calories in alcoholic drinks

How Many Calories Will You Drink Over The Holidays?

December 18, 2015 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

HolidayDrinksGraphic

A glass or two of celebratory cheer – a toast to the New Year …

Just a heads up: all of those drinks can really pack a caloric punch. So, just like drinking wisely (and of course, not driving), don’t forget to factor in all those calories.

A Drink Is …

A standard alcoholic drink (in the US) is a drink that contains the equivalent of 14.0 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol.

That’s the amount of pure alcohol usually found in:

12 ounces of beer
8 ounces of malt liquor
5 ounces of wine
1.5 ounces or a “shot” of 80-proof distilled spirits or liquor (gin, rum, vodka, or whiskey, etc.)

Will A Cocktail Affect You More Than Beer Or Wine?

A 12-ounce bottle of beer has about the same amount of alcohol as a 5-ounce glass of wine or a 1.5-ounce shot of liquor. Since it is the amount – not the type — of alcohol in your drink that affects you the most, it is not safer to drink beer or wine rather than liquor if you are consuming the same amount of alcohol.

In other words, whether you have two 5 ounce glasses of wine, two 12 ounce bottles of beer, or two 1.5 ounces of liquor either straight or in a mixed drink — you are drinking the same amount of alcohol.

How Many Calories Are In Alcohol?

Alcohol doesn’t fill you up the way food does because it doesn’t register as “food” in your GI tract or brain. Even though it doesn’t fill you up, alcohol does have calories — 7 calories a gram – more than carbs and protein, which clock in at 4 calories a gram and a little less than fat which has 9. It may not feel as though you’re putting calories into your body, but the fact is you can drink a lot of calories and still not feel stuffed (perhaps drunk, but not stuffed).

In General:

12 ounces of beer has 153 calories and 13.9 grams of alcohol
12 ounces of lite beer has 103 calories and 11 grams of alcohol
5 ounces red wine has 125 calories and 15.6 grams of alcohol
5 ounces of white wine has 121 calories and 15.1 grams of alcohol
1 1/2 ounces (a jigger) of 80 proof (40% alcohol) liquor has 97 calories and 14 grams of alcohol

Alcohol And Mixers

The higher the alcoholic content (proof), the greater the number of calories:

80-proof vodka (40% alcohol, the most common type) has 64 calories/1oz
86-proof vodka (43% alcohol) has 70 calories/1 ounce
90-proof vodka (45% alcohol) has 73 calories/1 ounce
100-proof vodka (50% alcohol) has 82 calories/1 ounce

When you start adding mixers, the calories in a drink can more than double.

club soda has no calories
8 ounces of orange juice has 112 calories
8 ounces of tonic has 83 calories
8 ounces of ginger ale has 83 calories
8 ounces of tomato juice has 41 calories
8 ounces of classic coke has 96 calories
8 ounces of cranberry juice has 128 calories

Mixed drinks and fancy drinks can significantly increase the calorie count. The following calories are approximate – bartenders, recipes, and the hand that pours all vary. Use these figures as a guideline.

Plain martini (2.5 ounces): 160 calories
Mimosa (4 ounces): 75 calories
Gin and Tonic (7 ounces): 200 calories
Mojito: (8 ounces): 214 calories
Cosmopolitan (4 ounces): 200 calories
Skinnygirl margarita (4 ounces): 100 calories
Green apple martini (1 ounce each vodka, sour apple, apple juice): 148 calories
Bloody Mary (5 ounces): 118 calories
Coffee liqueur (3 ounces): 348 calories
Godiva chocolate liqueur (3 ounces): 310 calories
Vodka and tonic (8 ounces): 200 calories
Screwdriver (8 ounces): 190 calories
White Russian (2 ounces of vodka, 1.5 ounces of coffee liqueur, 1.5 ounces of cream): 425 calories
Rum and Coke (8 ounces): 185 calories
Chocolate martini: (2 ounces each of vodka, chocolate liqueur, cream, 1/2 ounce of creme de cacao, chocolate syrup): 438 calories
Jumbo and super-sized drinks with double shots and extra mixers could add up to 1,000 calories or more (a single giant glass of TGI Friday’s frozen mudslide has around 1,100 calories)
An 8 ounce white Russian made with light cream has 715 calories
An 8 ounce cup of eggnog has about 343 calories and 19 grams of fat thanks to alcohol, heavy cream, eggs, and sugar
Mulled wine, a combination of red wine, sugar/honey, spices, orange and lemon peel, has about 210 to 300 calories in 5 ounces, depending on how much sweetener is added
One cup (8 ounces) of apple cider – without any additives – has 115 calories
One hot buttered rum has 218 calories
One Irish coffee has 218 calories
One cup of coffee with cream and sugar runs at least 50 calories (more if it’s sweet and light)

