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"I'll just have a little..."

If you are not careful, this little phrase can be an absolute killer for your weight loss plans during this holiday season.

And I'm not just talking about the food.

The hidden danger is in all the alcoholic drinks and cocktails that's being offered to you. Yes, those party drinks can do more harm other than just getting you intoxicated and embarassingly uninhibited!

Did you know that these drinks contain an incredible number of calories?

In fact, alcohol is the number two most energy-dense food, losing out only to fat. Fat has 9 calories per gram, and alcohol comes in a close second at a whopping 7 calories per gram.

What this means is that each alcoholic drink you consume will cause you to take in an alarmingly high number of calories.

Here's a sample of some of the more popular drinks, together with their calorie counts...

1 glass of Bailey's lrish Cream - 468 calories
1 glass of Margarita - 453 calories
1 glass of Martini - 413 calories
1 glass of Pina Colada - 297 calories
1 glass of Vodka Cranberry - 250 calories
1 glass of Rum & cola - 240 calories
1 glass of Screwdriver - 200 calories
1 mug of beer - 150 calories
1 glass of white wine - 120 calories
1 tequila shot - 100 calories

To put those calorie counts into perspective, I'd like to just point out that 2 glasses of Margaritas would have given you about _half_ of your daily calories requirements. Yes, 50% from just 2 drinks.

And we have not even included the calories from the food, nuts and snacks yet! Once we add those in, can you see how easy it is for you to go over the daily calorie requirements, and start piling on the pounds?

Now, this doesn't mean that you should stay away from the alcoholic drinks. It's just that when you drink, you should keep in mind the huge amount of calories in the drinks.

I want you to have fun this holiday. So, if you are the sort that enjoys a drink of two at your parties, I want to leave you with a couple of useful tips to help to reduce the "guilt factor".

- Fill up your glass with lots of ice cubes. You'll not only get a nice cold drink, the water from the melted ice has zero calories too.

- Use soda water to dilute your drink. This helps to fill you up quicker, and it means you won't get tipsy too quickly.

- And probably the most important tip... Do not use the alcoholic drinks to quench your thirst. Remember, you should be drinking these party drinks for fun. After the heavy meal or when you had too much salty snacks, go drink a big glass of water first to quench your thirst. Water works better for this, and it has zero calories!

I hope you have loads of fun... and Happy Holidays!

Copyright 2005 Tracy Lee