More Joy, Less Spirits

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Help with selecting alcoholic drinks for their calorie contents is below.

More Joy, Less Spirits

By Sally Squires

Tuesday, December 20, 2005; HE01

Want to keep your calories under control this season? Then drink a little less

holiday cheer.

Researchers have long debated how much drinking alcohol contributes to weight

gain.

But increasing evidence points to alcohol as a cause of extra pounds,

particularly

those that are added at the waistline.

One reason is that alcohol packs seven calories per gram. To put that in

perspective, alcohol's calories are just short of the nine calories found in a

gram

of fat and nearly twice that in a gram of protein or carbohydrate. Add

fat-filled or

sugary mixers, and the calories can reach 500 per drink.

Large population studies of alcohol's effect on weight have been mixed. But

" every

component of the [body's] energy-balance equation is affected by the ingestion

of

alcohol, " as Paolo Suter, a researcher at Zurich's University Hospital, noted in

a

recent paper that examined alcohol's contribution to weight gain and obesity.

Even moderate drinking boosts calories, both from the alcohol itself and from

" its

appetite-enhancing effects, " Suter notes. More-recent research shows that

drinking

alcohol suppresses fat burning, leading to greater storage of calories as fat,

which

as Suter notes, " is preferentially deposited in the abdominal area. " When Suter

put

experimental evidence together with results from large population studies, he

concluded that alcohol contributes more than other foods to weight gain in

moderate

drinkers who don't imbibe daily. He also reports that alcohol's calories likely

" count more in combination with a high-fat diet and in overweight and obese

subjects. "

In other words, too much alcohol could be the perfect recipe for unwanted pounds

this holiday season. But you don't have to be a teetotaler during this, the

fifth

week of the Lean Plate Club Holiday Challenge. Moderation can help you meet the

goal

of maintaining your weight during the holiday season. Find additional resources

at

http://www.leanplateclub.com , where you can also subscribe to the free weekly

Lean

Plate Club e-mail newsletter.

As the holiday party season moves into overdrive, here are some other tips to

help

you maintain your weight:

Snack before partying.

Doing that will help slow absorption of any alcohol you drink, which means that

you're less likely to eat everything on the Christmas buffet. Aim for snacks

that

are about 100 to 250 calories. A few possibilities: an ounce of nuts (it's best

to

measure them out so you don't overdo it) or a glass of skim milk with half a

sandwich made with whole wheat bread and a tablespoon of peanut butter. A small

bowl

of cereal or a cup of nonfat, unflavored yogurt with fruit, or a cereal bar,

such as

Kashi, are other good choices.

Skip the cocktails before the meal.

Better to sip a nonalcoholic beverage or have something hot, such as coffee, hot

tea

or low-fat hot cocoa. These beverages will help you feel full and perhaps less

awkward than standing without a drink in hand. Plus, chemists have recently

found

that cocoa has more antioxidants than red wine. Antioxidants may help boost your

immune system so that you may be less likely to pick up the cold or flu from

that

holiday crowd.

Stick with the familiar favorites.

A 12-ounce beer has 150 calories, five ounces of wine clocks in at about 100

calories, a seven-ounce gin and tonic contains 189 calories. Other mixed drinks

can

soar far higher. Eight ounces of egg nog have 320 calories and 18 grams of fat

before the alcohol, which adds at least another 100 calories. A rum and Coke (12

ounces) contains 361 calories. An eight-ounce amaretto sour (made with

sweet-and-sour mix, almond amaretto liqueur, tequila and orange juice) has 560

calories -- enough for a meal's worth. Better choices: a bloody mary (192

calories

for eight ounces); an Irish coffee (Irish whiskey, coffee, sugar and whipped

cream),

which has 159 calories for a 10-ounce drink; a wine spritzer made with club soda

or

seltzer (about 50 calories); or a seven-ounce screwdriver (orange juice and

vodka.)

Find more calorie counts for alcoholic beverages at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/leanplateclub .

Do a little reconnaissance.

Get the lay of the buffet before plunging in so you can be choosy about what

you're

going to eat. This will let you conserve some calories for a special holiday

treat

rather than blowing them all on meatballs because they happened to be first in

line.

Start with vegetables.

Reach for those crudites and antipasto platters. Have some of that hummus, salsa

or

baba ghanouj. Follow with a hearty course of salad, preferably with a low-fat

dressing or oil and vinegar. These foods help you feel full with fewer calories.

Plus they provide texture, taste and crunch -- all good things to help you feel

satisfied.

Move away from the table -- and your waistline is less likely to get hurt.

When you park yourself at the buffet, it's easy to eat your way down the table

mindlessly. Ditto for engaging in conversation within easy access of any food.

So

make it a practice to eat at parties only while sitting down. Try to stick with

food

that requires you to use utensils, which helps slow consumption and makes it a

little easier to keep track of what you eat.

Al Pater, PhD; email: old542000@...

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