Just the other day a member was saying she decided to pour her drink down the drain instead of having the extra calories one evening.
She also asked if she was going to enjoy a drink over the holidays what would be better for her weight loss goals. This is what we shared with her.
Q & A: What’s better for losing weight, beer or wine?
A: Once for ounce it’s beer hands down. Wine has about 24 calories per ounce, and beer has about 13 calories per ounce. Since weight loss and/or maintenance is about calories, it looks like beer is the winner.
However, a serving of wine (5oz) has 118 calories, and a serving of beer (12oz) has 147 calories. So, if you’re drinking from your minibar the bottle of wine will have fewer calories than the bottle of beer.
Then again, there’s low calorie beers that have 90 calories or less in them.
I also saw on the internet that an empty bottle of wine that is filled up with water has zero calories, so maybe that’s the winner. Hopefully I have confused you by this point.
Control Your Pour
Beer usually comes in smaller bottles or cans that are a single servings. Wine in a hotel minibar is usually single serve, but at home it is usually found in a 25 ounce (5 serving bottle). What I discovered in middle and high school is that servings of alcohol are equivalent to whatever size bottle you purchased… I also discovered that I have a drinking problem that is only treatable by avoiding alcohol, but that’s besides the point.
Bottom Line
1. Buy the lowest calorie beer you can enjoy. This is not the same as the absolute best tasting.
2. Buy your wine in single servings only. Yes, it is more expensive, and that’s a speed bump on opening the next bottle. Your cheap side should help save you some calories here.
3. Choose wine, beer or dessert instead of and. For the most part, only teenage boys and professional athletes burn enough calories to afford “and.”
4. 1-2 servings (2-300 calories total) of alcohol is nearly always lower in calories than dessert. Desserts at restaurants typically start at 800 calories.
5. Know yourself. If drinking some leads to lots of overeating, or an awful hangover the next day, then #4 doesn’t make sense for you.
Have a great day!
