An essential part of eating healthy and maintaining a healthy body weight is not drinking your calories. There are so many commercials out right now for sweet tea and fancy coffee drinks that are loaded with calories. Do not start drinking sweet tea from huge tumblers! Do not buy frappuccino and think you are doing anything healthy for your body. You are drinking lots and lots of sugar, and these extra calories cause weight gain.
When we drink our calories we still eat the same amount of food. Beverages do not give the sense of fullness that food does-especially high fiber foods. Some people drink a 12-pack of Mountain Dew but they still eat 3 meals/day and snacks. I have clients who cut out regular soda and lose 20-30 pounds from the decrease in calories. Calories are also found in regular lemonade, Kool-Aid, juices, and alcohol. Some people associate juice as a “health food” but juice is a concentrated source of calories with no fiber. Juice has the same amount of calories as regular soda. You are so much better off eating whole fruit and drinking water.
It doesn’t matter if your drink is “organic” if it’s loaded with sugar and calories. Don’t confuse organic with healthy. Organic juices and sodas add calories to your diet just like regular juices and sodas.
Alcohol is a double whammy. Alcohol adds calories to your diet and reduces your judgment which leads to overeating. When people drink alcohol before or with a meal they tend to eat more. Watch the quantity of alcohol that you drink if you are trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight…the calories add up quickly.
Milk has calories as well. Milk is also a source of protein, calcium, and vitamin D. However some people drink excessive amounts of milk which causes weight gain. 3 cups of milk is adequate for most people to meet nutritional needs if you drink milk. Drinking a huge glass of milk at every meal = lots of calories. You should also only drink skim, 1%, or low fat soymilk. Higher fat milks add lots of saturated fat to the diet.
Here is a list of some calories in beverages:
(1 cup = 8 oz.)
Can of Pepsi or Coke, 150
Large regular soda at restaurant , 310
Cup of lemonade, 120
Cup of orange juice, 122
Cup of eggnog, 350
Medium iced caramel coffee, 190
Large sweet tea, 230
Large nonfat vanilla latte, 260
Medium mocha with nonfat milk, 280
Large hot chocolate with nonfat milk, 390
Cup of skim milk, 90
Cup of 2% milk, 120
Cup of whole milk, 150
12 oz. regular beer, 149
12 oz. light beer, 110
1 oz. hard liquor, 65
4 oz. wine, 80
4 oz. Daiquiri, 122
4 oz. Margarita, 168
6 oz. wine coolers, 150
So what should be in your glass? Ideally…water. I know that’s boring but you can’t beat water. Drinking beverages with sugar substitutes added is a personal choice. Some people are adamant against any sugar substitutes. I have yet to see the studies that show that sugar substitutes cause harm, and we know that obesity is linked to health problems. There are many diet sodas, crystal lite, flavored water, tea, seltzer water, and other beverages with no calories. I feel that used in moderation these beverages are an acceptable addition to a healthy diet and offer some variety (if you tire of just drinking water).
So before you yell, “Bottoms up!” pause and consider how many calories are going down.