Happy hour may not be so happy when you figure out how many calories are in your favorite cocktail, no matter how low the price may be. (600 calories in a Mai Tai – seriously?? You bet.) Luckily, there are plenty of lower calorie Happy Hour drinks that won’t cause you to spend some (unhappy) hours on the treadmill. For some great tasting, low calorie happy hour choices, see below. (Remember these are estimated calorie counts, as Happy Hour drinks will vary by brand and bartender.)
Green Apple Martini (6 oz.) A great Happy Hour choice with only 150 calories.
Sangria (3.5 oz.) Sangria is fun for Happy Hour with your friends after work, with only 100 calories per glass.
Bloody Mary (10 oz.) Another good low calorie choice, especially if you are looking for a tangy drink (150 calories.)
Gin and Diet Tonic. Remember to ask for the diet tonic with this low calorie Happy Hour choice (115 calories.)
Vodka Martini. Martinis in general are good low calorie choices (except the Chocolate Martini). This Happy Hour drink is 210 calories.
Bacardi and Coke (6 oz.) A classic low calorie drink for 130 calories. You can cut that down to 65 with Diet Coke instead of the real thing.
Vodka and Soda (6 oz.) This is a lower calorie choice with 120 calories.
Champagne. A four ounce glass of champagne is about 100 calories.
Red and white wine. Like champagne, a four ounce serving of most wines is about 100 calories.
Beer. If you love beer, there are plenty of lower calorie choices for you. A Budweiser has 145 calories, so you can save 50 calories per drink by choosing an Amstel Light (95) or even a few with just a Budweiser light (110).
Another tip to remember is to think of the size of some of these drinks. For example, a glass of red wine is 100 calories, but that’s a 4 oz. glass of wine. If you and your friends are enjoying a bottle of wine (or two) together, you are probably not drinking 4 oz. glasses of wine. Fill a wine glass with the amount you normally sip and pour into a measuring glass just to get an idea of how much you are really drinking.
Avoid these happy hour choices if you can (it may help to remember that a McDonald’s Big Max has 550 calories “ a little perspective on what you are drinking):
Mai Tai. 600 calories. Yikes. Not on your low calorie choice list.
Pina Colada. 600 calories. Double yikes
Mud Slide. 550 calories. Wouldn’t you rather eat a Big Mac? (Talk about choices.)
Margarita. 550. Two Big Macs?
Long Island Ice Tea. 550. You get the picture.
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