Sippin' on Gin and Juice!

After the holiday weekend, I thought that it would be appropriate to discuss the age old issue of...drinking! This comes up a lot with clients. It is always at the end of the conversation when I ask if they have any questions. They bow their head in shame and and sheepishly ask, "What about alcohol?" I always laugh and say, "What about it?" Then, they usually say, "Is it bad?"

Well, the answer is, it ain't good. However, I would never in a million years tell people they should quit drinking all together. If someone told me that, I would laugh in their face.

Here are the facts: There is roughly the same amount of alcohol in 12 oz of beer, 5 oz of wine, and 1.5 oz. of liquor (roughly).

So, average Calories for 80 proof liquor (1.5oz)

whiskey - 109.5

vodka - 109.5

bourbon - 99

gin - 96

rum - 96

tequila - 96

Average Calories in 5 oz of

red wine - 127

white wine - 120

Average Calories in 12 oz of

regular beer - 145

light beer - 110

So, lets say you are having 4 drinks in one night - one of the lowest calorie drinks you can have is rum with a calorie free mixer (diet coke, light lemonade, etc) You would consume 384 Calories. One of the highest Calorie drinks would be regular beer - You would be consuming 580 Calories. Also, if you mix with sweet mixers (like with Margaritas) then you are really packing in the Calories.

Now, I know that none of you out there would EVER consume more than 4 drinks in one evening (I never have:), so I won't go into the idea of drinking 6, 10, or even 12 drinks in a night! You can imagine the amount of Calories we are talking about then.

I know this is not fun information, but it is important to keep in mind -

So, keep it light, and happy drinking!!

Favorite drink of the summer: 2 oz of vodka mixed with 12 oz of water and a Crystal Light lemonade packet (the ones that are to be used in a water bottle) - 151 Calories