How an alcoholic beverage could kill your diet!
Now that the holidays are among us and the eating is in full gear, usually so is the drinking. I have written several blogs in the past on how to eat during the holidays without destroying your diet but as I was at a dinner party last night and the cocktail orders were being taken, it dawned on me that I should probably address the more deadly diet destroyer, ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES!
Not to be a Scrooge during the holidays, but a chocolate martini can be more damaging than a piece of chocolate cake. That is because alcohol has no value in nutrition of any kind. Calories from alcohol are not only completely empty, but they are a form of sugar. In fact, each gram of alcohol is higher in calories than the number of calories in a gram of fat.
Consider the following beverages that may seem harmless that were listed in an article
by the Washington Post:
- 12 oz beer has 150 calories
- 5 oz glass of red wine has 105 calories
- 5 oz glass of white wine has 100 calories
- 6 oz Amaretto Sour has 421 calories
- 4.9 oz Mai Tai has 306 caloires
- 12 oz Mudslide has 820 calories
Not to mention that each 1.5 ounce of vodka, bourbon, gin, scotch or any other type of distilled spirit is 100 calories by itself.
Sometimes a glass of wine or a cold beer is part of the holiday menu and it does not have to be cut out completely. It is important to remember that everything in moderation is key to keeping up on a healthy and happy lifestyle. Cheers!
