How to Use the Diet Alcohol Calorie Budget Calculator
Even when you're watching calories, skipping every drink isn't always realistic. Instead of guessing, this calculator shows how much of your remaining daily calorie budget you can spend on drinks. Enter your daily calorie goal, what you've already eaten, and your drink type and count to see your alcohol calorie budget and whether you're going over.
A 12oz beer runs about 155 kcal, a bottle of soju (360ml) about 396 kcal, a 5oz glass of wine about 125 kcal, and an 8oz highball about 180 kcal. If your total exceeds your remaining budget, the calculator shows how much you're over and roughly how many minutes of brisk walking (about 5 kcal per minute) would offset it.
Keep in mind this only accounts for the alcohol itself, not any food you eat alongside it — bar snacks and appetizers can push the real total higher. You don't have to offset every excess calorie with exercise either; eating a little lighter the next day works just as well to balance things out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your body burns alcohol as fuel first, which pushes the fat and carbs from whatever you're eating with it further down the metabolic queue, making them more likely to be stored as fat. That's why drinks with snacks can affect weight more than the calorie count alone suggests.
Not necessarily. If you go over on one day, you can also balance it out by eating a bit less the next day. The exercise estimate is just a reference point.