You know the motto “work hard, play hard”, right? Many of us sweat it out at the gym so we can enjoy life on our down time, but we don’t want to blow all our calories on booze, so what’s some of the best low calorie, low carb alcoholic drinks out there?

You can choose wisely when it comes to cocktails. Here are a few less evil ideas to try the next time you want to get your drink on.

• Vodka Cranberry or Cape Codder has about 65 calories, if made with light cranberry juice. Add a splash of lime for extra zing.
• Vodka and Diet Red Bull has only 75 calories per serving and a popular drink for those who enjoy sugar-free Red Bull.
• Watermelon Martini has about 125 calories. Make it even better by substituting agave nectar for the simple syrup.
• Mojitos can be made lighter when less sugar is used and the fresh lime juice and mint give it an added antioxidant boost.
• Margarita, Redux is made lighter by serving it on the rocks instead of a 400 calorie slush. One up it by using Sierra Mist Free or Diet Sprite Zero.
• White Wine Spritzer is basically a diluted wine that can keep you at abotu 100 calories per serving. Drier wines have less calories than their fruity cousins.
• Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut Champagne is a dry champagne with about 60 calories. A favorite of model Kate Moss.
• Maggie McQuade is made with vanilla vodka and diet ginger ale.
• Light Beer has about 98 calories per serving. Good ones to try are Michelob Ultra and Miller Lite.
• Diet Tonic Drinks will save you hundreds of calories than mixing your drink with tonic water, which is loaded with sugar.

Other important facts about alcoholic beverages:

1 gram of alcohol = 7 calories

Most glasses of wine contain 125-150 calories, but could be more depending on how big your glass is and much you pour.

The average beer contains 64-198 calories.

Avoid dessert cocktails that contain sugared rims, chocolate sauce, hot buttered rum and other sweet touches.

And keep water handy and sip in between to keep your calorie consumption down and dehydration at bay.

• 80-proof vodka (40% alcohol; the most common type) has 64 calories per 1oz
• 86-proof vodka (43% alcohol) has 70 calories/1 oz
• 90-proof vodka (45% alcohol) has 73 calories/1 oz
• 100-proof vodka (50% alcohol) has 82 calories/1 oz

Popular Alcoholic Drinks and Calorie Content:

• Pina Colada (6 oz): 378 calories
• Mojito (8 oz): 214 calories
• Cosmopolitan (4 oz): 200 calories
• Chocolate martini: (2 oz each vodka, chocolate liqueur, cream, 1/2 oz creme de cacao, chocolate syrup): 438
• Margarita (8 oz): 280
• Green apple martini (1 oz each vodka, sour apple, apple juice): 148
• Martini (2.5 oz): 160
• Port wine (3 oz):128
• Bloody Mary (5 oz): 118
• Red wine (5 oz):120
• White wine (5 oz): 120
• Alcohol-free wine (5 oz): 20-30
• Beer (12 oz): 150-198
• Light beer (12 oz): 95-136
• Ultra-light beer (12 oz): 64-95
• Champagne (5oz): 106-120
• Coffee liqueur (3 ounces): 348
• Godiva chocolate liqueur (3 oz): 310
• Wine spritzer (5 oz): 100
• Eggnog with rum (8 ounces): 370
• Hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps (8 oz): 380
• Hot buttered rum (8 oz): 292
• Spiced cider with rum ( 8 oz):150
• Mulled wine (5 oz): 200
• Vodka and tonic (8 oz): 200
• Screwdriver (8 oz): 190
• Mimosa (4 oz): 75
• Gin and tonic (7 oz): 200
• Long Island iced tea (8 oz): 780
• White Russian (2 oz vodka, 1.5 oz coffee liqueur, 1.5 oz cream): 425
• Mai Tai (6 oz) (1.5 oz rum, 1/2 oz cream de along, 1/2 oz triple sec, sour mix, pineapple juice): 350
• Rum and Coke (8 oz): 185
• Rum and Diet Coke (8 oz): 100
• Mike’s Hard Lemonade (11 oz): 98

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