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Are you thinking about dieting? Maybe it's that time of year when you normally think about trying to shed a few pounds. Whatever the reason might be for wanting to lose some excess weight, you'll probably be resigning yourself to the idea of giving up drinking wine for the duration of your efforts. But hang on a minute - before you do that, have you found about the calories in wine so you can see whether you actually have to cut it out altogether or not?

If you haven't it may be worth continuing to read this article. You see, wine gets something of a bad press when it comes to dieting. You'd be amazed how many diets shun it completely, and yet when you actually consider how many (or how few) calories a small glass of wine actually has, you might want to carry on having a glass on a daily basis!

I thought wine was laden with calories?

Sure it has calories in it, but you might be surprised to find it doesn't have as many as you might think. The calories in wine go up when you start talking about fortified wines, but when we're focusing on just plain and simple red and white wines, you'll find they have a lot less than many people expect.

Dry wines are the lightest ones of all in calories. A dry red wine has slightly more in calories than a dry white, but the difference is literally in single figures. You can enjoy a 115ml glass of red wine for just 83 or so calories, whereas white wine is around 77 calories for the same amount. Of course you should expect sweet wines to be more calorific, but even then you would be amazed at how good they are in terms of calories. You're still only talking about around a hundred calories for a 115ml glass of either red or white wine in this case, so even then you can enjoy it in moderation.

So does this mean I can include wine on any diet?

Well the best diet to follow is one that simply reduces the fat and calories in your diet to below the level you burn off each day. This will help you to lose weight. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a glass of wine as part of a balance diet - and in fact it could have benefits in several different ways.

For starters if you enjoy a glass of wine you will derive enjoyment from keeping just one small glass in your diet. If you deny yourself that pleasure you will soon find yourself craving wine because you can't have it. It's then that you are likely to drink more when you eventually find yourself giving in to your craving.

So think about the calories in wine and how they can affect your diet. You might find your diet is far easier to stick to if you can still have that treat every day.