Photo: Nick Wheeler Oz, Flickr

Mortified by your muffin top? Blame the booze -- according to studies, binge drinking can add a staggering 4 inches to your waistline if you're a woman, and 2 inches if you're a man. That's according to research from a few years ago that showed that ladies who regularly went on drinking binges were 4 inches bigger around the waist than those who kept their alcohol intake under control.

So just what constituted binge drinking in comparison to regular drinking? Those classified as binge drinkers drank at least 10 units in a single session at least once a month. But while 10 units seems like a lot, keep in mind that a large glass of wine can contain three 'units.' Eeps -- sounds like a regular Sunday dinner at my mother's house.

Still, this isn't really all that surprising -- alcohol can make you fat for a number of reasons:

• It has calories, and, depending on your poison, sometimes a lot of them. No wonder New Yorkers are being warned about liquid calories.
• It causes you to do crazy things, like order an extra large chili cheese dog from the vendor outside the bar during the wee hours of the morning. Which, of course, you follow with a greasy hangover breakfast mere hours later.
• Women try to keep up with the guys, but we have a smaller body mass and therefore it quite literally all goes to our hips.

Still, you don't have to be a killjoy to keep your belly slim. The study showed that people who drank regularly but stuck to just one or two at a time didn't gain the beer belly that binge drinkers did. Go easy on the libations this long weekend -- and if you can't, just try to be wise. Consider sipping one of these cocktails that won't ruin your diet.