t
take too much effort to cut back a
little, so why not give it a go?
You drank...a good bit more than the guidelines
When you start having more
than one big night out a week,
or it’s more like three or four
drinks you’re having after work,
you’re moving into risky territory,
booze-wise.
Obviously, the more you drink,
the more likely you are to get
nasty diseases like cancer and
liver disease. Then there’s the
greater risk of having an accident
when you’re drunk.
Drinking well beyond the
guidelines won’t leave you
looking too great either. Nobody
looks too hot the morning
after the night before, but over
time drinking can cause more
permanent damage to your skin,
hair and nails.
Time to have a think about a few
changes to your habits, before
your body takes action itself.
You drank...way more than the guidelines
If you’re male and drinking
more than eight units a day or
a woman drinking more than six,
several times a week, it’s time to
take action.
Doctors say drinking at this
level is “defi nitely harmful” to
your body. In fact, steadily
drinking this much makes you
many times more likely than the
average person to get cancer of
the mouth, throat, or liver. Ouch.
You should really look at cutting
back. Read on for tips, or visit our
website www.drinkaware.co.uk
for more help.
cont.
Think about whatyou’re drinking
Some drinks have more alcohol than others. For example, a single measure of vodka has one unit, while a pint of
standard beer has more than two. Bear this in mind if you’re trying to
limit your units.
Cut down the numberof nights you drink
Perhaps you could limit your drinking to only a few nights
a week, and then not goover the top?
Do something different
There are lots of great nights out that don’t revolve around the pub. Check out our website www.drinkaware.co.uk for
some great ideas.
Alternate with soft drinks
Have a soft drink after every alcoholic drink when you’re out.
Not only will this stop you guzzling the booze down, it’ll help keep you hydrated, lessening any hangover.
Save money
Keep a record of how much you’re saving by drinking less. £20 saved per week translatesto more than £80 a month, or
£1,040 per year... Just think what you could do with that...
Keep a list of whyyou’re doing it
If you’ve decided to cut down, it’s easy to let your motivation wane after a while. Keep it up by writing down a list of your reasons for cutting back
and leave it where you cansee it every day.
Keep using ourdrinks diary online
We’ve got a drinks diary you can fill in on our website. Continuing to monitor what you’re drinking is a sure-fire way to keep your alcohol
intake under control.
Make an excuse
While it seems extreme to have tomake excuses, sometimes if you’vegot really pushy friends and you’re determined to cut back, it’s what
you’ve got to do. Why not try“I’m in training” or “My mum’s
visiting tomorrow”?
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The table opposite tells you all you need to know about how much
alcohol and how many calories are in your favourite drinks.
If you can’t fi nd your drink, or want absolutely precise information, use
the unit calculator on our website www.drinkaware.co.uk – it’ll give you
the exact unit and calorie content of most major brands of drinks.
You can also work out the units for yourself with this handy sum:
On our website www.drinkaware.co.uk you’ll fi nd everything you ever
wanted to know about alcohol. We have more advice and information
on everything from cutting down to dealing with hangovers to the
health effects of drinking.
You can use the unit calculator we have on the website to see exactly
how many units and calories are in different measures of most of the
major brands of alcohol.
Then you can use our online drinks diary to carry on monitoring your
alcohol intake in the future, once this diary’s full.
Strength (ABV) x Volume (ml)
1000= No. of units
For example, a 250ml glass of 13.5% wine is:
13.5 x 250 ÷ 1000 = 3.38 units
DRINK TYPEALCOHOLCONTENT
MEASURE/SIZE UNITS CALORIES
Beer 4 - 5 % Pint 2.5 218
RegularCider 3.5 - 4.5 % 500ml 2.25 215
Wine/Champagne 12% 125ml glass 1.5 93
175ml glass 2 130
250ml glass 3 185
GinVodkaRumWhiskyTequila
35 - 40% 25ml (single) measure 1 55
Alcopop 5.5% 275ml bottle 1.5 187
The above information is intended as a guide only. Some brands may contain fewer or more
units and/or calories than indicated above. For complete accuracy you are advised to check
labels or contact the manufacturer.
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Using this diary is the fi rst step to paying
more attention to your drinking – so well
done for fi lling it in! If you decide you want
to cut back, Drinkaware can help
at every step of your journey with
information and tips. Just visit our website
www.drinkaware.co.uk
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