Calories from alcohol are ’empty calories’, they have no nutritional value.
Alcoholic drinks are high in calories particularly common beverages such as beer and cocktails.
- 5-ounce glass of wine has around 150 to 195 calories, “OMG”!!!
- 1.5-ounce shot of vodka = 100 calories,
- 12 ounces of light beer= 100 Calories.
Drinking alcohol also reduces the amount of fat your body burns for energy. While we can store nutrients, protein, carbohydrates, and fat in our bodies, we can’t store alcohol. So our systems want to get rid of it, and doing so takes priority. All of the other processes that should be taking place (including absorbing nutrients and burning fat) are interrupted.
When alcohol is in your system, it’s harder for your body to burn fat that’s already there. Since eating fat is the most metabolically efficient way to put fat on your body—you actually use a small amount of calories when you turn excess carbs and protein into body fat, but excess fat slips right into your saddlebags. In other words, following a high-fat, high-alcohol diet would be the easiest way to put on weight.
Cutting back on the amount you drink, it can significantly help to reduce your calorie intake.
For every drink you have, you have to subtract something else from your diet or log another mile on the treadmill. Oops!
Also, people eat about 20 percent more calories when they drink with a meal, possibly because alcohol interferes with satiety or simply because it makes your judgment fuzzier about whether or not you should have a second helping of doughnuts or the Famous slice of Pizza, or like me, the entire can of Mix nuts 😉
So, maybe, as I always tell my clients, skip that glass of wine during dinner. Maybe save it only for Special occasions and trick your brain adding water and ice to your glass of wine : (
For more Nutritional Tips and tricks, call me @ 678-328-7662