Alcoholic beverages and calories!!??

So I will be honest I am 23 and I drink,,,,, a lot! Since turning 21 i have easily gained 25Lbs.  I realize this could most definately be from all my mixed drink intake.  I have tried to look around at better options as far as drinking goes.  Such as beer having much more calories then hard alcohol.  I also had it in my head that because I'm mixing Juice with my alcohol it must be a little bit better.  Don't know that I'm prepared to stop drinkin altogether, but I will say I've cut back quite a bit.  Any suggestions on how to still enjoy myself while I'm out experiencing the amazing Denver night life and still manage to get back in shape??

i like vodka & club soda with a squeeze of lime.  very refreshing (watch out - they go down fast) and the only calories are what comes from the vodka - about 60/ounce.

wow thanks!! i will definately try that!! i realize i cant blame all my weight gain on "drinking" but i can truely say it hasnt helped! i've also began eating way more then i really ever needed to.  being a very small figured girl my mom complained i was to skinny and fed me (then 83LBS) man sized meals (what my stepdad ate 200LBS)  and i had this mindset that i was very against wasted so i gradually was able to eat everything in front of me, no matter how bad it made me feel! not to mention i was smoking a lot of pot the passed 4 years and always had the munchies. i never thought it'd all catch up with me like it did,,, now my mom pokes me in the stomach tellin me to "suck that in" So my next step is eating more proportionate sided meals.  which is very difficult!!

this girl at work mentioned hydroxycut,,, said she was going to bring some in to let me try,,, never really thought about diet pills, but it seems i've let this get way out of control to do on my own.  not to mention i was running for an hour a day up to 5 days a week on the crossramp at the gym (mix of an eliptical/treadmill/stair stepper) ya its a crazy machine,,, but has twice the results calorie wise compared to the treadmill or eliptical,,,, but still never noticed a difference in my body!!!! so discouraging!!!

ok theres my vent wow maybe i need to put that journal into use!!!

either way thanks for the advice.

Being a bartender I do have a couple of suggestions (not that I do this, but I wish I did!) First, find an alcohol (not sweet or fruit infused) you have a hard time drinking straight and order it on the rocks with a pint glass of water-back. Make sure you drink the water each time you order a new drink. It will slow you down and rehydrate you at the same time. Avoid drinks with mixers (juices, tonic etc...) as it adds extra calories. Figure out ahead how many drinks you plan on having and try to stick to that. Always figure that a shot is usually more than the ounce serving they allot for when it comes to counting those calories.

AND IF ALL THE ABOVE FAILS, just go out and have a good time, drink a huge glass of water before you go to bed and take a couple of aspirin. Just get up tomorrow knowing you had a good time and plan to be better today!

Original Post by leslazz:

Being a bartender I do have a couple of suggestions (not that I do this, but I wish I did!) First, find an alcohol (not sweet or fruit infused) you have a hard time drinking straight and order it on the rocks with a pint glass of water-back. Make sure you drink the water each time you order a new drink. It will slow you down and rehydrate you at the same time. Avoid drinks with mixers (juices, tonic etc...) as it adds extra calories. Figure out ahead how many drinks you plan on having and try to stick to that. Always figure that a shot is usually more than the ounce serving they allot for when it comes to counting those calories.

AND IF ALL THE ABOVE FAILS, just go out and have a good time, drink a huge glass of water before you go to bed and take a couple of aspirin. Just get up tomorrow knowing you had a good time and plan to be better today!

 hahahaha you rock that was great,,,, so i definately have a hard time drinkin ANYTHING straight,,,, and when you say "fruit infused" is that like flavored liquor?? cuz i love flavored bacardi,,, but really thats a great idea being as i wont drink it as fast and either way i'll need that water after every sip,,,,and i'll probably get drunk faster,,,,,but the downside,,, once i do start feeling hott,,,and wild,,, i'll be able to drink em faster.....hahahahaha!!!! but i'm going to try it....oh and planning out how many i'll have from the get go....is a tough one,,,, i havent learned the "drink in moderation" key yet!!!! awww feelin hopeless!!!! i guess this muffin top isnt so bad,,,,,, HAHAHAHA EEEEEEEW JK!!!! anyhow bartender thanks for your advice,,, and as far as askin for it on the ROCKS how exactly is that priced??? like a mixed drink,,,persay rum n coke??? or maybe more like a long island??

"On the rocks" or "over" just means a straight shot with ice. Should be priced the same as any other simple mixed drink (not Long Island, that little doozy has 5 different hard liquors in it!. My drink of choice right now is Crown Royal (however, I am getting used to the flavor and find it is going down easier, DRATS! Have to find another one!)

Fruit infused is any of the flavored vodkas (raspberry, lemon, orange etc...) Caloric count for spiced rum is the same as any other hard liquor, 60 calories. But the problem with that particular alcohol is that you don't drink it straight (at least I don't know of anyone that does!) and it is mixed with either coke or some juices (pineapple, orange etc...). Something you want to try to avoid.

