Sip Leaner. Counting Down The 22 Most Explosively Fattening Cocktails

Posted by Bryan DiSanto

Even if you’re aiming for elite fitness levels, a sliced-and-diced six-pack, and sub 10% body fat, you DON’T have to sacrifice alcohol altogether. It’s about moderation, optimal mixology, and smart choices — all of which we covered earlier this summer in The Lean Man’s (Or Woman’s) Drinking Guidebook: 8 Simple Ways To Drink Lean & Keep the Pounds Off.

The ding-ding-ding word there: smart choices. You can always Frankenstein a drink to significantly enhance its nutritional content/reduce its potential damage, but if your cocktail starter kit is so-far-gone to begin with, it’s game over, gut.

We’ve run the numbers and ranked 22 of the most popular cocktails — slotted from leanest (#1) to most explosively fattening (#22) — based on calories, % calories from alcohol, sugar, and carbs.

Which chuggable monstrosity takes the crown as the most fattening cocktail on earth? We count down from 1-22.

Sip Leaner. Counting Down The 22 Most Explosively Fattening Cocktails

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A note: All nutritional info is computed based on common cocktail recipes listed at DrinksMixer.com. Recipes, ingredients, and drink sizes are always HIGHLY variable depending on who makes them, glass size, the # of shots used, mixology, and ingredients.

Consider all values to be a cocktail’s “nutritional average.” The majority of nutritional info online is misleading and incorrect — we’ve calculated drink totals from scratch based on the standard ingredients listed in each recipe.1

1. Bloody Mary – 80 calories, 81% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1 oz vodka, 3 oz tomato juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon, celery

Nutrition Info: 80 calories, 9 g alcohol, 3 g sugar, 4 g carbs — 81% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Drink up as is.

2. Vodka Soda w. Lime — 97 calories, 100% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1.5 oz vodka, 6.5 oz soda water, lime

Nutrition Info: 97 calories, 14 g alcohol, 0 g sugar, 0 g carbs — 100% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Drink up as is.

3. Mimosa — 129 calories, 63% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 4 oz. champagne, 2 oz. OJ

Nutrition Info: 129 calories, 12 g alcohol, 7 g sugar, 10 g carbs — 63% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Use REAL orange juice, preferably with pulp.

4. Bay Breeze — 139 calories, 52% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1.5 oz. Malibu rum, 2 oz. cranberry juice, 2 oz. pineapple juice

Nutrition Info: 139 calories, 10 g alcohol, 14 g sugar, 24 g carbs — 52% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Switch the Malibu out for a shot of light rum; more alcohol, fewer carbs.

5. Cranberry Vodka — 145 calories, 45% calories from alcohol

What’s typically in it: 1 oz. vodka, 4.5 oz. cranberry juice, splash lime juice, splash OJ

Nutrition Info: 145 calories, 9 g alcohol, 20 g sugar, 21 g carbs — 45% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Use real cranberry juice; cranberry juice cocktail is loaded with HFCS and other added sugars.

6. Rum & Coke — 154 calories, 63% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1.5 oz. dark rum, 4.5 oz. Coca-Cola, lime

Nutrition Info: 154 calories, 14 g alcohol, 15 g sugar, 15 g carbs — 63% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Use Diet Coke; you’ll cut out 56 calories, 15 g of sugar & carbs.

7. Mojito — 180 calories, 54% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1.5 oz. light rum, 3 oz. mojito mix, 4 oz. club soda

Nutrition Info: 180 calories, 14 g alcohol, 19.5 g sugar, 21 g carbs — 54% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Make a real mojito. Skip the mix and use real mint, lime, and a little cane sugar; you’ll save 75 calories and 20 g of sugar & carbs.

8. Screwdriver — 185 calories, 53% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1.5 oz. vodka, 6 oz. OJ

Nutrition Info: 185 calories, 14 g alcohol, 17 g sugar, 20 g carbs — 53% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Use real OJ, preferably with pulp.

9. Gin & Tonic — 186 calories, 70% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 2 oz. gin, 5 oz. tonic water, 1 tbsp lime juice

Nutrition Info: 186 calories, 19 g alcohol, 14 g sugar, 14 g carbs — 70% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Use diet tonic water; you’ll cut out 56 calories, 14 g of sugar & carbs.

10. Sex on the Beach — 191 calories, 63% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1.5 oz. vodka, .5 oz. peach schnapps, 2 oz. cranberry juice, 2 oz. OJ

Nutrition Info: 191 calories, 17 g alcohol, 17 g sugar, 18 g carbs — 63% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Use real OJ & cranberry juice, and skip the peach schnapps; you’ll cut out 36 calories, 3 g of carbs & sugar.

