When we think about watching our weight we often concentrate on what we are eating and forget what a difference what we drink can make.
Since the holidays are over, many of you will look back and say, “thanks a lot for not telling us this sooner”. Sorry, but it kind of hit me during the holidays how much damage we can do with what we drink regardless of how careful we are with what we eat.
So I’ve done a little research and here’s what I found:
As far as calorie counts go, dry white wine appears to be the safest bet at 100 calories per 5oz. serving. Keep in mind that these are ‘average’ calorie counts and can vary from brand to brand. Also keep in mind the serving sizes as well. That’s where we hurt ourselves the most.
A 12 oz. beer is about 144 calories compared to light which is around 108 calories. I recently found out my favorite beer comes in at a whopping 300 calories per bottle. That explains a lot!
A 5 oz. glass of red wine averages 105 calories while most 80 proof distilled alcohols such as gin, rum, vodka, and whiskey come in around 96 calories per 1.5 oz servings.
So if you’re looking to limit calories and enjoy distilled spirits, watch what you add (mixers) to the spirit. For example whiskey and water is far better than whiskey and sweet sodas or juices which not only add calories but sugars as well.
Speaking of sugars, it’s just as important if not more to watch how high the sugar content of our favorite beverages match up since this can have an even greater impact on our weight. In researching some carb counts, I was surprised to find that the average dry white (chardonnay) actually comes in lower than the dry red at only 3grams of carbs compared to 3.5 to 4 grams.
I’ve always been led to believe reds were lower. Some Riesling wines are about 5 to 6 grams while sweeter dessert wines can go as high as 12 to 20 grams of carbs. Knowing what excess sugar can do, this can be pretty important and explains a lot.
It’s interesting to note that distilled spirits are actually carb free. Apparently the fermenting process gets rid of sugars found in some of the natural ingredients that make up these spirits.
Again, it’s what you add as a mixer that will make the difference here. Mixers such as club soda and water keep your drink carb free.
I haven’t forgotten you ‘gluten worriers….oops warriors’ so I thought I’d let you know that there are gluten free beers on the market and as far as hard ciders, ‘Angry Orchard’, one of my favorites, makes the list., as do all wines. As far as distilled spirits go, you may need to look a bit closer.
Some gins and whiskeys are an exception to the rule that most distilled spirits are gluten free. You may want to spend some time finding brands of distilled spirits that are in fact gluten free.
Oh….Happy New Year!!!!!!!
