Tip of the Day:

Don't Let Alcohol Keep You From Losing Weight

Q: I often meet up with my friends and coworkers for after-work drinks. Can I continue to do this without sabotaging my efforts to lose weight?

A: Your situation reminds me of a friend of mine who once complained that although she'd lost some weight in the past three months, she still couldn't shed those last ten pounds. Although most of her foods were low in calories, I knew for a fact that she liked to have a few cocktails during the week, and on the weekend — well, let's just say she indulged.

The truth is, if you're trying to lose weight or control your weight, watching your alcohol consumption can be essential. Simply having one beer a night adds more than 1,000 calories per week — that's an extra 15 pounds per year. A couple of glasses of wine over the course of a meal can easily add as many as 400 calories. Remember, the alcohol is what contains much of the calories, so the lower the alcohol content, the fewer calories. There are seven calories per gram of alcohol, compared to four calories per gram for carbohydrates and protein. (Fat contains nine calories per gram.)

Alcohol also impairs a dieter's good judgment — which means you eat and drink more than you normally would. To top it off, most people enjoy eating high-calorie, high-sodium snacks when they drink alcohol — triple the trouble if you're trying to lose weight.

From a physiological standpoint, alcohol may cause blood-sugar levels to drop more rapidly. This effect can stimulate your appetite and disrupt your ability to tell when you've had enough to eat. Additionally, this can cause fatigue, draining your energy levels. Alcohol may also interfere with the body's absorption of certain vitamins and minerals.

If you're not willing to join the teetotaler team, though, there are ways to be smart about your alcohol consumption. Next time you're out for drinks, keep these tips in mind:

Stick to light beer and avoid sweet wine. Light beer has 100 calories a bottle, compared with 150 in a regular beer. And while five ounces of dry wine or champagne will cost you 100 calories — watch out for sweet dessert wine, which has 226 calories (for five ounces).

Nix high-calorie mixers. Alcohol itself is packed with calories, but when you add in mixers — soda, juice, syrup, and other ingredients — well, that makes it even worse. Turning rum into a rum and Coke nearly doubles the calories. So either order spirits on the rocks or ask for diet soda or seltzer for all your mixers.

Skip anything creamy, frozen, or fruity. Sweet drinks like Kahlúa and cream or a frozen margarita can have as many calories as an entire meal — plus added fat. A 16-ounce piña colada has almost 1,000 calories — you'd have to walk for a full six hours to burn off that one drink!