Fitness and alcoholic drinks don’t usually go well together. Dieting and weight loss experts usually recommend avoiding alcohol in your daily diet to ensure weight loss. Alcohol calories are usually those calories that can best be avoided when it comes to making a choice. However, this is easier said than done!
If you want to have a drink and maintain a weight loss plan, you might want to consider alcohol that is low in calories.
The first thing to remember is that alcohol calories can often be higher than those contained in junk food. One gram of alcohol has seven calories, whereas a gram of carbohydrates or proteins has only four calories. The second thing to remember is that, the moment you start adding mixers to drinks, you automatically jack up the calorie count. The syrups and sugar in mixers will do a lot of damage to your weight loss program.
Low Calorie Wine
Wine and champagne are almost always available at any function or event. If wine is your drink of choice, you will be pleased to know that they average 100 calories or less per glass. White wines like Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Riesling have 90 calories per 4 oz. Red wine are similar. Merlot or Rose have roughly 95 calories per glass. But nothing beats Champagne. A single 4 oz glass is just 78 calories.
RECOMMENDED: Champagne – 78 Calories per 4oz Glass
WHITE WINE: Chardonnay,Zinfandel or Riesling – 90 Calories per 4oz Glass
RED WINE: Merlot, Rose or Rhonewith – 95 Calories per 4oz Glass
Low Calorie Beer
The average bottle of beer has approximately 150 calories per bottle. Fear of the dreaded Beer belly aside, that’s not much considering the volume. The biggest issue when looking for low calorie beers is availability. There are plenty of great choices. Coors Light, Corona Light and Bud Light. They may not taste all that great or pack much of a punch but they are light on the calorie count. However, chances are that you won’t find them everywhere. Guinness on the other hand is likely to be available. Guinness gets a bad rap because of the darker hue. But at 125 calories per 12 ounces, it is a great balance between calories and taste.
RECOMMENDED: Guinness – 125 Calories per 12 oz
Low Calorie Alcohol
Spirits are another good option. The danger comes from the mixers. Stick to diet mixers, and you should be fine. If you drink any of these on the rocks, it’s a double benefit. Not only will you drink slowly. But you will also avoid drinking diet coke’s and whatever sweetener it contains.
RECOMMENDED: Rum & Diet Coke – 64 Calories per 1 oz
Here are calories counts for other spirits:
Rum – 64 Calories per 1 oz
Brandy – 64 Calories per 1 oz
Gin – 64 Calories per 1 oz
Tequila – 64 Calories per 1 oz
Scotch Whiskey – 73 Calories per 1 oz
Vodka – 73 Calories per 1 oz
Whiskey – 73 Calories per 1 oz
High Calorie Drinks to Avoid
Drinks heavy in cola or juices (eg: Margarita)
Frozen or creamy drinks (eg: Pina Colada)
Drinks with high calorie mixers (eg: Eggnog)
Alcohol high in calories and sugar (eg: Crème de Menthe)
Now You Know the Choice is Yours, Choose Wisely…
If you feel you are FINALLY ready to make the right changes in your health and fitness, please get in touch to book your free consultation.
To your health and fitness,
Ciarán
