Weight Gain and Beverages

When deciding to start a diet, in general, we are all aware of how to handle our food consumption to eat healthier and to lose weight. Whether we decide to eat smaller portions, eat more vegetables and fruit, choose leaner protein, control, or avoid processed food and refined sugar consumption, etc. there is a tendency to think more about the food you are consuming and not much thought towards the beverages we drink. It almost seems silly that something you drink could possibly contribute to weight gain. But unfortunately, it is very much a real fact and true that the drinks you consume can absolutely contribute to your weight gain issues or inadvertently impede you from losing body fat. It is also the easiest thing to neglect watching what you drink, and it can be very easy when the latte you drink turns into one too many. Calorie-wise, we do tend to take the drink we consume on the regular for granted!

The Facts

Although you maybe already aware of the effects of alcohol on a diet, were you aware that sugary and fattening drinks can have the same effect as well? Take for instance orange juice. According to the USDA, the calorie count in 8 ounces (226.8g) of 100% concentrate is 103 calories and the sugar count associated with this size of drink is 18 grams. Although one cup of orange juice a day will not cause a huge change in daily calorie intake, drinking the cup of juice along with a cup of latte and a sugary smoothie can all add up. To illustrate this point clearly, please review the following chart

Typically Consumed Beverages (Daily)

Drinks	Size	Sugar	Calories
Orange Juice	8 oz.	18 grams	103
Coffee (Milk and Sugar)	large/16 oz.	2 tsp	105
Latte (flavored)	Size: 12 oz.	14 grams	150
Bottled Sweetened Iced Tea	18.5 oz.	48 grams	190
Power/Energy Sports Drink	20 oz.	34 grams	140
Low Calorie Strawberry Smoothie	32 oz.	17 grams	230

 

If on a typical day, you happen to consume only one serving of each of the above, this will equal to an additional 918 calories a day, not counting the meals that you are consuming. At close to 1,000 calories, a person that is calorie conscious could easily have 3 meals for 1000 calories or 2 meals and a snack. Here is another chart that will illustrate this information with real meal options that you could either make or purchase for consumption.

 

Restaurant Meals & Calories

Restaurant	Meal	Calories
Subway	6-inch Turkey Sandwich	330
Subway	6-inch Meatball Sub	480
Subway	6-inch Rotisserie Chicken Sandwich	320
Subway	6-inch Ham and Swiss Sandwich	370
Wendy’s	Grill Chicken Sandwich	320
Wendy’s	Small Chili's	240
Wendy’s	Large Chili	340
Starbucks	Chicken Hummus Box	300
Starbucks	Eggs & Cheddar Protein Box	470
Starbucks	Cheese and Fruit Protein Box	470
Starbucks	Egg White and Roasted Red Pepper Egg Bites	170
Starbucks	Spinach Feta and Egg White Wrap	290
Starbucks	Turkey Bacon, Cheddar and Egg White Sandwich	230

 

FYI, since I know that there are lots of busy people who have no time to cook, I didn't to do a calorie chart of local fast-food meals that are relatively low in calorie that can be purchased as a viable alternative. These are meals that I personally eat when I don't have time to make meals that I find satisfying. Now, for about 1,000 calories, here are some interesting combination of meals to consider as compared to the calories of drinks consumed on atypical day:

Meal Combinations

Meal Combinations	Meal 1 (+)	Meal 2 (+)	Meal 3	(=) Total Calories
Option #1:	Starbucks Spinach, Feta and Egg White Wrap (290)	Starbucks Turkey Bacon, Cheddar and Egg White Sandwich (230)	Wendy's Grilled Chicken Sandwich (320) and Large Chilli (340)	1080
Option #2:	Starbucks Egg & Cheddar Protein Box (470)	Wendy's Large Chilli (340)	Starbucks Egg Whites Bites (170)	980
Option #3:	Subway 6-inch Turkey Sandwich (330)	Subway 6-inch Rotisserie Chicken Sandwich (320)	Subway 6-inch Ham and Swiss Sandwich (370)	1020
Option #4:	Starbucks Turkey Bacon Cheddar and Egg White Sandwich (230) and Egg White Bites (170)	Wendy's Large Chilli (340)	Subway 6-inch Meatball Sub (480)	980

 

This is volume eating but with respect to low calorie/calorie counting at its finest. And, the combinations are endless, all it takes is knowing the nutritional facts about your favorite restaurant menus to make better decisions each time. And as it really illustrates about which do you prefer? Eating your calories or drinking them? By the way, if you make these same meals at home instead of buying them, you could also not only save money but find ways of lowering the calorie count because you control what you put into your meals.

Quick Tips

Here are some adjustments you can consider when improving the calorie count of your daily beverage consumption:

Have a Calorie Limit: If you have a favorite drink that you must have as is without any adjustments or swap outs then have a calorie limit that works best with your daily caloric consumption. For example: You just can't live without your morning smoothie or Latte. If we use the chart from above, the combined calories are 150 + 230 = 380 calories. When it comes to drinks, you'll consume for the rest of the day, focus on water, zero calorie drinks, unsweetened teas, black coffees, etc. So, you can eat lower calorie but high-volume foods that are more satisfying to you.

Drink more Water: Although everyone knows that they must do this, a lot of us don't really drink as much water as we should every day. While it is true that plain water can be boring, I believe if included in a diet that has other low-calorie drinks in it as well, will provide great variety and awesome health benefits. Overall, everybody needs this reminder: "Drink more water!"

Eat More Fruit/Veggies Instead of Juice: Personally, as much as I do love fruit and vegetable juice of all kinds, I began to realize that I was consuming more calories and sugar than I needed from the juice of the fruit instead of eating the whole fruit or veggie and thereby gaining the full health benefits. If you compare fruit and vegetable juice to its fruit counterpart, you'll find that there is double the calories and sugar in a serving of the juice. Why is that? It is due to the design of the fruit. When you consume the fruit, the pulp and fiber is discarded so you get the full health benefits from the fruit than you would the juice. It takes more fruit to make the juice when the best parts are discarded. To illustrate my point, pour yourself 1 cup of orange juice to drink one day and then the next day eat 3 oranges (the equivalency of 1 cup of juice) to experience what I mean and note the difference I'm how you feel. You just might eat the fruit more than drink its juice.

Go Unsweetened: Does your hot or iced tea really need sugar? Can you drink your coffee black? Instead of regular soda can you switch to seltzer water? Could you learn to love drinking plain water more often? When it comes to going unsweetened with your drinks, it has a lot more to do with refining your tastebuds so they depend less and less on how tasty consuming sugar might be. As a suggestion, try an experiment and see if you can go unsweetened regarding one of the previous drinks mentioned above. To this day, I enjoy my hot and iced teas without much regret. If anything, I tend to like the taste now more than I did when sugar was added.

Consider Diet/Zero Calorie Drinks: If you enjoy sodas and soft drinks, you might want to consider the diet soda counterpart. I have been drinking diet soda for a long time and must admit that flavors and variety has gotten better over time. For me, I can't tell the last time I drank a regular soda, nor do I miss it even if there are notable differences. Overtime, regular soda lost its thrill for me. The only thing is the warnings and concerns about consuming too much artificial sweeteners. Please do the research and consume with peace of mind and balance.

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