How Many Calories Are In Your Favorite Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Summer Drinks?

May 29, 2014 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN 1 Comment

It’s hot. You’re thirsty. You want something cool – or maybe ice cold – to drink.

Check Out The Calories

A lot of cool, refreshing drinks come with a hefty dose of calories. You might be surprised how many are in a drink you’ve been having for years.

According to CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest), carbonated soft drinks are the single biggest source of calories in the American diet. It’s easy to forget about the calories in sugared sports drinks, sweetened ice teas, juices, and alcoholic beverages.

Alcohol isn’t a caloric bargain – it has 7 calories per gram (protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram and fat has 9 calories per gram). Add sweetened juices, syrups, or soda to your alcohol, and you could be drinking a significant portion of your suggested daily calorie allowance.

It helps to do some research to figure out what’s your best choice to grab from the deli, the food truck, the coffee shop, or at the bar.

Can you be satisfied with a bottle of beer that has around 100 calories rather than another brand that has around 300 – or water with a hint of flavor instead of a sports drink?

To help you with your choices, here are the calories in some summer favorites:

Water and Sports Drinks

Gatorade, 12 ounces: 80 calories
Gatorade G Orange, 12 ounce bottle: 80 calories
Gatorade G2 Perform Low Calorie Orange, 8 ounces: 20 calories
SoBe Lifewater, 20 ounces: 90 calories
Sobe Lifewater 0 calories Black & Blue Berry, 8 ounces: 0 calories
Glaceau Smart Water, 33.8 ounces: 0 calories
Vitamin Water, 20 ounces: 125 calories
Vitamin Water 10, 20 ounces: 25 calories
Perrier Citron Lemon Lime, 22 ounce bottle: 0 calories
Vitamin Water Focus Kiwi-Strawberry, 20 ounce bottle: 125 calories
Hint Blackberry, 16 ounce bottle: 0 calories
Powerade, Grape, 8 ounces: 50 calories
Propel Kiwi-Strawberry, 8 ounces: 10 calories
Water (as much as you want): 0 calories

Iced Coffee and Tea Drinks

Dunkin’ Donuts Vanilla Bean Coolatta, 16 ounces: 430 calories
Dunkin’ Donuts Sweet Tea, 16 ounces: 120 calories
Starbuck’s Coffee Frappuccino, 16 ounces (grande): 240 calories
Starbuck’s Coffee Frappuccino light, 16 ounces grande: 110 calories
Tazo Unsweetened Shaken Iced Passion Tea: 0 calories
Iced Brewed Coffee with classic syrup, 12 ounces (tall): 60 calories
Red Bull Energy Drink, 8.4 ounces, 110 calories

Soda and Non-Carbonated Drinks

Mountain Dew, 20 ounce bottle: 290 calories
Coke Classic, 20 ounce bottle: 233 calories
Diet coke, 20 ounce bottle: 0 calories
Snapple Orangeade, 16 ounces: 200 calories
San Pelligrino Limonata, 11.15 ounce can: 141 calories
Can of Coke, 12 ounces: 140 calories
Bottle of 7Up, 12 ounces: 150 calories
Root beer float, large, 32 ounces: 640 calories

Beer (12 ounce bottle)

