During stressful moments, sometimes we all need a drink or two just to unwind. There is nothing wrong with it, just be mindful of your dosage and the calories that go with your alcoholic drink. Occasional drinking is fun especially in the company of good friends, but if you seem to be consuming alcoholic beverage on a regular basis, you might as well be aware of how much calories you are also taking in to your system.
So you might start to wonder how many calories are there in one drink. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram which makes it next to fat with 9 calories of energy per gram. A standard drink with 10 grams of alcohol content, for example, has about 70 calories, and this does not include the other sources of calories present in the other components of alcohol such as protein and carbohydrate containing 4 calories per gram.
In case you don’t know, many alcoholic drinks, especially cocktails, contain a fairly huge amount of carbohydrates and fats. With the exception of a minimal amount of wine, alcohol contains little nutritional value and is therefore considered empty calories.
High Calorie Alcoholic Drinks
Before you get to learn the alcoholic drinks having the lowest calorie content, it is also important to know the types of alcoholic beverages with high calorie content. Your alcohol consumption will determine the amount of calories you take in. But basing on an average consumption, these drinks below are some of those with high alcohol content per serving size:
- Regular beer, 149 calories
- Liqueurs, 188 calories
- Vermouth, 105 calories
- Cocktails, varies depending on the mixture
- Martini, 140 calories
- Manhattan, 164 calories
- Daiquiri, 122 calories
- Whiskey, 122 calories
- Margarita (large serving), 280 calories
- Cosmopolitan, 200 calories
- Chocolate Martini, 438 calories
Drinks with Low Calorie Content
Knowing the calorie content of your alcoholic drink is not only helpful to those who are keeping watch of their health, but also to those who drink on a regular basis without any care of their calorie consumption. Here is a list of drinks with the lowest calorie content on standard serving size:
Light beer, also called low-carb beer, contains about 64 to 110 calories and is a better option to regular beer, with just about the same carbohydrate content.
White and red wine contain 75-105 calories depending on the sweetness level and amount of wine served in one glass; drier varieties have lower calorie content. During social gatherings, you may have a hard time keeping track of your calorie intake for wines as your glasses are filled up before they get empty.
Champagne can be another good alternative to wine or beer with only 84 calories per serving size. This is about 15 calories less than a bottle of low-carb beer or a glass of wine. Just so you know, the amount of calories of an average glass of wine is about twice that of a glass of champagne.
Spirits (80 proof) contain about 65 calories at least. Rums like Bacardi and Vodka like Absolut or Smirnoff come around at roughly 65 calories. Other 80-proof spirits like whiskey, tequila, gin, cognac and brandy have similar amount of calories. However, always beware of sugar mixers that can shoot up calories in these drinks.
Ways to Minimize Calorie Content in Alcohol
Some of you may not be able to take drinking alcohol at its purest form. In that case, you can still enjoy a glass or two without increasing on calorie intake. If you are into mixed drinks like cocktails, you can choose mixers with lower calorie content such as tonic, light lemonade, diet soda and lime juice. Low-calorie cocktail mixtures can be rum and diet Coke, tequila and soda, vodka and diet lime-flavored soda, or vodka and diet ginger ale. Explore on other cocktails as well like sour-apple martini, mudslide, and mojito.
Another option is to enjoy your drink on the rocks. Try taking infused vodkas like Pinnacle Vodka or Skyy Vodka for added flavor without the calories.
You can also try diluting your drink by adding club water or sparkling water to spirits. You can make a low calorie spritzer to your wine as well when you dilute it. In between your alcoholic drinks, you can try drinking anon alcoholic beverage. It helps reduce not just the amount of calories but also next day hangover.
Probably the best tip of all is to stick to the recommended alcohol consumption, no more than one drink a day for women and no more than two drinks for men. If you are attending a party and you know drinking is unavoidable, try to choose the low calorie ones. Otherwise, you can enjoy your favorite alcoholic drink but avoid over-indulging on your beverage. Always make sure to have a full stomach before heading out for a drink.
