I am roughly 21 years of age depending on the evening.  I work out a
ton and do a lot of cardio and I'm a freak about my body.  However, I
am also a kid and I like to drink and have a good time.

My question is what is better to drink beer or liquor as far as
calories and getting whatever nutrition I can from it.  If I drink
liquor and mix it I would use diet soda to mix or something low
calorie so that doesn't kick up the calories much if anything.  I have
heard that becuase of the sugar that a shot of alcohol has the same
amount of calories as a beer, light beer that is which is what I
drink.

I would like to know what is better and what type of each would be
best.  i.e. which beer or which liquor is best to drink?  Clear liquor
or dark etc, if there is a difference.  I don't want to hear don't
drink, but rather the best way to go about it.

Thanks a lot and get back to me with questions.

Hi Ryan15!

This is an interesting question.  Below are links and information that
should help you figure out the answer.  Essentially, the major
difference between light beer and distilled liquor is carbohydrates. 
However, as you regularly workout, you shouldn't be on a low-carb
diet, as you need carbs for energy.  Distilled liquor also has a lower
number of calories, however it's not significant as the proof level
gets higher.  Beer has higher levels of sodium, however, if you use
diet soda mixers, the sodium in your liquor drink goes up.

***

NUTRITION FACTS

Eating Right Food Choices:  Alcoholic Beverages
http://www.cyberdiet.com/ni/ni2/listItems.cgi?cat=2&sub_cat=F
** This site provides the nutritional rundown for a whole slew of
alcoholic beverages.  I've included light beer and 80 proof distilled
liquor here -- you can get the details for other alcoholic beverages
if you click on the link above.

For example:

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE, Beer, Light (12 oz.)
http://www.cyberdiet.com/ni/ni2/showLabel.cgi?food_num=2540&csc=2F
Calories: 99.0 
Calories from Fat: 0.0 
Total Fat: 0.0 g 
Percent Fat: 0.0 % 
Saturated Fat: 0.0 g 
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg 
Sodium: 11.0 mg 
Total Carbohydrate: 5.0 g 
Dietary Fiber: 0.0 g 
Protein: 1.0 g 
Vitamin A: 0.0 % 
Vitamin C: 0.0 % 
Calcium: 2.0 % 
Iron: 0.0 % 

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, Distilled, All-Gin, Rum, Vodka, Whiskey, 80 Proof
(1 oz.)
http://www.cyberdiet.com/ni/ni2/showLabel.cgi?food_num=2539&csc=2F
Calories: 64.5 
Calories from Fat: 0.0 
Total Fat: 0.0 g 
Percent Fat: 0.0 % 
Saturated Fat: 0.0 g 
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg 
Sodium: 0.0 mg 
Total Carbohydrate: 0.0 g 
Dietary Fiber: 0.0 g 
Protein: 0.0 g 
Vitamin A: 0.0 % 
Vitamin C: 0.0 % 
Calcium: 0.0 % 
Iron: 0.0 % 

***

MORE TIDBITS

If you would like to keep drinking beer, this site has a suggestion:

How to Lose Weight
http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/nutrition/pubs/lose_weight.pdf
"Try mixing a light beer or glass of dry wine with a diet ginger ale."
 Not sure how good that would taste though!

American Heart Association: Alcohol, Wine, and Cardiovascular Disease
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4422

"Moderate drinkers have lower heart disease risk than nondrinkers. 
However, drinking more alcohol increases such public health dangers as
alcoholism, high blood pressure, obesity, stroke, breast cancer,
suicide and accidents. Given these and other risks, the American Heart
Association cautions people NOT to start drinking ... if they do not
already drink alcohol. Consult your doctor on the benefits and risks
of consuming alcohol in moderation."

Cocktails and Weight Watching
http://cocktails.about.com/library/weekly/aa040700a.htm

"Surprisingly, spirits have no fat and little or no carbohydrates.
Generally the clear liquors have none. Whiskeys will have a trace.
Wines, beer, and liqueurs have various amounts of carbohydrates. The
trick in cocktails when watching your carbohydrates is to watch what
you mix them with."

The Scarsdale keep trim (a low carb, low fat fad diet) has some liquor
recommendations:

Scarsdale Diet Support Site -- Keep Trim
http://lowcarblisa.tripod.com/thescarsdalemedicaldiet/id1.html

"An alcoholic drink daily, dry (not sweet), if desired- 1 1/2 ounces
of hard liquor, or 4 1/2 ounces of dry wine. You may have Scotch,
bourbon, rye, Canadian whiskey, vodka, gin, dry rum, cognac and other
dry brandies. No sweet cordials or liqueurs. No sweetened mixed
drinks. A dry martini or dry Manhattan are okay, but not sweet
cocktails like old fashions or whiskey sours. No mixtures with sugar
sodas; use " no-sugar" diet sodas or club soda instead. All dry red,
white, rose wines, dry champagne, and dry sherry are fine. No port,
sweet sauterne, or other sweet wines. Only low-calorie beer is
permitted."

***

OTHER INTERESTING SITES

Alcohol and Calories
http://www.alcoholreviews.com/NEWS/calories.shtml

Beer, Wine, and Liquor:  Are they Making You Fat?
http://www.ivillage.com/diet/experts/askdiet/articles/0,5050,221782_76126-1,00.html

Alcohol, Beer, Wine, Liquor, Cocktails
http://www.elitefitness.com/foodfinder/foods/alcohol.html

Beer Alcohol and Calories:  Alcohol and Calorie Content of About 200
Popular Beers
http://www.theraven.com/beer.html

Health & Alcohol:  How it Relates to Weight Loss
http://freedietlinks.com/alcohol.htm

***

SEARCH STRATEGY

+alcohol +calories
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF8&q=%2Balcohol+%2Bcalories

+alcohol +carbohydrates
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF8&q=%2Balcohol+%2Bcarbohydrates

+alcohol +diet
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF8&q=%2Balcohol+%2Bdiet

AND, various other combinations!

***

Please don't hesitate to clarify if you have any questions or need
further information!

>Librarygopher

I know what you are going through as I am 22 like to party but also am
a freak about my body.  After talking with many nutrition guru's at
different health clubs it seems that most agree that at a bar your
best choice is Vodka and cranberry juice (Cape Cod).  They say it is
the best drink not only because it has few calories but also because
the cranberry juice helps flush the alcohol out of your system the
quickest which is a good thing when you have to work out the next
morning.  Beer is by far the worst to drink as you can drink so many
of them.  Think about how many beers you can drink compared to how
many mixed drinks you are able to drink.  Not only can you drink many
more beers they also have more calories.

I used to be a beer only drinker but since I am now a liquor drinker
now I can honestly say I think that there is a difference.

There really isn't much difference as far as calories go, but for the
most bang for your "calorie buck" the higher the proof the better...
i.e. everclear.  Also mixing the beverage with a low / zero calorie
CARBONATED mixer will allow for faster absorption of the alcohol
making you feel more intoxicated faster.  This is the way to go.

Information about the caloric, carbohydrate an fat content of
alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages can be found at "Calories, Carbs
& Fat in Popular Beverages"
(http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol-info/HealthIssues/1083349678.html).