There are many people who have decided to make weight loss a New Year’s resolution. If you are planning on carrying through with your New Year’s resolution, it is a good idea for you to start out the New Year by choosing the healthier alcoholic beverage options. This is especially true if you spend a lot of time in bars or drinking at home on a consistent basis throughout the entire year. Here, we will take a closer look at some of the healthier alcoholic beverages that are available for you to choose from, based on the amount of calories or health benefits that each drink has to offer.
Choosing Healthier Alcoholic Beverages – Red Wine
Red wine is known to be one of the healthiest alcoholic beverages that you can drink. The main reason is because red wine is known to provide the body with heart health benefits. The amount of calories that can be found in red, or white, wine will ultimately depend on the percentage of alcohol. For 12 percent wine, you can expect to find less than 150 calories in a four ounce glass. The amount of calories will go up as the percentage of alcohol goes up. To read more about the health benefits of red wine, please click here.
Choosing Healthier Alcoholic Beverages – Wine Coolers
Wine coolers are a very appealing option if you really do not care for alcohol that much. The main reason is because, contrary to popular belief, wine coolers do not contain very much wine. What this means is that there is really no health benefits. The best thing that you can do when you drink wine coolers is check labels for options that are lower in carbs, as this is the main thing about a wine cooler that hurts you. A bottle of wine cooler is often lower than 200 calories, which is fairly low for alcoholic beverages.
Choosing Healthier Alcoholic Beverages – Rum and Diet Coke
If you are looking for an alcoholic beverage that is both tasty and lower in calories, you may want to consider opting for Rum and Coke. In a 6 oz. Rum and Coke, there is about 200 calories. This in itself is not too bad as far as the amount of calories that can be found in an alcoholic beverage goes. For Rum and Diet Coke, however, you will be saving even more calories. In a 6 oz. Rum and Diet Coke, you will consume about 100 less calories. Although there will always be a constant debate on whether or not Diet Coke is healthier than regular coke, there is no doubt that there are a lot less calories. The total amount of calories will ultimately depend on the brand of Rum that is being used in your Rum and Coke or Diet Coke.
Choosing Healthier Alcoholic Beverages – Light Beer
Instead of choosing a regular beer, the best thing that you can do is opt for a light beer. Depending on the brand that you are choosing, you can save anywhere between 50 and 75 calories a beer. Although you may not think that light beer tastes quite as a good as regular beer does, which is often the same argument that many have over Coke and Diet Coke, you can really prevent yourself from consuming a lot of calories in the long run. This is especially true for anyone who plans on drinking more than a beer or two at one time or anyone who drinks beer on a very frequent basis.
Choosing Healthier Alcoholic Beverages – Whiskey Sour
Many people compare regular Margaritas to Whiskey Sours. There is quite a big difference in the amount of calories that you will be saving by choosing Whiskey Sour over a Margarita. For a 4 oz. Margarita, you will be consuming nearly 300 calories. For a 3 oz. Whiskey Sour, you will be consuming somewhere between 130 and 150 calories. Although the size is slightly smaller, this is a pretty big difference in calories. The point? If you want to save calories, opt for a Whiskey Sour instead of a Margarita.
Does drinking make you fat? No, not necessarily. If you drink in moderation and make smarter choices, you really do not have anything to worry about. When your life consists of drinking large amounts on a frequent basis, then you may begin to experience weight gain. In this case, the best thing that you can do is choosing healthier alcoholic beverages.
