The freshman fifteen. A phrase that has created anxiety for freshman collegiate’s since the beginning of time. Everyone has experienced that daunting moment when your jeans from the first week of school aren’t buttoning up come winter. So the question is, where does all of this weight magically come from? Alcohol. During your college experience you will most likely have a few drinks. I want to let you in on the truth about drinking calories and share some tips for making smarter choices.
Hard Liquor:
Most collegiate’s have the misconception that since the size of a shot glass is small the calories in that are also going to be small. The truth is though that there are around 80-100 calories in each 1.4 flz shot. This calorie count is consistent for most types of hard liquors such as vodka, rum and whiskey and tequila. If you usually opt for a flavored liquor don’t despair it only has around an additional 5 calories than plain liquor.
Wine:
This type of alcohol is your second best choice, based on calories and carbs, after hard liquor. There is no big difference between choosing red wine as opposed to white wine and they both contain health benefits! Red wine has antioxidants that help lower the risk of certain heart problems and they both can increase “good” cholesterol which can lower blood pressure. For 5 fl oz of wine, white contains around 120 calories and red 127 calories.
Beer:
Beer is something that you should stay away from; for 12 fl oz it has around 145 calories. This drink is also very high in carbohydrates and is the reason you bloat during and after drinking it. The term “beer belly” is true, it is one of the worst choices you can make if choosing a drink.
Mixers:
Mixers are the key part of keeping calories low while drinking. It is inevitable that alcohol has calories, it is as basic as calories being in food but just as different food choices have different calories different mixers have different calories and can lead to a healthier choice. The healthiest choice for mixed drinks is having it on the rocks; what this means is having your hard liquor served with ice only. This type of drink requires expert consumption capabilities though so don’t worry if that’s not for you. After that the best choice is mixing your liquor with club soda, this is a zero calorie mixer that provides carbonation. After this comes the juices, a choice such as orange juice is smarter than soda and even provides some vitamin C! If you are a soda addict always choose diet as opposed to regular and be smart about reading labels on drinks, don’t be fooled by lemonade and Gatorade which contain lots of sugar.
Tips:
When it comes down to drinking you don’t want to be pre occupied with the calories all night and ruin your chances of having fun so here are some tips to keep in mind. Instead of ordering a frozen margarita make your own with tequila and fresh squeezed lime juice, this will largely cut calories in this classic cocktail. If you are drinking wine choose a wine spritzer which is a lighter version containing 70 calories for 3 fl oz. One great product to try is the Skinnygirl cocktails created by Real Housewives of New York Citycast member Bethenny Frankel. She started the line with her Skinnygirl margarita which has 100 calories in a 4 fl oz serving. Since then she has come out with the Skinnygirl sangria which has 134 calories in 5 fl oz and coming soon is the Skinnygirl white cranberry cosmo! These cocktails are all pre made and can be bought at major liquor stores.
Whatever you choose be smart and keep everything in moderation.