Avoid gaining weight by consuming hot chocolate, buttered rum, Champagne, or other celebratory drinks high in liquid calories. Find out how to reduce the calories in those drinks and how much exercise is required to burn them off.
The real picture of the calories in holiday drinks.
A common strategy used by those who want to avoid gaining weight over the holidays is to restrict their intake of high-calorie, high-fat, high-sugar foods and desserts. After all, this is the season of irresistible baked delicacies and candies.
But if you’re not monitoring the calories from liquids you consume, you can be doing more harm than good to yourself. Eggnog, pumpkin spice lattes, hot buttered rum, peppermint mochas, and other festive seasonal drinks can contribute significantly to excess calories.
You could have most of those drinks for dessert. It’s dessert in a drink, according to Pittsburgh-based registered dietitian Leslie Bonci, owner of Active Eating Advice. “People often don’t realize how their actions contribute to their daily caloric intake.”
Before you drink, consider
It can be simple to forget that consuming liquid calories is faster and easier than chewing solid food. Because liquid calories don’t make you feel full like calories from food do, Bonci says it’s unlikely that you will cut back on food calories to make up for the calories in beverages. Additionally, the alcohol in holiday cocktails may boost your hunger and have a disinhibiting effect, causing you to eat more than.
This does not imply that you should completely abstain from holiday drinks. According to Bonci, it only means you should watch how much you consume and think of these celebratory drinks as extra sources of calories and carbohydrates. A balanced diet won’t be destroyed by the occasional holiday drink.
By increasing your physical activity and making healthy recipe adjustments to reduce the calories, you may make up for the popular holiday beverages and still stay below your calorie intake limits. Moreover, you can engage in mindful eating by consuming these liquid delicacies in moderation (for example, by switching up your caloric cocktails at parties from club soda to lime) and by cutting back on portion sizes.
Reduce the size of the glass you’re using, suggests Bonci. If you substitute an espresso cup or shot glass for a mug or tumbler, the total caloric expenditure will vary.
These are ten well-liked holiday drinks, coupled with creative ways to reduce their caloric content and enjoyable ways to burn them off.