11. Tequila Sunrise — 223 calories, 44% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1.5 oz. tequila, 6 oz. OJ, .5 oz. grenadine

Nutrition Info: 223 calories, 14 g alcohol, 23 g sugar, 30 g carbs — 44% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Use real OJ and swap the grenadine for cranberry; you’ll cut out 24 calories, 10 g of sugar, and 14 g of carbs.

12. Blue Hawaiian — 225 calories, 55% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1 oz. light rum, 2 oz. pineapple juice, 1 oz. Blue Curacao, 1 oz. cream of coconut

Nutrition Info: 225 calories, 18 g alcohol, 13 g sugar, 17 g carbs, 5 g fat — 55% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Nix the cream of coconut; you’ll save 55 calories and 5 g of fat.

13. Strawberry Daiquiri — 238 calories, 41% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1.5 oz. light rum, 4 oz. strawberry daiquiri mix

Nutrition Info: 238 calories, 14 g alcohol, 33 g sugar, 34 g carbs — 41% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Make a real daiquiri without the mix, using fresh strawberries, lime, and sugar (or Stevia), if needed. Using Stevia, you’ll knock it down to 176 calories, 7 g sugar, 11 g carbs, plus add fiber & antioxidants.

14. Caribou Lou — 256 calories, 77% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1 oz. Bacardi 151, 1 oz. Malibu rum, 5 oz. pineapple juice

Nutrition Info: 256 calories, 28 g alcohol, 16 g sugar, 25 g carbs — 77% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Flip the Bacardi 151 for regular rum; you’ll cut out 60 calories.

15. Sangria — 320 calories, 42% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 5 oz. red wine, lemon, orange, .25 oz sugar, .6 oz triple sec, strawberries, 6.5 oz. ginger ale

Nutrition Info: 320 calories, 19 g alcohol, 35 g sugar, 38 g carbs — 44% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Make it without table sugar or soda, or use diet ginger ale/Sprite Zero/soda water; you’ll save 105 calories, and 26 g of sugar & carbs. Cut out the triple sec, too, and you’ll knock each glass down to just 160 calories and under 10 g of sugar & carbs.

16. Zombie — 355 calories, 84% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: .5 oz. Bacardi 151 rum, 2 oz. light rum, 1 oz. dark rum, .5 oz. apricot brandy, 1 oz. pineapple juice, 1 oz. OJ, 1 tsp. sugar, lime juice

Nutrition Info: 355 calories, 43 g alcohol, 15 g sugar, 18.9 g carbs — 84% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Alcohol overload. Skip it.

17. Mudslide — 438 calories, 43% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1.5 oz. vodka, 1.5 oz. Kahlua, 1.5 oz. Bailey’s, 1.5 oz. half-and-half

Nutrition Info: 438 calories, 27 g alcohol, 31 g sugar, 35 g carbs — 43% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Helpless, skip it.

18. Pina Colada — 458 calories, 42% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 3 oz. rum, 3 oz. coconut cream, 6 oz. pineapple juice

Nutrition Info: 458 calories, 28 g alcohol, 24 g sugar, 31 g carbs — 43% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Helpless, skip it.

19. Hurricane — 501 calories, 42% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1.5 oz. amaretto, 1 oz. light rum, 1 oz. dark rum, 6 oz. OJ, 6 oz. pineapple juice, splash grenadine

Nutrition Info: 501 calories, 30 g alcohol, 43 g sugar, 75 g carbs — 42% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Helpless, skip it.

20. Mai Tai — 580 calories, 76% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 3 oz. light rum, 2 oz. dark rum, 1 oz. creme de almond, 1 oz. triple sec, 1 oz. sweet and sour mix, 1 oz. pineapple juice

Nutrition Info: 580 calories, 63 g alcohol, 30.2 g sugar, 34.5 g carbs — 76% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Alcohol overload. Skip it.

21. Long Island Iced Tea — 620 calories, 77% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 1.5 oz. vodka, 1.5 oz. rum, 1.5 oz. tequila, 1.5 oz. gin, 2 oz. sweet & sour mix, .5 oz. Coca-Cola

Nutrition Info: 620 calories, 68 g alcohol, 34.5 g sugar, 35 g carbs — 77% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Alcohol overload, avoid it.

22. Margarita — 622 calories, 61% calories from alcohol

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What’s typically in it: 4 oz. tequila, 4 oz. margarita mix, 2 oz. triple sec, lime juice, 1 tsp sugar

Nutrition Info: 622 calories, 54 g alcohol, 59 g sugar, 60.2 g carbs — 61% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Most margaritas are entirely too large and made with an abundance of mix and added sugars. Rebuild it from scratch with less alcohol, no mix, and natural ingredients.

Make it with 1 shot of quality blanco tequila (1.5 oz.), fresh lime juice, a salted rim, a little agave nectar or Stevia, and muddled fruit of your choice — you’ll keep it under 200 calories, cut out more than 40 grams of sugar & carbs, and replace the artificial junk with fiber, antioxidants, and natural flavor. I like this recipe.

