The Hidden Calories of Alcohol
Calories are an ever present focal point on the individual's mind that is trying to control their weight, albeit weight gain or weight loss. A cheat day with a small brownie or scoop of ice cream is one thing, but when one consumes several (let's say 4-6) alcoholic beverages in single day, this can completely derail an entire week's worth of eating healthy and exercising. Let's take a closer look at exactly what is being consumed with various types of alcoholic beverages.
Typically at social gatherings, there are three types of alcoholic drinks being served: beer, wine, and mixed drinks.
- Light Beer / Regular Beer (12oz serving)
Calories - 110 / 150
Carbs - 4.5g / 4.5g - Wine (Red or White) (4.2oz serving)
Calories - 80
Carbs - 1.5g - Single shot of hard alcohol at 80 proof (40% alcohol)
Calories - 55
Carbs - 0g
It should be noted that pure alcohol contains about 7 calories per gram. Alcohol itself does not attribute to the amount of carbohydrates in the beverage, but the barley/wheat/oat/etc. in beer, the sugar from grapes (wine), and the sugar from soda or fruit juices mixed with hard alcohol do.
On the low end of four drinks consumed through the course of an evening, one would be looking at least 220 calories (if taking straight shots), 320 calories of wine, or up to a whopping 600 calories of regular beer. To counter 220 calories, it would take about 45 minutes of walking at 3.5mph, if one consumed four regular beers (600 calories), an hour of jogging at 5mpg. If one was to do this once a week, every weekend, they would be looking at an excess of 880-1100 additional calories (hard alcohol only) a month or up to 2400-3000 additional calories (regular beer) a month. This may not seem earth-shattering but take that over the course of the entire year:
- 220 calories x 52 weeks = 11440 calories or an additional 3.26lbs of body weight
- 320 calories x 52 weeks = 16640 calories or an additional 4.75lbs of body weight
- 600 calories x 52 weeks = 31200 calories or an additional 8.91lbs of body weight
Additionally, these festivities are typically laden with high calorie foods. Add that to the calories consumed from the alcohol and you have a fairly substantial amount of calories to work off. Fortunately, the summer is also conducive to a variety of outdoor activities. Perhaps at your next social gathering, consider setting up a volleyball court to promote exercise while having a good time with your friends or family. If that is not an option, be sure to allocate additional time during your workout sessions for the calorie overture. Remember, one does not have to burn all the calories off with a series of exercises in a single workout session, they can be spread out over the course of the week.