Calories Anonymous

By Melissa Chin • UrbanWire
email reporter • email story • printer friendly version

As you struggle to pull up your jeans while furiously sucking in your little beer belly, you might like to know that the blame may not rest squarely on the Lunar New Year long weekend feasting. Did you know that drinking could make you fat even faster? Suddenly, Ladies’ Nights and 1-for-1 offers don’t sound that enticing anymore.

Let’s talk about fats, baby
Burn baby, burn!
An itch in your fingers?

Let’s talk about fats, baby
Next time you tell yourself you’re on a liquid diet, don’t congratulate yourself for skipping your main meal. A glass of alcohol may contain twice as many calories as food. Add mixers and the calorie count continues to rise. Who ever imagined there’d be fat swimming in that skinny glass of wine? Although it has not been scientifically proven, it is said that the more you drink, the more fat you’ll pile around your waist. Yet that is not to say one has to completely stop drinking and be a teetotaler; after all, alcohol has been the must-have accompaniment not only in clubs and parties but even for meals at restaurants and hawker centers.

According to Jason Yang, a 29-year-old bartender at Jazz@SouthBridge, “the most popular drinks served are house spirits with mixers, basically your vodka mixers, Barcardi Coke, bourbon coke and more.”

If you think that men are always the heavy drinkers, think again. “Ladies usually drink about than 3 to 4 glasses each,” said Jason.

Regular clubber Lynette Lin, 23, student who frequents Zouk, says that “Alcohol is an essential part of clubbing, I have at least 3 glasses of Bailey’s Irish Cream, it’s my favourite.”

Moderation is the key to go. And that means for women, no more than 1 drink a day and no more then 2 for men for better health Exercise self-control and you can still enjoy your daily bouts of bubbly. Yet there are certain cocktails and mixers that embody more calories then the rest.

Everyone’s favorite shot, Vodka has 55 cal per serving (25ml). Add in orange juice for your Screwdriver and that’s another 126 calories going to your current fat collection. That is equivalent to munching on an entire Cadbury’s Chocolate bar. Not forgetting that oh-so-sinful and delightful Bailey’s Irish Cream, sip just 37ml and you’ve downed 129 calories. Another pet drink Bourbon Coke, which consists of bourbon and Coca-cola, is a 230ml cocktail holding 195 calories. If you wish to lessen the calorie content, then ask for diet coke.

Cocktail lovers, hold your horses! According to Pamela Yu, 20, a server at Jazz@SouthBridge, the layered version of the lychee martini usually wins the popularity poll among customers. But don’t be too anxious to down these drinks of sophistication, because a Strawberry Margarita and Vodka Martini each give you 210 calories while our local star Singapore Sling has 214. A Pina Colada, which is a mixture of light and dark rum, lime, pineapple and orange juice with a splash of grenadine, and coconut milk has a total of 342 calories, even a McDonald’s cheeseburger with 300 calories can’t compete with that!

Besides the usual, there are other alternatives to meet your liquor needs. Wine lovers can continue to talk about the health—quotient of this drink. A 150ml glass of white wine only contains 99 calories and for the same volume, red wine has 102. Dry Wine contains fewer calories then sweet wines. Calories are dominant in beers too; popular brands Heineken and Guinness have 47 and 43 calories per 100ml that is slightly lower than 8g of roasted and salted Pistachio Nuts that contains 48 calories. <^top>

Burn baby, burn!
Before you begin to look at your drink in disgust, there are many ways to burn off the calories, methods that don’t require much pain and sweat. Sound impossible? Not quite. Besides the usual exercise routines, you can burn excess calories just by moving and doing simple movements like swinging your legs, tapping your fingers, stretching and even standing up. According to weightlossresources.co.uk, an average person burns of 30% of calories through daily activity. Increase your metabolism rate by eating less but more often, this practice also helps control your hunger pangs.

With these tips, I’m sure you’ll think twice at the next drinking session. Ponder which ones are really worth getting rounder for and don’t overdo it with 8 drinks every night. But if a special occasion crops up, then just let loose and enjoy yourself, you’ll feel less guilty when you swing your legs tomorrow. Cheers! <^top>

An itch in your fingers?
Bloody Mark is a low calorie cocktail containing only 86 calories, here’s a simple recipe when you feel for your daily pleasure.

Ingredients • 43ml of vodka • 88ml tomato juice • 14ml ounce lemon juice • 7 drops Worcestershire sauce • 3 drops Tabasco sauce • 1 pinch freshly ground pepper • 1 dash of celery salt

Serving Instructions Combine ingredients in glass filled with ice. Stir gently. Serve the Bloody Mary in a pint glass. Garnish with slice of celery, pickled asparagus.

Recipe from www.bartv.com
All royalty-free images from gettyimages.com

<^top>