Alcohol - How much are you drinking?

Three beers, two glasses of wine, a shot of whisky... it can be easy to overindulge in alcohol. But it's not just the headache the next day that you need to worry about - alcohol can also present some pretty tough challenges when it comes to reaching your weight-control goals. After all, "just a couple of beers" can quickly add up to 250 calories or more!

This photo guide gives you some helpful tips for safe drinking. It also shows you how much alcohol is in various alcoholic drinks, as well as how many calories and carbohydrates are lurking ready to attack your waistline.

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10 tips for sensible drinking

Allan Borushek, CalorieKing's leading dietitian and best-selling author, suggests these ten tips for planning ahead when you're going to be drinking alcohol.

Quench your thirst before you begin drinking alcohol by having a few glasses of water.
Have something healthy and filling to eat before you start drinking. Food slows the rate of alcohol absorption. Drinking on an empty stomach may also lessen your resolve to drink and eat sensibly.
Plan how much you are going to drink beforehand and stop when you've reached your limit.
Have a glass of water or diet soft drink between alcoholic drinks. Be prepared and take your own diet soft drink with you to parties and gatherings.
Compare the alcohol content of different drinks and select those with lower content. Look for low-calorie options - mix your drinks with diet soft drinks or choose light beer instead of full-strength beer.
Ask for half shots (15 ml) of spirits, such as whiskey, vodka and gin.
Slow down your rate of drinking. Sculling or drinking quickly is the major cause of illness and death from alcohol poisoning.
Avoid drinking in "rounds" or "shouts" - drink at your own pace.
If you know you're likely to be peer-pressured into drinking more than you want to, prepare a few handy replies in advance. Try "No thanks, I'm driving" or "Sorry but I don't drink alcohol" or "I can't, I'm taking a medication that interacts with alcohol".
Have a couple of glasses of water before you go to bed.

Full-strength and mid-strength beer

Full-strength beer

	Cals	kJ	Carbs (g)	Alcohol (g)
200 ml glass	75	320	5	8
285 ml glass (middie)	105	440	7	11
375 ml stubbie	140	590	9	15
530 ml pint	200	840	13	21
800 ml bottle	300	1280	20	32

Mid-strength beer

	Cals	kJ	Carbs (g)	Alcohol (g)
200 ml glass	55	230	4	5.5
285 ml glass (middie)	80	330	7	7
375 ml stubbie	103	430	8	10
530 ml pint	145	610	12	14

Note: Beer has no fat.

Premium and imported beers

	Cals	kJ	Carbs (g)	Alcohol (g)
Heineken, 5%, 330 ml	130	545	10	13
Steinlager, 5%, 330 ml	130	545	10	13
Stella Artois, 5%, 330 ml	144	600	13	13
Toohey's Extra Dry, 5%, 345 ml	145	605	10	15
Crown Lager, 4.9%, 375 ml	150	630	11	15