Drinks can Contribute to Holiday Weight Gain

MU Extension ● University MU Extension ● University of Missouri ● Columbia ● Kansas City ● Rolla ● St. Louis

Feature Articles: Holidays

Drinks can Contribute to Holiday Weight Gain

Tammy Roberts, MS, RD, LD, Nutrition and Health Education Specialist in Barton County
University of Missouri Extension

During the holiday season many people expect that they will gain weight. What they may not know is that what they are drinking is impacting those added pounds.

An eight ounce glass of non-alcoholic eggnog made with whole milk has 342 calories.

While you are doing your holiday shopping you may be tempted to sit down and relax with a refreshing drink. If you choose a mocha flavored coffee drink, it can add 400-500 calories to your daily intake. That is the number of calories many people consume at one meal. If you are a person that needs your coffee drink, consider asking for fat-free milk and no whipped cream. This could shave 200 calories from the drink making it a more reasonable choice.

Eggnog is a holiday favorite and tradition in many families. An eight ounce glass of non-alcoholic eggnog made with whole milk has 342 calories. Choose a lower fat version to save unwanted fat and calories.

Alcoholic drinks provide calories. Alcohol provides seven calories per gram. One 12 ounce can of beer provides approximately 150 calories. A pina colada can add close to 300 calories.

Last, but not least, are carbonated beverages and fruit drinks. According to Science News the thing providing the most calories in the American diet is soda and fruit drinks. Adults are getting 14% of their calories from soda and fruit drinks containing less than 10% juice. A 20 ounce bottle of soda contains no nutrient value but adds 250 calories. The calories come from sugar. In that 20 ounce bottle of soda is the equivalent of approximately 16 teaspoons of sugar. When you drink your second bottle of soda in a day that increases your sugar intake to 32 teaspoons and 500 calories.

It takes 3,500 calories to add up to one pound of body weight. If it’s the whole milk coffee drink, that pound can be added in seven days of drinking that one 500 calorie drink per day. If sugar-sweetened soda is your drink of choice and you drink one 20 ounce bottle per day, it would take 14 days to pack on an extra pound.

When making your drink choice, remember that they can be calorie laden. Choose fat-free milk drinks and limit alcohol and sugar sweetened beverages to help keep your holidays healthy. performance!

Last update: Monday, August 14, 2006

	Site Administrator: mofamweb@missouri.edu Copyright ADA Equal Opportunity
MissouriFamilies is produced by the College of Human Environmental Sciences, Extension Division, University of Missouri-Columbia