Are You Drinking Your Calories?

Appetizer

Drink LESS high-calorie beverages. Are you watching what you eat and working out, only to find that you’re not making any progress? You may be taking in hidden calories from what you’re drinking.

Many of our favorite drinks have added sugars like sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, dextrose, corn syrups, high-fructose corn syrup, concentrated fruit juice and honey. These added sugars are the main reason why sugar now accounts for 16% of all calories consumed by Americans compared to 11% 20 years ago. Nearly a third of these added sugars come from pop, soda, Coke…depending on where you’re from (smile).

Even some drinks that are considered healthy have sugar in them naturally. 100% fruit juice does not contain the added sugars listed above, but it has fructose. Milk, for instance, has lactose. You should by no means eliminate these drinks from your diet because they provide important nutrients, but try eating fruit instead of drinking the juice so that you’ll get the benefit of the additional fiber and feel fuller longer; drink reduced-fat or fat-free milk.


Main Course

By now, most people know that pop is not healthy, and they are making what they believe to be better choices. While some are opting for diet versions of their favorite drinks, others have turned to energy drinks as a healthier alternative. These new drinks promise a slew of things, but they fail to advertise the immense amounts of sugar and caffeine included in the various energy-enhancing potions - not to mention the sodium and all of the many empty calories.


Red Bull (8.3oz)
“…Increases performance, increases concentration…stimulates metabolism.”
115 calories
214g sodium
26g sugar



Monster (8.0oz)
“…the meanest energy supplement on the planet…”
100 calories
180mg sodium
27g sugar





Rockstar (8.0oz)
“Scientifically formulated for those who lead active and exhausting lifestyles…”
110 calories
35mg sodium
27g sugar


Dessert

In 1995, I read a magazine that said we can lose weight just by changing what we drink. I was intrigued by the possibilities, so when I started college I decided that I would only drink water. Admittedly, it took me several months to get used to drinking water with every meal – especially breakfast, but eventually drinking water all the time became second nature.

I’m not fanatical about my drinking habits, but drinking things other than water is just not something that I do very often. Some people say that they wouldn’t be able to do it, but I think that they could if they made the commitment to develop a long-term habit. This is not something that I did as part of a diet or a temporary fix, and 11 years later, I’m still holding on.

My motivation is this: I’m constantly hungry, so I would rather eat my calories – not drink them.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.