The important thing is to be sure to drink that pint of water for each drink ordered. Amazingly enough, it will not get you drunk quicker, but helps your body flush the alcohol through.

Ah I feel your pain. I gained the freshman 15lbs in record time...2 months!! And it was purely from alcohol haha. I really wish I could stomach shots, but I'm so bad at them! I just have cut back on my calories during the day so I can drink freely at night. Since I usually don't do shots, I try to mix with diet coke.

And stay away from beer! Hard liquor usually has much fewer calories.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/01/hydroxyc ut.fda.recall/index.html

 

Hydroxycut products have been recalled due to health problems

i love vodka and water... i carry little crystal light on the go mixes and add it until i like the taste... you don't need a lot.

Original Post by sungamb:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/01/hydroxyc ut.fda.recall/index.html

 

Hydroxycut products have been recalled due to health problems

 ~~~~~~~~so considering i have a huge liqour intake,,,,, even messing with hydroxycut may be a horrible idea,,, since its linked to liver problems,,, and my liver probably already hates me!!!

THANKS for the heads up

Original Post by fate-rock:

i love vodka and water... i carry little crystal light on the go mixes and add it until i like the taste... you don't need a lot.

 Well lotsa good advice on this page concerning drinkin and calories!!! i have the same problem taking shots!! im weak! so i drink everything with juice,,, but i did have rum n diet coke recently and that was pretty good!

but that crystal light idea is a good one too!!!!

I agree

Me too.

=) Daiquirri. I have the same problem as you except completely different :P The excess in alcohol among other things were and still are substances which give me a harder time to gain weight (I am among those seeking to gain what the rest here are trying to lose... what a world were living in). Anyhow, alcoholic calories seem to be useless on me, otherwise I would be your Sumo champion by now (aged 23 currently but began back when I was 15... south america doesnt really have enforced age regulations). But instead I seem to always have replaced meals with alcohol.. and when I smoked pot I also constantly drank and afterwards emptied out a packet of cigarettes so my want of food has always been very minimal... (except for your ocassional kebab at the way out of a club).

But now as to the drinks. I am not really familiar with the amount of calories in each, yet yo do  have alternatives in what you drink in regards to how fast and much you can consume of it thus minimizing your intake.

Ale's seem to be at the tip on this. Something like a Guinness or any "stout" really is much heavier than the rest of the drinks and thus, even after your warmed up and feel like you can drink anything in a gulps time.. this will still keep you going slow. You can also try for some stronger brewed version of Lager such as Duvel or 9%+ degree Belgian beers. Of course if your chugging down because your favourite team is playing against Manchester United then the previous rules do not apply and you will get pissed pretty quickly anyhow =p

In general bitter drinks (unmixed) are tended for slower consumption as well. Anything ranging from the argentinian Fernet, to an Oporto, even some licorice plant drinks such as Absinth or your classic Italian Sambuca would do nicely.

But mainly. Stay away from sweet drinks. As you well know :p Those go down faster than water on a hot summer day and contain an impressive amount of sugars. Go for watered down Whiskey - red label (if you find the pure version to strong for your liking) or go for something like a bourbon.

---- But all in all. My suggestion would be to watch yourself on other things and mabye just do more excercise if you find its nececcary. Dont cut donw on a good night (or day) life because your afraid of how it will afect your looks.. I think it would be minimal. Rather if you do cut down on drinking, do it because of inward health reasons :p As you said... our livers are pissed at us.

cheers =)

I drink vodka and diet lemonade.  I have drank vodka and diet coke/pepsi, too.  That's also very nice.  You can also drink vodka with diet 7 up or sprite if you like the citrus thing.  Vodka is very versatile.  It's 54 calories/34 grams - 34 grams being a shot in England.  If you have 6 shots of vodka - you will be on around 300 calories.  That's not bad considering what you'd be on if you had 6 beers instead.  It would be, at least, double those calories.  Juice has calories, too, so I'm always hesitant about drinking things like OJ with vodka.  My advice is similar to the bartenders.  Think about what you would like to limit your alcoholic intake to for the evening and try to train yourself to do so.  Even if you go a couple of drinks over - its only gonna be around 100 calories as opposed to maybe 350+ if you'd gone two beers over.  Good luck!

My friend just introduced me to Barcardi Rum and Crystal light.  You can pick your flavor of choice only 60 cal for the drink.  I am sure the bars dont have crystal light so just by the singles to go and order Barcardi Rum w/ ice water and pour in your crystal light.  Its pretty good!!

well i have to say im failing miserably at not drinkin things w more calories!!! anyone know where wine fit in here... i suppose i tend to drink whats there!!! which sometimes means lotsa beer!!!!!