Journal

We all know what's required to stay in shape. The challenge usually lies with maintaining the commitments we make to achieve our health and fitness goals.

Staying fit and healthy became even more difficult for Charlie, 33, following his recent engagement.

"I've always been pretty healthy, and obviously I want to look and feel great for the wedding," he says.

"But the engagement has meant lots of celebration dinners with friends and family, and a whirlwind of organisation like wine and food tastings in preparation for the big day."

Charlie says it proved very serendipitous that he recently discovered of Lyre's Non-Alcoholic Spirits, which contain up to 95% less calories than their alcoholic equivalent*.

"When I found Lyre's, I figured I could substitute it for the spirits I usually enjoy in my favourite drinks, to help maintain my exercise regime," he says.

"I know my personality type – I'm extremely social. I love going out, and part of going out means having a drink."

When catching up with friends during the week, Charlie has substituted Lyre's London Dry Spirit for gin in his staple G&T.

"It's helped me to stay on the right track. I'm not writing myself off with the amount of celebrating that I'm doing, and I can still get up at 5.30am and go to the gym," he says.

"I know from experience that if I have two or more drinks in a night, there's no chance whatsoever I'll be doing my workout the next morning."

Charlie says consistency was lacking in his gym routine, whereby he previously averaged anywhere between two and four sessions a week.

"Where I would always trip up is with midweek social outings; dinner parties at a friend's house and that type of thing," he says.

His favourite Lyre's cocktail is the non-alcoholic negroni, comprised of London Dry Spirit, Italian Orange and Apéritif Rosso.

"It still has the complexity of a regular negroni and the experience feels so similar, it almost has a placebo effect," he says.

"If I'm going over to a friend's house, I take over all three bottles and I mix up a few negronis, and everyone is pleasantly surprised."

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Ashleigh, 31, has also embraced Lyre's to assist in moderating her consumption and therefore improving her health and fitness.

"It's been quite awhile since I've worked out. I work in digital marketing and the nature of my role means I'm tied to my desk quite a lot," she says.

"This year I want to lose weight, tone up and get my fitness back. For me, that means I really need to watch what I'm putting in my mouth!"

That's easier said than done, with Ashleigh's age bracket meaning an onslaught of milestone birthdays, hen's nights, weddings and baby showers.

"At my age you really notice that your metabolism is slowing down, and it's really difficult to control what you eat and drink at those social occasions," she says.

"You feel really bad for not drinking and being a part of it, because they are very special events."

Ashleigh has found Lyre's to be a big help in maintaining a policy of going alcohol-free during the week.

"I love cocktails, I love the art of mixology. That to me is the perfect date night or social occasion," she says.

"My favourites are an amaretto sour, a cosmopolitan, or a lychee martini, but they do contain a lot of sugar.

"To be able to have an alternative where I still feel like I'm having something special, because I'm out, but it contains about a quarter of the calories* – that makes me feel a whole lot less guilty."

The approach has helped Ashleigh to 'stay on the wagon' while maintaining her social life.

"When you're trying to lose weight you can feel a lot of a guilt if you slip up," she says.

"You really beat yourself up, and it can end up being a bit of an endless cycle where you think, 'well I've ruined this week now, I may as well go 'hell for leather'."

Ashleigh has been pleased to discover that it's the people and experience she craves, rather than the effect of alcohol.

"With Lyre's I can enjoy the flavour and theatre that goes into a good cocktail. It doesn't necessarily need to have alcohol in it," she says.

*Making your drink a Lyre’s will reduce your calorific consumption compared to its full-alcohol equivalent. Most Lyre's Non-Alcoholic Spirits contain roughly 75-90% less calories. The actual range is between 64% (Apéritif Rosso) and 95% less (London Dry Spirit).