Tips to Save on Calories with New Year’s Eve Drinks

While you’re thinking of your evening attire for the biggest party of the year, for which the clock is already ticking, consider this: keeping a tab on your alcohol intake on New Year’s Eve will translate into fewer pounds to start losing in the new year.

LiveScience spoke to various nutritionists and health experts and, while everybody knows that excessive amounts of alcohol are not good for the body, they also underline they’re not good for the waistline either.

It’s hard to think of alcohol as being calorie-laden, one such expert says, yet this is precisely what happens. The more complicated and creamy the drink is, the heavier the calorie punch it packs.

At the same time, thinking “Oh, I only had 2 or 3 cocktails” may not sound that impressive, but the reality is that they can translate into as much as 1,500 calories – in one single night.

Because of this, it’s necessary to keep in mind these three easy tips for New Year’s Eve: drink moderately, remember the calories and replace ingredients if possible.

First things first. “Champagne is just bubbly wine, 100 calories for 5 ounces. It’s not a bad drink. One drink for women and two drinks for men — those would be moderate amounts,” registered dietician Ruth Frechman says for the e-zine.

Speaking strictly of calorie count, champagne or wine are probably the best choices for the party on the night between years, because they contain the least calories.

At the opposite pole are creamy drinks, spirits and, of course, cocktails, especially if they’re made with soda or even natural juice. You might as well be eating junk food, the same experts underlines.

“Eating a hamburger is like drinking a screwdriver, with the juice and the alcohol. A hundred and fifty calories come from juice, 100 come from the alcohol,” Frenchman points out.

“If you’re making an Irish coffee and you’re pouring in the cream, that can be 100 calories just from the cream. And that’s saturated fat — not the good kind of fat,” she adds.

Because of this, if we’re at a party at our house or even a friend’s, it’s best to try and replace some ingredients in cocktails with low-fat versions, like switch to Diet Coke instead of regular Cola.

It’s not that much of a difference for a single drink but it can add up to quite a lot, in the context of a single evening, says the same Frenchman.

“If you’re watching your calories, then you could have a small amount of wine, then fill it with club soda so it’s like a wine spritzer. That would give you volume, but it wouldn’t be that many calories,” the dietician explains.

These being said, have fun responsible – and drink in moderation.