Alcohol: Helpful or Harmful?

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Alcoholic Drinks May Swell Your Waistline

By Mary Lee Chin, M.S., R.D.

Alcoholic drinks may add more inches to your waistline than cookies with the same number of calories. That’s because food tends to fill you up. Beverages, however, don’t provide that same feeling of fullness, so you may consume more drinks, and, as a result, more calories. If you don’t make a conscious effort to cut calories elsewhere, fluid calories will sneak up on you. The result? You gain weight. So when you raise a glass, choose a drink you can lighten up.

Wine—100 calories
5 ounces
Tip: Slowly sip a glass of red wine for its benefits, then stop.

Hot Cider—125 calories
8 ounces
Tip: Make your own apple cider beverage with no added sugar.

Beer—150 calories
12 ounces
Tip: Light beers typically contain 40 percent fewer calories than regular beers.

Winter beer/ale—225 calories
12 ounces
Tip: Regular beer or light beer is a better bet.

Hot chocolate—250 calories
8 ounces
Tip: Swap mini marshmallows for whipped cream and fat-free milk for whole milk.

Mixed drink—250 calories  
5 ounces
Tip: For a lower-calorie drink, use club soda or diet soda as your mixer of choice.