The consensus is that carbohydrates will need to be adjusted now if you are starting a cutting diet.

I will point out some guidelines that will help you do exactly that. Learn more.

By: Shannon Clark


With the new year now upon us, many people are going to be looking to lose any excess bodyfat that has accumulated throughout the year or over the holiday season. The best method to do this is with a combination of good quality training along with a properly planned diet.

You have probably heard the saying, "Abs are made in the kitchen" and it couldn't be more true. Regardless of what type of training you are doing, if your diet isn't in line, you aren't going to see the results you desire.

There are quite a few different theories as to the best way to lose bodyfat but most methods do have similarities. The general consensus is that the major macronutrient that will need to be adjusted is carbohydrates. The reasoning for this is because carbohydrates are your bodies' preferred source of fuel.

When there is an abundant amount, your body will not need to turn to its fats stores for fuel therefore meaning your bodyfat will remain the same. When you create a need for your body to dip down into its fuel stores, that's when you see fat loss. So how do you go about doing this?




Dipping Into Your Fuel Source

Proper Timing:


Proper timing is one very key element in cutting up diets. You need to know what types of foods to eat and when. Following a proper protocol can have a very profound effect on your performance level and how you feel in general.


The first element you need to take care of is that you are eating at least 5-6 times a day. This keeps your metabolism running more efficiently, allowing you to burn more calories throughout the day as well as signaling to your body that it is receiving a steady supply of food therefore it sees no need to hang on to its fat stores in case of a famine.

Space these meals 3-4 hours apart, while trying to consume your first as soon as you can upon waking and your last about an hour or so before bed.

So for example, eating at 7, 10, 1, 4, 7 and 10 would be a good schedule. Obviously this may not suit your particular needs, but try and stick with a somewhat similar spacing.



Carbohydrate Intake:


The next element to plan out is your carbohydrate intake. First, you want to make sure the carbohydrate sources you are eating are complex for the most part so you will have a slower released source of energy while decreasing the chance for fat storage.

These will also provide you with more nutrients as well, which is important, as you want to get the biggest nutritional bang for your buck when you are on a calorie-reduced diet. Good sources to focus on are:


Oatmeal
Sweet potatoes
Brown rice
Yams
Whole-wheat pastas or bread*

* Although make sure to check the ingredient lists on this one.

Fruit is acceptable for some people in their cutting diets while others may chose to completely cut this out. If you are going to have fruit, it is best to try and time it so that you are eating it around your workouts, as this is when you will need a faster releasing source of carb. And of course, the staple of your carbohydrate source while cutting should come from vegetables.

This food group will provide you with much needed fiber to help fill you up and keep cravings at bay as well as provide an abundance of nutrients all while offering very little calories. Peas and corn are two vegetables however to be aware of as they are much higher in calories and carbohydrates.

Carbohydrate Timing:

The timing of your carbohydrate intake is essential for success during a cutting diet. Since carbohydrates are the bodies main source of fuel, you will want to take them at times when you are going to be most active and most likely to use up the energy they provide. This means eating larger quantities before and immediately after your workout when your body is recovering.




Generally, eating the majority of your carbohydrates around this training, as well as in the morning hours is the best approach as when you eat them in the morning you are more likely to use them up throughout the rest of your day.

Later in the evening you will want to start tapering down your carb intake focusing more on the vegetable sources in an effort to reduce total number of grams.


Protein Intake:


The next element to consider is protein intake. While cutting, it is especially important to keep this up otherwise your body might start turning to it's protein sources for energy which could result in a loss of muscle tissue.

Concentrate on getting lean sources at every meal in order to balance your blood sugar levels and promote a higher satiety level. Before bed, you want to try and include a casein protein source as this will release into the bloodstream slower, thus providing you with a steady supply of amino acids for your body to feed off of over night. Cottage cheese is probably the best option here.





Dietary Fat:


The last macronutrient to consider is dietary fat. While you may think cutting out all fat would be a great idea, since after all you are trying to lose body fat, this is not in your best interest.

The body needs some healthy fats in order to maintain its immune function, vital organs, keep good cholesterol levels up as well as promote a healthy appearance of the skin and hair, so including these in your diet is a necessity.




They also help to regulate your insulin levels and will keep you feeling much more satisfied after a meal than if you had just eaten carbohydrates and protein alone.

Since you are going to be reducing your carbohydrate intake as the day goes on, a good idea is to start focusing more of your later meals in the day around protein and fat instead.

So for example, have your first three or four meals mostly coming from protein and carb sources (say breakfast, pre-workout, postworkout and lunch), along with your last two or three focusing around protein and fat (mid-afternoon snack, dinner, and possibly one evening meal).