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale: 330 calories
Samuel Adams Boston Lager: 180 calories
Guinness Extra Stout: 176 calories
Pete’s Wicked Ale: 174 calories
Harpoon IPA: 170 calories
Heineken: 166 calories
Killian’s Irish Red: 163 calories
Long Trail: 163 calories
Molson Ice: 160 calories
Samuel Adams Brown Ale: 160 calories
Budweiser: 144 calories
Corona Light: 105 calories
Coors Light: 102 calories
Heineken Light: 99 calories
Budweiser Select: 99 calories
Miller Light: 96 calories
Amstel Light: 95 calories
Anheuser Busch Natural Light: 95 calories
Michelob Ultra: 95 calories
Miller MGD 64: 64 calories
Beck’s Premier Light: 64 calories

Wine

Red Wine, 5 ounces: 129 calories
White Wine, 5 ounces: 120 calories
Sangria, 8 ounces: 176 calories

Alcoholic Drinks

Mojito, 7 ounces: 172 calories
Frozen Magarita, 4 ounces: 180 calories (the average margarita glass holds 12 ounces, 540 calories)
Mimosa: 137 calories
Gin and Tonic: 175 calories

Want more information about low calorie fun in the sun? Get my book from Amazon.

How Many Calories Are In Your Cocktail?

July 11, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN 1 Comment

Do you know that a standard alcoholic drink (in the US) is a drink that contains the equivalent of 14.0 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol.

That’s the amount of pure alcohol usually found in:

12 ounces of beer
8 ounces of malt liquor
5 ounces of wine
1.5 ounces or a “shot” of 80-proof distilled spirits or liquor (gin, rum, vodka, or whiskey, etc.)

And, alcohol doesn’t fill you up the way food does because it doesn’t register as “food” in your GI tract or brain. Even though it doesn’t fill you up, it does have calories — 7 calories a gram – more than carbs and protein which clock in at 4 calories a gram and fat which has 9. It may not feel as though you’re putting calories into your body, but the fact is you can drink a lot of calories and still not feel stuffed (perhaps drunk, but not stuffed).

Is It Safer To Have Beer Or Wine Instead Of A Cocktail?

No. A 12 ounce bottle of beer has about the same amount of alcohol as a 5 ounce glass of wine or a 1.5 ounce shot of liquor. Since it is the amount – not the type — of alcohol in your drink that affects you the most, it is not safer to drink beer or wine rather than liquor if you are drinking the same amount of alcohol.

Alcohol And Mixers

The higher the alcoholic content (proof), the greater the number of calories:

80-proof vodka (40% alcohol, the most common type) has 64 calories/1oz
86-proof vodka (43% alcohol) has 70 calories/1 ounce
90-proof vodka (45% alcohol) has 73 calories/1 ounce
100-proof vodka (50% alcohol) has 82 calories/1 ounce

When you start adding mixers, the calories in a drink can more than double.

club soda has no calories
8 ounces of orange juice has 112 calories
8 ounces of tonic has 83 calories
8 ounces of ginger ale has 83 calories
8 ounces of tomato juice has 41 calories
8 ounces of classic coke has 96 calories
8 ounces of cranberry juice has 128 calories

Mixed drinks and fancy drinks can significantly increase the calorie count. The following calories are approximate – bartenders, recipes, and the hand that pours all vary. Use these figures as a guideline.

Frozen margarita: (4 ounces) 180 calories; (the average margarita glass holds 12 ounces), 540 calories)
Plain martini (2.5 ounces): 1 60 calories
Mimosa (4 ounces): 75 calories
Gin and Tonic (7 ounces): 200 calories
Mojito: (8 ounces): 214 calories
Pina Colada (6 ounces): 378 calories
Cosmopolitan (4 ounces): 200 calories
Skinnygirl margarita (4 ounces): 100 calories
Green apple martini (1 ounce each vodka, sour apple, apple juice): 148 calories
Bloody Mary (5 ounces): 118 calories
Coffee liqueur (3 ounces): 348 calories
Godiva chocolate liqueur (3 ounces): 310 calories
Vodka and tonic (8 ounces): 200 calories
Screwdriver (8 ounces): 190 calories
Long Island Iced Tea (8 ounces): 780 calories
White Russian (2 ounces of vodka, 1.5 ounces of coffee liqueur, 1.5 ounces of cream): 425 calories
P.F. Chang China Bistro Mai Tai: 433 calories
Rum and Coke (8 ounces): 185 calories
Chocolate martini: (2 ounces each of vodka, chocolate liqueur, cream, 1/2 ounce of creme de cacao, chocolate syrup): 438 calories
Jumbo and super-sized drinks with double shots and extra mixers could add up to 1,000 calories or more (a single giant glass of TGI Friday’s frozen mudslide has around 1,100 calories)

