Holiday meals and snacks pack on the pounds if you’re not careful, but so can drinking. In this edition of Vital Signs, Dr. Bradley Jones with Baylor Medical Center Irving tells how and why alcohol can add to your waistline.
Calories In Popular Cocktails (WebMD.com)
High Calorie :
* Long Island iced tea (8 oz): 780
* White Russian (2 oz vodka, 1.5 oz coffee liqueur, 1.5 oz cream): 425
* Eggnog with rum (8 ounces): 370
Low Calorie:
* Wine spritzer (5 oz): 100
* Mimosa (4 oz): 75
* Rum and Diet Coke (8 oz): 100
5 Tips To Curb Alcohol Calories (WebMD.com)
1. Alternate alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks to save calories. Finish one cocktail, glass of wine or beer, then have a "mocktail" - a non-alcoholic, preferably zero-calorie beverage (like sparkling water with a lime) that looks like the real thing.
2. Choose wine, light beer, or simple cocktails made with low-calorie mixers. Mix cocktails with water, club soda, low calorie juices, artificial sweeteners or sugar-free syrups for easy calorie savings.
3. Skip the mixer altogether. Try ordering your favorite spirit or one of the new flavored liquors on the rocks.
4. Dilute your drink. Use club soda or sparkling water. Wine spritzers are a low-calorie standby.
5. Have a game plan. Decide in advance the number of cocktails you are going to drink and cut back on calories during the day in anticipation.
For more information:
How Alcohol Affects Metabolism
Alcohol and Your Body (Brown University)
Amount of Calories in Alcoholic Drinks