During the festive holiday season, it can be hard to avoid consuming cocktails and wine. But most cocktails and alcoholic beverages are full of calories and not much else of nutritional value; just a few drinks can break the bank of your calorie budget.
Some of the most traditional beverages are packed with loads of calories and fat. Take good old eggnog: per cup it has a 343 calories and a whopping 19 grams of fat (11 g saturated fat). A Long Island iced tea has 789 calories, and a white Russian has 425 calories. Even a non-alcoholic grande eggnog latte made with nonfat milk at Starbucks is loaded with 450 Calories and 18g of fat (11 g saturated)!
So, how do you make the best of the festivities without completely going overboard or depriving yourself? Here are some dos and don'ts of holiday drinking from Cheryl Forberg, the James Beard award-winning chef, New York Times bestselling author and nutritionist for NBC's The Biggest Loser.
* Do drink conservatively.
Limit yourself to one or two drinks interspersed with water and healthy nibbles over a period of time.
* Do drink a big glass or two of water prior to drinking anything alcoholic.
A recent study published in the journal Obesity compared weight loss for two groups of dieters; the group that consumed two cups of water prior to meals dropped more pounds. Water not only makes you feel more full; it provides your body with the hydration it needs for optimum function.
* Do choose wine when you drink alcohol.
Wine has calories, but no fat - and it contains health-boosting antioxidants. A 4.1-ounce glass of champagne has 78 calories, while a 5-ounce glass of red wine has 127 calories and contains the powerful antioxidant resveratrol. Just make sure you're drinking a single serving; the large capacity of some wine glasses can hold 12 ounces or more (that's at least 300 calories)!
* Do try a wine spritzer (wine mixed with sparkling water) as another festive drinking option. You'll cut the calories in half and still get some of wine's beneficial antioxidants.
* Do opt for sparkling water or club soda with a slice of lemon or lime if you need to have a drink in hand at the cocktail party. No one will know it's not a gin and tonic!
* Do learn how to make allowances for fun indulgences. Just make sure you balance the excess calories with an additional walk or extra time at the gym.
* Don't choose creamy drinks like eggnog or Irish cream liqueurs, which are loaded with calories and fat.
參考譯文:
節(jié)假日期間,大家難免要喝些雞尾酒、葡萄酒等飲料。但是大多數雞尾酒和酒精飲料并沒有多少營養(yǎng)價值且含有很高的卡路里;只是喝一點這種飲料可能就摧毀你的 “卡路里預算”了。
大多數傳統飲料含有大量卡路里和脂肪。就拿優(yōu)質的古時蛋酒來說,一杯酒就含有343卡路里及19克脂肪(11克飽和脂肪酸)——這個數值的確很高了。一杯長島冰茶含有789卡路里,一杯白俄羅斯含425卡路里。就連星巴克里一杯以脫脂乳制成的不含酒精的蛋酒拿鐵也含有450卡路里和18克脂肪(11克飽和脂肪酸)!
所以,如何在“不過火”又能讓自己享受到樂趣的前提下過一個最好的節(jié)日呢?以下是Cheryl Forber(詹姆斯-比爾德美食大獎得主,紐約時報暢銷欄目作者及NBC《減肥達人》節(jié)目營養(yǎng)學家)給出的關于假日飲酒有關的注意事項。
* 適當飲酒。
飲1~2杯,期間飲用些水和健康的小食。
* 在喝任何含有酒精的飲料前,先喝一到兩大杯水。
最近《The Journal Obesity》刊出的一項研究,比較了兩組節(jié)食者的減肥情況,結果為在吃飯之前先飲用兩杯水的那一組減掉了更多的磅數。水不僅讓你有飽腹感,而且能提供給機體發(fā)揮最佳功能所需的水合作用。
* 飲用酒精時搭配一些葡萄酒。
葡萄酒含有卡路里,但不含脂肪,而且還含有可提升健康的抗氧化劑。4.1盎司的香檳含有78卡路里,而5盎司的紅酒則含127卡路里及有強大抗氧化功能的白藜蘆醇。只需保證飲用適度就好了;一些大容量的酒杯能容納12盎司或更多(那至少含有300卡路里)!
嘗試飲用葡萄酒-汽酒(葡萄酒摻混些蘇打水)。你將能把卡路里德攝入降到對半的水平并可以獲得有益的抗氧化劑。
* 如果在雞尾酒聚會上有需要,可以選擇蘇打水加一片檸檬或酸橙。沒有人能分辨出的!
* 學習掌握些“娛樂善后”。通過散步或是在體育活動中心花些時間以平衡掉那些超出的卡路里。
* 不要選擇那些乳脂飲料,像蛋酒或愛爾蘭奶油利口酒,因為他們含有很高的卡路里和脂肪。