For more calorie information and tips about low-calorie summer eating get:

30 Ways to Have Low-Calorie Fun in the Sun: Your Guide to Guilt-Free Eating at Picnics, Amusement Parks, Barbecues & Parties available on Amazon.

It’s A Celebration: How Many Calories Will You Be Drinking?

December 14, 2012 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Are you indulging in celebratory cheer? Toasting to the New Year?

Just a heads up: all of those drinks can really pack a caloric punch. So, just like drinking wisely (and of course, not driving), don’t forget to factor in all those calories.

16% Of Calories?

The CDC released a report showing that adults in the US take in, on average, almost 100 calories a day from alcoholic beverages: around 150 calories for men and a little over 50 calories for women.

On any given day, 33% of men and 18% of women get some of their calories from alcoholic beverages and of those who drink, almost 20% of men and 6% of women get more than 300 of their calories. That’s equal to 2 or more 12 ounce beers, more than 2 and 1/2 glasses of wine (12.5 oz), or more than 4 and 1/2 ounces of spirits.

Of the people who drink, on any day they’re drinking they get approximately 16% of their total calories from alcoholic beverages – the same percentage of overall calories that children in the US get from added sugars.

A standard drink is 1.5 ounces of hard liquor, 5 ounces of wine, or 12 ounces of beer. Think about that when someone pours with a heavy hand. Odds are that five ounces of wine is far less than what you might pour into your glass and in most cases it’s hard to judge the amount of alcohol in eggnog or punch.

A Sampling Of Calories In Holiday Cheer

Alcohol has 7 calories a gram. Because alcohol doesn’t register as “food” in your GI tract or your brain, it doesn’t fill you up the way food would. Consequently, you can drink a lot and still not feel stuffed (perhaps drunk, but not stuffed). Alcohol also lowers your inhibitions; your resolve to not eat everything in sight often flies right out the window.

12 ounces of beer has 153 calories and 13.9 grams of alcohol
12 ounces of lite beer has 103 calories and 11 grams of alcohol
5 ounces red wine has 125 calories and 15.6 grams of alcohol
5 ounces of white wine has 121 calories and 15.1 grams of alcohol
1 1/2 ounces (a jigger) of 80 proof (40% alcohol) liquor has 97 calories and 14 grams of alcohol
Drinking light beer rather than regular saves about 50 calories a bottle
A frozen margarita has about 45 calories an ounce
A plain martini, no olives or lemon twist, has about 61 calories an ounce
An 8 oz white Russian made with light cream has 715 calories
An 8 oz cup of eggnog has about 343 calories and 19 grams of fat thanks to alcohol, heavy cream, eggs, and sugar
Mulled wine, a combination of red wine, sugar/honey, spices, orange and lemon peel, has about 210 to 300 calories per 5 ounces, depending on how much sweetener is added
One cup (8 oz) of apple cider – without any additives – has 115 calories
A mixed drink runs about 250 calories. Watch your mixers — per ounce club soda has no calories, tonic has10, classic coke has 12, Canada Dry ginger ale has 11, orange juice has 15, and cranberry juice has 16
One hot buttered rum has 218 calories
One Irish coffee has 218 calories
One cup of coffee with cream and sugar runs at least 50 calories (more if it’s sweet and light)
1 glass cider or sparkling grape juice has 120 calories
Champagne is a comparative caloric bargain at about 19 calories an ounce

For more hints and tips for handling celebrations get my book, The Sensible Holiday Eating Guide: How To Enjoy Your Favorite Foods Without Gaining Weight, available from Amazon for your kindle or kindle reader.

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