Ok, step away from the Long Island Iced Tea…
Hey, alcohol is fat-free, right? So how bad can a night on the town be for your waistline?
Actually, many people do not realize the amount of calories in alcoholic drinks and may toss back cocktail after cocktail, unaware of the significant calories they are consuming.
Let’s take that Long Island Iced Tea as an example. A typical version of the drink contains vodka, gin, rum, tequila, triple sec, sweet & sour mix, and a splash of cola. I have seen caloric estimates out there of 500 to 700 calories per drink!
To put it in perspective, a Big Mac contains about 540 calories. So two Long Islands will not only get you very hammered, but they can also supply you with the same amount of calories as if you had eaten TWO Big Macs.
After a night boozing with friends, you also may head over to your local greasy spoon restaurant to chomp down some late-night food, completely unaware that you have already taken in a full meal’s worth of calories from the cocktails you drank.
Beware the Little Umbrella
Some cocktail culprits that may stealthily contain many calories are blended drinks. Piña Coladas, Margaritas, Mai Tais, Mudslides, and the like can all top the caloric scales at over 500 calories apiece.
A good rule of thumb is that if a cocktail is very sweet there is a good chance it is packing a lot of calories, also.
Therefore, if you are on a diet to lose weight and lower your body fat, drinking a lot of booze is not a great idea.
What Are the Lowest Calorie Alcoholic Drinks?
You do not have to become a teetotaler when you are watching your waistline. There are low calorie alcoholic drinks out there that contain significantly fewer calories than the Umbrella Drinks category.
Give or take, depending on the brand, a single shot (1.5 ounces) of 80 proof vodka contains around 100 calories. In fact, if not additionally sweetened, gin, white rum, whiskey, and tequila all contain about the same hundred calories per shot.
There are also some newer alcoholic beverages (such as Voli Vodka) coming out specifically catering to the low calorie crowd.
The Secret to Lower Calorie Drinks
Watch those mixers! It is the mixers that can really rack up the calories in a cocktail. Avoid creamy, sweet drinks and stick with a diet soda or water mixer.
Of course, if you like plain liquor straight up or on the rocks, you will only be taking in the calories from the alcohol shot.
So if you generally have a couple of drinks on a night out you could easily cut out hundreds of calories by switching from something crammed with calories to an alternative that is less fattening.
Of course, you can always request a little umbrella, even for your lower calorie cocktail!