Five Drinks to Avoid
1. Egg Nog: Six fluid ounces of eggnog without alcohol, has 257 calories and 14 grams of fat (more than a Snickers bar). Add some distilled spirits and your drink of choice is more than 300 calories.
2. Hot Toddies: A hot toddy with 2 ounces of liquor is about 200 calories, and that’s without the whipped cream. Creamy liquors like Baileys, Kahlua, Amaretto and Schnapps are particularly dangerous averaging about 100 calories an ounce.
3. Martinis: Anything that has a sweet taste and a sugar rim is probably bad news (think lemon drops, appletinis, cosmopolitans). “Most martinis have 2 to 5 ounces of liquor, and the sugary syrups they’re made with can add up to more than 800 calories in one drink,” says Gidus.
4. Margaritas: A regular margarita has about 400 calories. Couple it with a heavy Mexican meal and you have a recipe for diet disaster.
5. Mixers: One and a half ounces of 80-proof spirits is 65 calories. Add 6 ounces of calorie-laden soda or a variety of syrups and you’re well over the calorie count for a “light” drink.
Five Smarter Sips
1. Champagne: At 100 calories, ringing in the New Year with this traditional toasting beverage won’t wreak havoc on your waistline.
2. Wine Spritzer: With 3 ounces of wine and 3 ounces of club soda, wine spritzers top out at about 60 calories and zero grams of fat.
3. Wine: The typical glass of wine weighs in at 100 calories. Opt for red and you’ll get a healthy dose of disease-fighting chemicals called flavonols, too.
4. Beer: Light or regular, a bottle of beer is a much better option than most cocktails. “Drink from the bottle instead of the larger servings from draft beers,” says Gidus. Regular beer has 150 calories to the bottle, while light has about 100.
5. Vodka (or Gin) & Tonic: Most mixers with 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits and diet or club soda have less than 100 calories and no fat.
--Amy Paturel
Please keep in mind that by listing "Five Smarter Tips" I am not giving you permission to cheat on your diet. Too much wine or beer is just as damaging as Egg Nog. If you know you will be drinking at a holiday party make sure to track it ahead of time in your food journal. Once you estimate how many calories you will be consuming through alcohol, re-adjust the rest of your diet to stay within your daily caloric needs for that day.
How Many Calories Are You Drinking?
So just how many calories are in your favorite cocktail? These calorie counts for popular alcoholic drinks are approximate, based on popular recipes, but may vary depending on ingredients and portions.
- Pina Colada (6 oz): 378 calories
- Mojito (8 oz): 214
- Cosmopolitan (4 oz):
- Chocolate martini: (2 oz each vodka, chocolate liqueur, cream, 1/2 oz creme de cacao, chocolate syrup): 438
- Margarita (8 oz): 280
- Green apple martini (1 oz each vodka, sour apple, apple juice): 148
- Martini (2.5 oz): 160
- Port wine (3 oz):128
- Bloody Mary (5 oz): 118
- Red wine (5 oz):120
- White wine (5 oz): 120
- Alcohol-free wine (5 oz): 20-30
- Beer (12 oz): 150-198
- Light beer (12 oz): 95-136
- Ultra-light beer (12 oz): 64-95
- Champagne (5oz): 106-120
- Coffee liqueur (3 ounces): 348
- Godiva chocolate liqueur (3 oz): 310
- Wine spritzer (5 oz): 100
- Eggnog with rum (8 ounces): 370
- Hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps (8 oz): 380
- Hot buttered rum (8 oz): 292
- Spiced cider with rum ( 8 oz):150
- Mulled wine (5 oz): 200
- Vodka and tonic (8 oz): 200
- Screwdriver (8 oz): 190
- Mimosa (4 oz): 75
- Gin and tonic (7 oz): 200
- Long Island iced tea (8 oz): 780
- White Russian (2 oz vodka, 1.5 oz coffee liqueur, 1.5 oz cream): 425
- Mai Tai(6 oz) (1.5 oz rum, 1/2 oz cream de along, 1/2 oz triple sec, sour mix, pineapple juice): 350
- Rum and Coke (8 oz): 185
- Rum and Diet Coke (8 oz): 100
- Mike's Hard Lemonade (11 oz): 98
