Toast to Your New Year's Resolution

January 18, 2008 –The champagne is gone and the toasts to a great 2008 are over. Now is the time when it’s tough to keep your New Year’s resolution and you’re enthusiasm starts to wane. If you’re like millions of Americans, your resolution is to slim down and shed a few pounds.

Many think losing weight means no more eggnog, hot toddies or cold beer during the game. While there are a few diets out there that explicitly exclude alcoholic beverages, most can accommodate drinking reasonable amounts of alcohol.

What’s the best beverage to imbibe and still shrink your waistline? The term “beer belly” immediately comes to mind, so you probably think beer is out. Actually, according to the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, beer and other alcoholic beverages can fit into your diet if you drink in moderation, pay attention to portion size and read labels.

ALCOHOL’S IMPACT ON THE BODY
The truth is, as little as five percent of calories from alcohol is stored in the body as fat. The liver converts most of the alcohol consumed into acetate. Acetate is then released into the bloodstream, replacing fat as the body’s source of fuel. Therefore, the biggest problem that alcohol poses for your fitness plan is the reduced amount of fat your body burns, not the extra fat stored.

Alcohol is a diuretic - drawing more fluids out of the body than it replaces. The extra fluid loss can easily lead to dehydration. Symptoms include loss of appetite, dry mouth, fatigue, weakness, muscle cramps, headaches and nausea.

Moreover, alcohol hangovers cause a drop in energy, stamina and strength levels, thereby decreasing the desire to exercise. When motivation is lowered, a person is more inclined to opt out of exercising. If they do exercise, most people perform at less than their optimal level when hung over.

Drawbacks of Imbibing Alcoholic Beverages Include:
- Increased calorie intake
- Reduced fat burning abilities
- Dehydration
- Difficulty staying motivated for diet and exercise

WAYS TO INCLUDE ALCOHOL IN YOUR DIET
“Responsible drinking,” according to Lynn Walding, Administrator of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, “takes on a whole new meaning this time of the year. In addition to safe consumption, it can also refer to caloric intake. A 12-ounce bottle of light beer, for instance, averages just under 100 calories. The typical 12-ounce frozen margarita, on the other hand, offers a staggering 739 calories.”

To put this into perspective, according to www.McDonalds.com, a Big Mac contains 540 calories. Make it a meal by adding a small order of fries and a Diet Coke and you’ll still only be consuming 51 more calories than the margarita.

Many high calorie alcoholic beverages derive most of their caloric content from mixers of sugary syrups or sweet juices, not from alcohol. High calorie beverages include cocktails like cosmopolitans, margaritas and chocolate martinis. Some suggestions for lower calorie drinks are light beers, vodka with soda water, or rum and diet cola.

Be careful when consuming alcohol with diet beverages or mixers with sugar replacements. Scientists announced during Digestive Disease Week 2006 that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame or sucralose lead to a higher rate of alcohol absorption into the body. Therefore, a drinker feels the effects of the alcohol faster and stronger than if they were consuming drinks mixed with real sugar. Carbonation found in many sugar-free mixers can also accelerate alcohol absorption into the blood stream.

Paying closer attention to portion size is also key to including alcohol in your diet plan. Most restaurants serve 6-ounce glasses of wine, but if you’re on Weight Watchers, a serving of wine is 4-ounces.

If you’re having a glass of your favorite Shiraz at home, be careful not to pour a full glass and then only count the calories for one serving. The same goes for having a 12-ounce bottle of beer versus a 20-ounce mug at the neighborhood watering hole.

If you’re counting carbohydrates instead of calories, there are still ways to include an alcoholic beverage periodically. Although some carb-free diets suggest complete abstinence from alcohol, many only hold that recommendation through the first phase of the diet. The restriction is likely due to alcohol causing unstable blood sugar levels.

Beer and wine vary greatly in their carbohydrate content depending on what variety you choose to drink. Sweet wines, for instance, generally contain higher sugar content than dry wine. A 12-ounce serving of light beer averages three to seven grams of carbohydrates, but a stout beer may have 20 or more grams.

Distilled spirits, such as vodka, rum and whiskey, have no carbohydrates. However, when you mix the alcohol with sugary products, you are adding carbohydrates. Read the labels on the alcohol, as well as everything added to the cocktail, to ensure you are counting all the carbohydrates being consumed.

Ways to Decrease the Ill Affects of Alcoholic Beverages on your Diet Include:
- Moderation in frequency and volume of alcohol consumed
- Keeping portion sizes to the recommended serving size
- Make low calorie and low carbohydrate choices
- Eat healthy before drinking to lessen the likelihood of over consumption

FULL DISCLOSURE
Help may be on the way. The federal government is in the process of addressing the problem. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau at the U.S. Department of the Treasury is currently drafting rules that would require serving facts on all alcoholic beverages. The proposed serving facts, as currently proposed, on the alcoholic beverage label would include a statement of calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein per serving.

Even if you aren’t trying to tone and tighten in the New Year, it is always best to consume alcoholic beverages in moderation. Benefits to not overindulging include avoiding impaired judgment, which may help you prevent a costly mistake such as an a charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

According to Lynn Walding, “Alcoholic beverages alone are not going to make or break your New Year’s resolution to lose weight. But if you take these tips into consideration and stick with your diet and exercise plan, maybe next year your resolution can be traveling the world instead of tightening your belt.”

Click here to download a bar graph containing many common alcoholic beverages and their calorie counts (216k)
Click here to download a chart containing many common alcoholic beverages and their calorie counts (728k)
Click here to download a graphic comparing McDonalds' Big Mac and a margarita (1.1mb)