The 9 alcoholic drinks to avoid if you want to cut calories — and what you should order instead

Wed, 08/16/2023 - 13:26

rum old fashioned — A photograph of an Old Fashioned. Do you know how many calories are in your favorite cocktail?
Yulia Grigoryeva/Shutterstock

Alcohol consumption can be a sticking point for people trying to diet.
Though many dietitians recommend cutting alcohol entirely, there are ways to budget for beverages.
Using online nutritional data, we've suggested lower-calorie swaps for some popular drinks.

Having fun in the summer sun can make it all too easy for the drinks to slip down.

But enjoying a tipple or two doesn't have to ruin your calorie-cutting efforts.

Using nutritional information from mostly allrecipes.com and a few other spots, we've compiled a list of some of the most popular high-calorie alcoholic drinks and offered lower-calorie substitutions.

From light beers over lagers to martinis over mojitos, scroll down to see nine of some of the most calorically-dense beverages and low-cal alternatives you can drink instead.

Swap a Long Island Iced Tea (262 calories) for a Cosmopolitan (131 calories).

long island iced tea cosmopolitan — Shutterstock / Alp Aksoy / Alexander Prokopenko

With an ingredient list that contains vodka, gin, rum, tequila, triple sec, and Coke, it's no wonder that a single drink of Long Island contains 262 calories, according to AllRecipes.com.

A Cosmopolitan has much less alcohol and only a small amount of cranberry juice, meaning a typical drink contains only 131 calories — about half the calories of a Long Island.

Swap a Pina Colada (423 calories) for a Fuzzy Navel (367 calories).

pina colada fuzzy navel — Shutterstock / Leon Rafael / Palmer Kane LLC

Pina Coladas are the quintessential beachside cocktail, but due to coconut and pineapple mixers, these drinks regularly contain a calorie count of about 423 calories per serving.

A Fuzzy Navel, on the other hand, contains just peach schnapps and orange juice, making it an adequately fruity replacement at 367 calories per drink.

Swap a Mojito (203 calories) for a Diet Rum & Coke (115 calories).

A photograph of a mojito next to one of a diet rum and coke, also called a diet Cuba Libre.
(right)GANNA MARTYSHEVA / Shutterstock

Mojitos are a summertime favorite, but because they contain simple syrup, a serving can contain as many as 203 calories.

For an equally sweet but lower-calorie drink, a Diet Rum & Coke can contain as few as 100 calories per 8 oz serving, making it a sweet rummy swap.

Swap a cooler (~228 calories) for a hard seltzer (~100 calories)

A bacardi breezer on the left compared to a white claw on the right. — A Bacardi Breezer on the left compared to a white claw on the right.
(left) Shutterstock; (right) Getty images, Cindy Ord / Staff

Coolers often contain added sugars. Calorie count can depend on brand and flavor. For example, a Smirnoff Ice Vodka Cooler contains 228 calories and a Mike's Hard Black Cherry Lemonade can pack 400 calories per bottle, according to the MyFitnessPal app.

By contrast, hard seltzers, which have become quite popular in the past few years, average around 100 calories per serving, according to WebMD. Most have juice or flavorings that will give you the fruity edge you may be seeking from a cooler.

Swap your Gin & Tonic (193 calories) for a Gin Rickey (146 calories).

A Gin & Tonic is a global classic, but because tonic water contains added sugars, a typical serving can come in at about 193 calories.

But if you're a gin lover seeking a slightly lighter alternative, you could ask for a Gin Rickey. This drink swaps the tonic for seltzer water and adds lime, which cuts the added sugar for a total calorie count of 146 per serving, according to the Moody Mixologist.

Swap a Whisky sour (555 calories) for an Old Fashioned (168 calories).

A photo of a whisky sour on the left compared to an Old Fashioned on the right.
(left) Getty Images; (right) Maksym Fesenko/Shutterstock

The sweet, tangy foam that caps a whisky sour makes it a tasty delight, especially on a hot summer afternoon. But because a large component of the cocktail is simple syrup, the calorie count climbs a bit higher than calorie-watchers might like. A single serving of the drink may be as much as 555 calories.

But if you're looking for something else bourbon based, you can head back to the classics with an Old Fashioned. A single sugar cube and a slice of orange brighten some of bourbon's darker edges in this drink. It makes for a lightly sweetened, smoky whisky classic, which only registers about 168 calories per serving.

Swap a Vodka Tonic (233 calories) for a Martini (207 calories).

vodka lime — Shutterstock / Billion Photos

As with the Gin & Tonic, it's the tonic water that gives the vodka tonic a relatively high calorie count of 233 calories per drink, according to Spruceeats.com.

A martini consists of mainly vermouth and liquor, meaning that a traditional coupe only contains 207 calories per serving.

Swap a Margarita (321 calories) for a Moscow Mule (153 calories).

margarita moscow mule — A margarita versus a moscow mule.
Shutterstock / Teri Virbickis / Elena Veselova

Margaritas are another fashionable cocktail that sadly aren't particularly low-cal, with 321 calories per serving.

Try swapping for another limey, refreshing classic, the Moscow Mule. These contain just 153 calories per serving.

Swap a pint of lager (~200 calories) for a light beer (~100 calories).

The amount of calories in a bottle or can of beer can fluctuate greatly depending on the kind, brand, and brew you're drinking.

Generally, heavier beers like IPA's have higher calorie counts, but an average, ordinary-strength lager is around 170 calories, according to MensHealth.com.

Light beers might be an option if you're loyal to brews. They also vary a bit, but tend to fall in the neighborhood of 100 calories, according to Healthline.com.

This post has been updated. This story was originally published in April 2018.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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The 9 alcoholic drinks to avoid if you want to cut calories — and what you shou…