Alcohol is a no-no when dieting, but if you make the right choices, it doesn't have to be.

Caught up in yourself lately? Your food, your weight, your exercise, your body image? It's hard not to be, what with all the attention paid to these issues on a daily basis and all. Margarita over at Glamour.com knows what it's like to get all wrapped up in herself. She also knows what it's like to help someone else -- which happens to be amazingly liberating. And slimming too.

Out to dinner recently with a friend whose arm was in a sling, Margarita was the go-to girl. She cut steak and buttered bread and all but forgot about her own issues. "My objective wasn't to self-medicate with food, or use this delicious-looking comfort meal to escape or reduce my anxiety or comfort me or any of the other million and one reasons I'd used food before," she says. "It wasn't about ME at all; it was about taking care of someone else. That was so satisfying to me that I didn't need to devour."

Let Margarita's story be your light-bulb moment. Let it guide you to service. Instead of cozying up to Oprah and a bag of chips in the afternoon, get to your local Humane Society and walk dogs -- not only will you soothe needy animals, you'll avoid snacking and get some exercise too. Got kids? Get inside their classrooms and cut paper, trace hands and play on the playground. Want to appreciate how lucky you are to even have food in your life? Start plating meals at a homeless shelter. Consider it the art of distraction. When you're busy being busy, there's less time for grazing all day or fretting about your figure. And the bonus: You get make the world a better place.

Source

Few things are more refreshing on a summer's day than a cold drink on a hot patio. But alcohol is normally a no-no for dieters. Simply put, they're full of empty calories, particularly if you fancy sweet cocktails.

eDiets recently put together a list of sweet-but-not-sinful summer cocktails that you can enjoy without packing on too many calories. On their list of healthy drinks:

• Strawberry Lemonade Martini
• Berry Blast Spritzer
• Less Guilt Margarita
• Summer Breeze Punch
  

What's your favorite summertime drink? Mine is a low-cal Mojito, made with one part white rum, two parts club soda, flavoured with lime, mint and just a touch of sweetener.

Source

It's almost Cinco de Mayo, which is, unfortunately, one of my favorite holidays to celebrate because, even though it packs a lot of calories, I really love Mexican food. And, what good is an enchilada without a margarita?

In case your mouth is watering just thinking about a cold, delicious margarita (because, honestly, mine is watering just writing about it), I've pulled together some links that look like good options. They'll keep your calories lower than a regular margarita, but it's no free pass -- most of these still pack over 100 calories per serving. But, if you have a recipe you dig, share the love! And feliz Cinco de Mayo!

• Fitnessmagazine.com -- Frozen Lime Margarita
• Hungry-Girl.com -- Rockin' Razzy Rita, HG's Fruitylicious Margarita, and HG's Magical Low-Cal Margarita
• Ehow.com -- Delicious Low-Cal Margarita
• MargaritaTexas.com -- Low-Cal Margarita
• Suite101.com -- Low Calorie Agave Margarita

Source

I got my Williams-Sonoma catalogue in the mail recently. The best product is on the back page.

The company has just introduced a line of margarita mixes sweetened with agave nectar. Since me and my friends have been using this sweetener quite a lot lately as an alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners, we did a little happy dance at the thought of more healthful margaritas while hanging out on the patio this summer.

Does seem a bit of a misnomer; a healthy margarita? But it's about as unrealistic to give up margaritas as it is to give up sweets. And why not have the healthiest margarita possible, right? So we plan to try them. But of course you could also make your own recipe using agave nectar instead of simple syrup. Certainly would be cheaper. The WS mixes are a whopping $16.95 for a 32-ouce bottle of the following flavors: Cherry Blossom Sling, Elderflower Twist, Golden Skirt or Classic.

Source

Sometimes when I'm out for a drink with friends, I'm just not into the bitter taste of beer or wine -- I'd prefer something fruitier, something that's tasty ans sweet but has a bit of zing too. That's when I order a Margarita. Liquid calories add up really quickly -- I know that a glass of wine has about 100 calories and a beer has about 150 - 200 calories -- but I tend to turn a blind eye when it comes to fruity drinks because I know they're probably pretty bad for me, both in terms of the calories and the alcohol content. So I'm wondering, how many calories are in a margarita?

A) 240 cal
B) 400 cal
C) 550 cal
D) 740 cal

Source

Giving up alcohol in the summertime is one of the most difficult aspects of losing weight for many people, myself included. I'm not some die-hard boozer who has to have 5 drinks every night, but when it's nice out, I like to spend a warm Friday evening enjoying a refreshing margarita with my friends. But margaritas are generally a no-no, as they have tons of sugar, and therefor calories.

So here's an idea -- Fit-A-Rita. It's a sugar-free instant margarita mix that only has 6 calories before you add the tequila. And while it's not a green light to drink as many as you want (remember, alcohol alone has lots of calories), I think it's a good way to feel like you're indulging without veering too far off track. What do you think?

Source

I thought April Fool's was a few weeks late when I read this story, but it's true. Researchers from the U.S. and Thailand are claiming that a fruity cocktail may count as health food. Say what?

The research states that adding alcohol to fruit increases the antioxidant nutrients. While that may be the case, is increased alcohol consumption to gain enhanced antioxidants a good solution? Adding ethanol (found in rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits) boosted antioxidant nutrients in strawberries and blackberries according to the research.

Now, if we could get rid of that high-fructose corn syrup and fake coloring in most fruity drinks mixes, we'd be on to something right?

Source