What Kind of Wine can you drink on a KETO DIET?

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Is Wine Keto Friendly?

Wine generally has fewer calories and carbs than beer, but you have to watch for residual sugars in the wines.

Residual sugar is the sugar that is left over after the wine is processed and ready to be bottled. Unfortunately, there is no reliable way to measure the amount since most of the sugar is consumed during the fermentation process or gets absorbed in the barrel.

Just be careful and avoid the sweet wines.

Wines that are great for the keto diet are easy to find.

  • Grocery stores
  • The internet
  • Wine stores such as Binny or World Food Market.

Why are wines sweeter than others?

I won’t go into too much detail about winemaking because there are plenty of websites that focus on that topic. But I’ll provide the basics that should help with keto wine selection.

To keep the wine sweeter, winemakers stop the fermentation process before the yeast consumes all the sugar. The residual sugars vary depending on the degree of sweetness that the makers are trying to achieve.

Rieslings, Ports and Dessert Wines are examples of sweet wines and should be avoided to remain in ketosis.

In dryer wines the winemakers allow the fermentation process to finish. Chardonnays, Pinot grigios and Pinot Noirs would be examples of dry wine.

 

What you really want to know is can you have a glass of wine and still maintain ketosis?

Yes, you can.

Whoo-hoo.

But before you go out and buy a case of wine or have many glasses you have to watch the consumption.

Sorry.

It’s the calories and the residual sugar that are the culprits. And since there is no way to measure the RS in wines you have to assume the worst.

As a point of reference, a bottle of wine contains about 625 calories, and the residual sugar is unknown. You can be sure that one bottle will knock you out of ketosis fast.

A typical bottle of wine contains about 6 full wine glasses.

 

A glass of wine filled about halfway

 

Here’s the amount you can drink and stay in ketosis

 

Well… ok, you can have a little more than that.

 

How much wine can I REALLY drink?

Here’s the skinny on Wine consumption

One 5-ounce glass/day for women

Two 5-ounce glass/day for men.

Why do men get to drink more? Well because we are MEN!

We have bigger bodies, bigger metabolisms, and we can tolerate extra calories.

Here’s what a five-ounce glass of wine looks like

 

Yep pretty skimpy

It’s very simple to determine wine’s keto friendliness:

The dry wines are more keto-friendly.

Dry wines tend to have less residual sugar than their sweeter counterparts. They also have a distinct burning taste in the back of the mouth and throat due to the higher alcohol content.

Here’s the KICKER about dry wines.

The more alcohol the wine has the more the liver spends time metabolizing alcohol and less time burning fat.

So, if you want to burn the fat and not the alcohol, pick a wine with low alcohol content.

Alcohol By Volume: How low should you go?

Wines typically have between 8% to 15% alcohol by volume (ABV).

Use your best judgment on how much weight you want to lose and how quickly. The lower the ABV the more time the liver spends on metabolizing fat and not the alcohol.

If you want to lose weight fast stick to the lowest ABV.

Here’s a basic list of keto-friendly wine to get you started on your keto wine selection:

  • Champagne
  • Pinot Grigio
  • Pinot Noir
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Sauvignon Blanc

P.S.If you, want to celebrate (and not get drunk) try Whiskey or Vodka. No Carbs in those beverages. But you got to watch the CALORIES if you are trying to lose weight.

DARN!

Sometimes keto/low carb dieting sucks!

There’s no getting around the calories for weight loss.

It’s simple arithmetic: fewer calories means more weight loss.

  • One fluid ounce of 86 proof Whiskey or hard liquor has 70 Calories!
  • 5 fluid ounces of Wine has 123 calories
  • A 750mL of a bottle of wine contains 653 calories

 

Can drinking wine or alcoholic beverages make you fat?

Maybe.

It’s all about the calories in those drinks. Make sure you watch what the amount you are drinking, and you should be ok. But there is something else to consider when drinking.

When you consume copious amounts of alcohol the blood sugar levels drop because your liver is trying to deal with the ethanol that you flooded your system with.

Alcohol is considered a poison.

The liver is trying to metabolize the alcohol first then the food calories next.

Your brain senses the sugar drop and says,

“We need more sugar. Eat something”. Therefore, you’ll consume more sugar than you need.

This is one of the reasons why people get hungry while drinking.

Also, when you are socializing and drinking a lot, alcohol lowers the inhibition of eating carb-loaded foods and you may knock yourself out of ketosis.

The moral of the story?

Do not succumb to peer pressure!

Don’t get drunk if you are trying to watch the carb intake and lose weight.

I know during holidays and social gatherings there’s food, music, and drinking in the air.

 

I can hear you already, “I need to relax and have a good time with my friends, or they are going to think something’s wrong with me.”

Drinking is a HUGE part of socializing, but you have to remain true to your dieting goals. To avoid these potential “setbacks” set firm dieting goals and be committed to them from the beginning. Read more about that here.

Maintaining a diet can be challenging but doable if you set proper meaningful goals. If people ask why you are not drinking, just be firm and tell them that you are trying to lead a healthier lifestyle.

True friends will respect your wishes for changing your ways. If they don’t, then it’s time to look for new friends.

Be honest with yourself and know how much self-control you have.

 

 

Are you able to turn down one more drink? Especially when you have others urging you on at big events like New Year’s Eve?

Think real hard about your discipline or lack of self-control and make the right choice.

If you lack the discipline it’s time to cut back on the socializing. I know it’s hard but you must find other outlets for engaging with your friends and family.

There are Meetup groups that follow all kinds of diet plans and healthy lifestyles. You can use them for support and, accountability. Just being with like-minded people should inspire you to stick to your goals.

Bottom Line: Don’t eat or drink excessively.

Change your lifestyle by joining groups that support your new dieting goals.

 

Did you know that Wine has Health Benefits?

Drinking a little Red Wine in moderation is healthier than not drinking it at all.

The tannin in wine is the bitter-tasting part of wine but also the healthiest part of the wine.

Resveratrol, a polyphenol, (the part that gives the wine it’s characteristic red color) is active in the prevention of Cardiovascular disease.

What are Tannins and why they are in red wine only.

The stems and skins are allowed to soak with the grape juice during fermentation.

Whereas with the White wine the skins, seeds, and stems are separated.

I have provided a list of the best keto wines of 2019

Both red and white made the cut.

I based my picks on taste, cost, and availability.

Don’t Under Estimate Your Local Grocery Stores for Wines

Jewel Foods, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Target have a great fine wine selection

I’ve tried the majority of them, and I have found for the price the taste these wines were just as good as the more expensive brands in wine specialty shops.

There you have it, folks. The skinny on keto-friendly wine consumption

 

STICK TO YOUR GOALS

If you lack self-discipline or just have trouble with dieting altogether, I recommend staying away from parties or social gatherings where eating and drinking are the activities.

Hang out with people that are on the same fitness journey your on and support each other.

 

Who knows you could start a whole new movement!

 

 

The Bottom of the bottom line

If you can’t find any groups consider starting one yourself. Leading a group of people on a fitness journey is a great motivator for sticking with your goals as well.   A good mix of experienced dieters and beginners is a great way to ease into a keto/low carb lifestyle.

Here’s to good eating!!

If you have any tips to maintain a low carb lifestyle, please leave them below.