WASHINGTON 鈥� Food may largely be the culprit when it comes to weight gain over the holidays, but often聽calories are hiding right in your cup.
In WTOP鈥檚 fifth talk with Sally Squires, author of the Lean Plate Club鈩� blog, a former Washington Post health writer and Washington Post Radio contributor,聽we put the spotlight on alcoholic beverages. Over the holidays, the series has looked at a variety of ways to avoid putting on extra pounds going into the New Year. There鈥檚 still time 鈥� WTOP invites listeners and readers to join in the聽.
The holidays come with a bevy of seasonal drinks, from eggnog to mulled wine and other boozy concoctions.
鈥淎lcohol actually has 鈥� gram for gram 鈥� almost twice the number of calories as protein and carbs,鈥� Squires says.
But that doesn鈥檛 mean you have to miss out on the festivities. Squires says the key is to plan ahead, and enjoy holiday parties smartly so you don鈥檛 start 2016 with more pounds.
Where do you start? Squires suggests that you only have alcohol with food.
鈥淭hat way, the absorption is slowed, and you鈥檙e less likely to feel the effects,鈥� she explains.
You don鈥檛 have to shy away from calorie-laden eggnog, Squires says, but you will want to space out those heavy drinks with lower-calorie options.
鈥淢aybe you start with a wine spritzer, or maybe you have a glass of water in between each glass that you have at a party,鈥� she said.
Think of something slow to metabolize, such as Irish coffee 鈥� it鈥檚 hot, so you can鈥檛 gulp it down. Since you鈥檒l slowly sip away, Squires says the tablespoon or two of whipped cream topping won鈥檛 add much, calorie-wise.
Though you may cringe at first, consider nonalcoholic versions of your favorite drinks.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e not alcohol-free, but they have really very minute amounts of alcohol, and the good news is they only have about half the calories,鈥� Squires says, adding that a taste-test among her peers favored nonalcoholic beers.
If you鈥檙e weighing whether to go with beer and wine or聽hard alcohol, Squires says the calories come out roughly the same. Plus, with beer servings generally running 12 ounces, you鈥檙e likely to feel like you鈥檝e had more to enjoy.
