Holiday Party Drinking Tip From the Dieticians
Avoid alcohol if you’re counting calories. Beer is your best alternative, having a light beer, that’s in calories and not light in color. A 12 oz. bottle of light beer has about 100 calories, compared to 150 calories for the same size regular brew.
Mixed drinks like daiquiris can pack in more than 400 calories in an 8 ounce glass.
Dieticians say most people gain extra weight because they don’t account for the calories in the drinks they consume.
If you’re going to drink, what’s a safe level to enjoy when you fancy a night out?
Well, your personal dietician may well encourage you to drink as little as possible, since alcoholic drinks are usually full of calories, once you have one you tend to drink another and you can very quickly pile on the pounds!
However the official guidelnes are:
- Men are advised to drink no more than 3 to 4 units a day.
- Women are advised to drink no more than 2 to 3 units a day.
So whats a unit?
1 unit is equal to.
- 1/2 pint beer
- 1 glass wine
- 1 measure of spirits
The government recommended safe limits are:
- Men 21 units/week
- Women 14 units/week
The list below shows the number of units of alcohol in common drinks:
- A pint of ordinary strength lager (Carling Black Label, Fosters) - 2 units
- A pint of strong lager (Stella Artois, Kronenbourg 1664) - 3 units
- A pint of ordinary bitter (John Smith’s, Boddingtons) - 2 units
- A pint of best bitter (Fuller’s ESB, Young’s Special) - 3 units
- A pint of ordinary strength cider (Woodpecker) - 2 units
- A pint of strong cider (Dry Blackthorn, Strongbow) - 3 units
- A 175ml glass of red or white wine - around 2 units
- A pub measure of spirits - 1 unit
- An alcopop (eg Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi Breezer, WKD, Reef) - around 1.5 units
How do you change your drinking habits?
- Try to eat before you drink, so you won’t miss out on essential nutrients.
- Try low alcohol or non-alcoholic drinks instead of alcohol sometimes.
- Dilute alcoholic drinks with low calorie mixers or water.
- Try drinking more slowly – take smaller sips and pace your drinking.
- Refrain from drinking for 48hours after a heavy drinking occasion.
- Don’t snack while drinking alcohol, remember that eating chips and nuts will add to the calories and fat you consume. Salty foods make you thirstier.
Tags: