A year ago, I was a member of the “it doesn’t count” club. The club rules are as follows:
- Calories you eat when standing you’re standing up – doesn’t count
- Calories eaten directly from the box/bag – doesn’t count
- Calories in drinks – definitely don’t count
As a collegiette™, it is easy to get sucked into the excitement of drinking fluffy, frozen, pink, blue, green drinks complete with a neon plastic flamingo. But we often forget that the “fun” in those drinks is all calories and sugar.
“I would drink a lot of beer at frat parties and I definitely felt the effects on my weight at the end of the semester,” Karen ’12 says.
Robert Atkins of Atkins Diet fame has said that alcohol “is the first fuel to burn (once inside your body). It does not stop the weight loss, it simply postpones it.” I don’t think any of us want to postpone getting our summer body any longer. Here are a few tips to use when those liquid calories start to add up:
Beware Chain Restaurants
Drinks at large chain restaurants like Chili’s or Applebee’s can be very dangerous. Much like the appetizers and entrees on their menu, their drinks are also full of calories. For example, an Applebee’s Bahama Mama drink according to teir website has 270 calories- get two with a 1,000 calorie BBQ chicken salad and you’ve eaten almost a day’s worth of calories in one meal! Both of those restaurants also feature options all significantly lower in calories. Applebee’s, for example, has a SkinnyBee Mojito that is only around 90 calories!
Keep it Simple
When mixing your own drink, stick to seltzer water or fruit juice. Keep in mind that juice is healthier than diet soda but also adds natural sugars, so it’s not by any means low-calorie. Johanna ’12 notes that “seltzer goes with almost anything and it’s definitely the healthiest and lowest calorie option out there.”
If you’re not in a situation where you can make your own drink, stick with the classic cocktails – avoid as many artificial ingredients as possible. No grenadine or blue Curacao. Another red flag is anything creamy or frozen. If it is pretty much a dessert in a glass you don’t want to drink those calories! The extra sugar won’t help your recovery in the morning either, so keep that in mind when a “Tropical Blueberry Thunderstorm” is sweetly calling your name. Gina ’11 says she sticks to the Mad Men rule– if they don’t drink it on Mad Men don’t order it. Try an Old-Fashioned or G&T to get truly old-school.
Diet Doesn’t Always Mean Better for You
Diet soda is the most common way to reduce the calories in a mixed drink – but sip with caution. A study from South Australia found that mixing with diet sodas can quicken the rate at which alcohol enters the bloodstream, meaning you feel the effects quicker and stronger than a friend who had a drink with regular soda. Researchers speculate that it is related to the presence of the sugar substitute aspartame. They found it takes 21 minutes for a mixed diet drink to leave the stomach but a mixed regular drink took at least 36 minutes to leave the stomach- a pretty significant time difference. If possible, mix with seltzer- no artificial sugar and still bubbly!
Drink More…Water
A truly foolproof way to regulate how much you drink is to drink more water. Alternating a small cup of water between each drink is a great way to pace your nightly intake. This trick will slow down your consumption for the night – keeping you safe and cutting calories!
If you remember these tricks and stick to the seltzer, your body will thank you later. Making smart choices when it comes to food and drink make all the difference for maintaining your great body.
Sources
*names have been changed
http://www.aboutatkinsdiet.com/atkins_faq_alcohol_beverages.htm
http://www.applebees.com/Menu_Drinks.aspx
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1712877/diet_soda_and_alcohol_i…
http://www.livestrong.com/article/202177-dangers-of-diet-drinks-alcohol/…