Meal Focus For A Cutting Diet

Meal Carbs Fats Protein
Breakfast
Pre-Workout
Postworkout
Lunch
Mid-Afternoon Snack
Dinner
Evening Meal





This will set your body up for optimum fat burning throughout the entire day as well as throughout the night. You will also help to better regulate insulin levels and keep growth hormone where it should be as this is a prime substance that will help you to maintain your lean muscle mass and reach your goals (as growth hormone is primarily released at night, however also is blunted by high carbohydrate intake, thus making your last few meals low carb is ideal).


Cheat Meals:


One final aspect that should be covered is cheat meals. Most people, while on a cutting diet start to experience extremely intense cravings, especially if they are going quite low with their calorie level.

In an effort to combat that, you might decide to have one designated 'cheat' meal a week where you eat whatever you are craving in moderation to overcome this psychological hurdle.




This will actually help you physiologically as well since as you are eating below your maintenance level, your body may adapt and slow it's metabolism, thus allowing yourself a sudden increase in calories could shock it into running more efficiently again.

If you are looking to get into the single digits in your bodyfat while on a cutting diet, you might just want to have a cheat meal every few weeks however, depending on just how much you allow yourself to indulge.

A little extra won't hurt you too much but if you are trying to get very lean and find your cheat's a little out of control, this could pose a bit of a problem to seeing success.


Conclusion:


An important point to remember when designing a cutting diet is that everyone's body is unique and what works really great for one person won't necessarily work for another. You need to play around and tweak small aspects of what you are doing to learn how your body reacts and what gets the most results.

By following these guidelines though you can be sure you will at least start off on the right track initially and should see some fat loss provided your training program is up to par as well.


Don't be too hard on yourself if you get off track and just remember that as long as you catch yourself soon enough, minimal damage will be done.

Empty Calories At A Grocery Store Near You!

by Marc Perry, CSCS, CPT 

As I’ve learned more about nutrition, I’ve become increasingly aware of the ubiquity of foods that offer almost no nutritional value whatsoever. What’s so shocking is that most foods that are available at your grocery store fall into this category known as “empty calories”.

What Are Empty Calories?

Empty calories are foods that are high in calories but low in nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, and fiber. Empty calories typically are highly processed, have added chemicals and sugars, and may add synthetic (not natural) vitamins and minerals after processing.

While I seldom eat empty calories now, I lived on empty calories for most of my life. As you’ll see from the photos below, it’s hard not to eat empty calories because they are simply everywhere and are considered “normal” foods. It took me a long time to “readjust” my taste buds and become accustomed to eating more natural, unprocessed foods. Now, I really don’t miss empty calories and carbs at all.

My estimate is 70% of the foods at an average U.S. grocery store are comprised of empty calories and carbs that provide little, if any nutritional value. The foods that are high in sugar may even be toxic for your health.

The photos below I took at the same NYC grocery store, which represents just a small sample of all the empty calories & carbs.

Empty Calories Pic #1 – Sugar Cookies

Empty Calories Pic #2 – Sugary Syrups & Jam

Empty Calories Pic #3 – Let Go My Eggo With Chocolate Chips!

Empty Calories Pic #4 – Chips Anyone?

Empty Calories #4 – Here’s Another Helping of Chips…

Empty Calories Pic #6 – Endless Fruit Juice

Some fruit juices are fairly nutritious, but most have tons of added sugars, don’t fill you up, and lack nutrition. Drinking calories is one of the easiest ways to gain fat. Nothing is as good as water for hydration of course.

Empty Calories Pic #7 – Endless Soda

Empty Calories Pic #8 – Rolls & Cakes

Empty Calories Pic #9 – Candy Galore

Empty Calories Pic #10 – More Candy….

Empty Calories Pic #11 – And Even More Candy….

Empty Calories Pic #12 – Breakfast Cereals, or Candy?

Some cereals have vitamins, minerals, and are low in sugar, but most are basically like eating candy. Check out the amount of sugars per serving in some of these cereals and you’ll see what I mean. Even the “healthy” cereals are dubious.

Empty Calories Pic #13 – The Definition of Empty Carbs…

White bread doesn’t have added sugars like all the other examples, but doesn’t bring much to the table. I’m only human and eat white bread from time to time, but more natural carbohydrate sources are preferable.

Empty Calories Pic #14 – More Cookies…

Empty Calories Pic #15 – And We Can’t Forget Pastries

It’s not easy for me to add this photo, because I lived on Entenmann’s Chocolate Chip Cookies and the Golden Chocolate Cake growing up. The amount of sugar in these pastries is jaw dropping; only 9 cookies is over 33 grams of sugar, which is 7 teaspoons of sugar. A box is 33 cookies, which is 121 grams of sugar (30 teaspoons of sugar) and 1500+ calories.

What percentage of a grocery store do you think is empty carbs & calories?