The holidays are a time of celebration, and assuming you have NO problem with alcohol and can drink responsibly, it’s okay to drink! The key to not getting fat from alcohol is to understand the calorie and carbohydrate content of alcoholic beverages and plan your intake in advance in terms of exactly what you choose to drink and how much you have.
All alcoholic beverages tend to boost insulin production, so they’re a big no, no for diabetics and other people taking certain medications. ALWAYS check for drug-alcohol interactions before drinking any alcoholic beverage.
It’s also important to understand that, in addition to the alcohol content itself, alcoholic beverages are often full of sugar, which further stimulates insulin and fat production. The good news is that there ARE alcoholic drinks that are much lower in sugar/carbs and calories.
Champagne
One of the best deals on a low-carb holiday drink is champagne! Champagnes have the lowest carbohydrate and calorie content of all wines, so they are an excellent choice – especially drier champagnes† A 4-ounce serving contains just 1.6 grams of carbs and just 84 calories, making champagne the best choice for revelry!
Common White Wines
After champagnes, the next best choice is white wines (NOT including dessert wines!)
Per 5-ounce serving:
Chardonnay – 120 calories and 3.43 grams of carbohydrates
Sauvignon Blanc – 120 calories and 3 grams of carbohydrates
Reisling – 120 calories and 5.54 grams of carbohydrates
Pinot Grigio – 122 calories and 3 grams of carbohydrates
Common Red Wines
Merlot – 118 calories and 4 grams of carbohydrates
Cabernet Sauvignon – 130 calories and 3.82 grams of carbohydrates
Burgundy – 122 calories and 5.46 grams of carbohydrates
Pinot Noir – 116 calories and 4 grams of carbohydrates
Shiraz – 116 calories and 3.79 grams of carbohydrates
Low-carb beers
Bud Select 55 – 55 calories with only 1.9 grams of carbohydrates
Miller64 – 64 calories with 2.4 grams of carbohydrates
Michelob Ultra – 95 calories with 2.62 grams of carbohydrates
Becks Premier Light – 64 calories with 3.2 grams of carbohydrates
Miller Light – 96 calories with 3.2 grams of carbohydrates
Amstel Light – 95 calories with 5 grams of carbohydrates
Coors Light – 102 calories with 5 grams of carbohydrates
Bud Light – 110 calories with 6.6 grams of carbohydrates
Mixed drinks
Liquor like gin, vodka, scotch and rum, but is loaded with calories and acts to some extent as a “super” carbohydrate that boosts insulin and hunger. That said, they don’t contain any carbs at all, so as long as you mix them without sugar/calorie mixers, you can keep your carbs and calorie intake somewhat under control.
One of the best choices is vodka and soda water with lime or lemon with no carbs and about 100 calories! Other examples include whiskey and Diet Coke, Seagrams 7 and Diet 7-up, Rum and Diet Coke, or Spiced Rum and Diet Ginger Ale.
What to avoid!
When it comes to mixed drinks, watch out for those mixers — most standard mixers, like all sodas, juices, and tonics, are loaded with sugar unless you’re on the diet versions. All your Caribbean and tropical drinks like Pina Coladas, Daiquiris, Mai Tais and Margaritas, etc. are loaded with sugar and calories.
Set a budget for your intake!
Set a budget for your intake of alcoholic beverages and keep track of them as you drink them so that you know how much you drank each hour. Remember that every beer, glass of wine and mixed drink takes an hour to process for the average man (and longer for women), so anything above 1 per hour will get you drunk at some level.
In addition to budgeting your intake, if you drink a glass of non-alcoholic, calorie-free beverage such as water or club soda for every drink/beer/glass of wine, you need to slow yourself down and stay hydrated.
If you want to grab a buzz drink, limit and switch to all non-alcoholic drinks for 2 – 4 hours before driving.
Even better, arrange a driver or use Uber or Lyft for travel to and from holiday parties!
This post Enjoy Alcoholic Beverages Without Getting Fat During the Holidays! was original published at “http://workoutanytime.blogspot.com/2021/11/enjoy-alcoholic-beverages-without.html”
