May 25th, 2010
As the weather heats up, there are plenty of occasions to celebrate and it can be hard to turn down calorie-laden alcoholic beverages. Here's the skinny (excuse the pun) on some of the most popular summer drinks, so you can go forewarned into the season…
Mojitos
A regular sized mojito will cost you about 160 calories. Bear in mind that bar mojitos or those mixed by over enthusiastic friends may well contain more!
Pina Colada
A pina colada can contain as many as 650 calories! There is no point in saying no to a juicy burger with all the trimmings at that barbeque if you say yes to one of these sugar dense cocktails.
Gin and Tonic
Tonic water is pretty calorie dense, so this mixed drink ends up being about 200 calories. Swap the tonic for soda water, and you’ll only be looking at around 80 calories.
Beer
After working hard in the garden, you deserve a frosty cold beer, right? If you opt for a light beer, most brands will only contain about 100 calories, whereas the regular kind will cost you more like 160 calories.
Wine
With a glass of white wine coming in at around 80 calories, and red at about 100, you do need to watch how many you consume. Adding sparkling water and turning that white wine into a spritzer will help you sip longer with no calorific impact. Be careful when knocking back champagne at weddings or other celebrations – each glass of bubbly contains around 90 calories.
Alternatives
Brew up some tea, stick it in the fridge and sweeten with a little honey to give yourself a refreshing alcohol free drink to sip. Or try jazzing up sparkling water with lime juice or lemon.
If you are going to drink alcohol, remember to do it in moderation. Not only will you consume liquid calories, but loosened inhibitions may mean that you start snacking and making poorer choices when it comes to food too!
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nothing quite like a cold
nothing quite like a cold glass of water for no calories!
water
Since starting this program, I've cut way back on my favorite alcoholic beverage - wine. I drink an awful lot of water, 2 coffees a day, occasionally tea, rarely fruit or veg juice, and skim milk.
But a word on bottled water: as I understand it, Canada's water quality standards are more strict for municipal water supplies than for bottled water. So you're better off filling a bottle from the tap in most places. Not to mention the plastic bottles that have to go somewhere when they are empty.
Eww
This is why I stick to water. Sometimes I'll throw a lemon or lime wedge in my glass if I need that extra flavour.
That link, disgusting :S Glad I've never drank any of those things before! You never think of drinks being THAT bad. It's insane! How are they allowed to market those things as healthy??
Scary
I came across this very scary article about how bad some drinks really are for you. Its common knowledge that most of these are not healthy choices... but I had no idea they were THAT terrible for you! How are they allowed to even sell these products??
http://worldmysteries9.blogspot.com/2010/05/harmful-drinks-in-america.html