|
They go down easily and can be found anywhere and everywhere. Water, tea, milk, juice, soda, flavored waters, coffee, energy drinks, smoothies. This list touches just a few of the many categories of beverages but doesn’t even delve into the different brands, sizes, flavors and varieties. Plus, with the billions of dollars spent to make drinks look, like, way cool, it’s hard to resist them! You probably couldn't avoid them even if you tried; they are everywhere you turn, tempting you at gas stations, schools, doctor's offices, malls, movie theaters, airports, bus stops, street corners, your workplace—even at the gym! For time’s sake, let’s skip counting the dollars spent on marketing these drinks and go straight to the number that matters most if you're watching your weight: 400. That's the average number of calories Americans drink on a daily basis, according to a recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which showed that around 37 percent of our total daily liquid calories come from sugar-sweetened drinks. So where are all of these calories coming from? Here is a sampling of the calories hiding in your cup. Soda is the most-discussed beverage that sneaks calories into your day. Soda and fruit-flavored drinks can rack up to 250 calories per 12 ounces. Ginger ale and dark cola are the lowest in calorie at about 120 calories per 12 ounces, and cream soda is the highest with about 200 calories per 12 ounces. Portion size does really say it all! When these sugary liquids are sold in 20 ounce, 48 ounce, 1 liter and 2 liter bottles, it would be easy to work up to 800 calories in drinks a day if you're not being conscious of your choices. (Big) gulp! "Juice" drinks (flavored, sugar-sweetened juice) can rack up more calories per ounce than soda! Orange, grape and cranberry juice drinks have about 216 calories per 12 ounces. But they seem so healthy! Don't let the fact that a portion of the ingredients in those bottles come from fruit fool you. The calories in these beverages should not be overlooked. Thankfully, food labels make it easy to check out the calorie content prior to purchasing a drink. Flip over labels before buying anything, and, of course, check the portion size! Even 100% fruit juice, be it orange, apple, grape, pomegranate, cranberry or another flavor, can contribute calories to your diet. It’s great that all the sugar in fruit juice is natural and direct from the fruit, but unlike a whole piece of fruit, fruit juice is very concentrated in sugar, which makes it high in calories. Juice can also count as a serving of fruit if you’re getting about 6 ounces, but if you’re filling a big 24 ounce cup, you could be pouring about 320 calories of OJ with your breakfast. Go for grape juice or pineapple juice and the numbers are even higher. The key here is to stick to a 4 to 6 ounce serving of juice with your breakfast, and enjoy a large glass of water to hydrate yourself! If you’re worried about getting in your vitamins, grab a whole piece of fruit for a snack or add some berries or sliced fruit to your yogurt or cereal in the morning. Anytime you can eat fruit or vegetables rather than drinking them, you'll be better off. Continued › |
|
SparkPeople advertisers help keep the site free! Learn more
Nutrition Articles › Pitfalls and PlateausHow Many Calories Are You Drinking?Sneaky Calories in Beverages Really Add Up!-- By Sarah Haan, Registered DietitianSparkPeople advertisers help keep the site free! Learn more
Related Content
About The Author
Sarah Haan
Sarah is a registered dietitian with a bachelor's degree in dietetics. She helps individuals adopt healthy lifestyles and manage their weight. An avid exerciser and cook, Sarah likes to run, lift weights and eat good food. See all of Sarah's articles. |
Research shows that increasing your protein intake may be beneficial to weight loss.
Read More
Bench Press with Barbell
Lifting your legs up during this exercise helps you avoid lower back pain.
Lifting your legs up during this exercise helps you avoid lower back pain.
Get a personalized diet and fitness plan, great newsletters, post to our message boards, and even your own personal SparkPage!
Join Now For Free!
Join Now For Free!
Member Comments
I am lucky, though. I live where the tap water is delicious. - 5/21/2013 5:59:22 AM
I've now bought a cappuccino maker and have 2 mugs a day with half a brown sugar cube in each, which I deduct out of my daily calorie allowance. The allowance I measure out the night before and to the milligram, and once it's gone then it's gone and there is no more that day.
I know it's still not an ideal situation but I'm tackling it cup at a time :-)
- 5/21/2013 4:37:42 AM
Later, I came to love the Vente Chai Tea Latte. See how easy that was? Like driving a new car, they teach you the software first. Anyway, one day, I computed how much this cost me. Rats. There has to be a less expensive way. So I asked the youngest kid there. He told me how they made it and where to get the components at the grocery. Free at last! But it wasn't long before I started calculating the calories and carbs.
Back to coffee with low whatever creamer. That wasn't so hard. - 5/21/2013 3:20:37 AM
Sugar is a huge problem in our diet and so many drinks contain it. I have pretty much abandoned juices for that reason, save for some OJ once in a while. I found through tracking that I need more protein, and sugar/carb calories was the first place I went to substitute for protein calories.
I always bring ice water with me in the car. I won't consider buying drinks in convenience stores when on the road. Our lifestyle breeds craziness with what we put in our mouths. - 9/19/2012 9:33:36 AM
I feel like getting 2 or 3 servings of fruit and veggies as juice or liquid servings of protein doesn't hurt now and then. - 8/5/2011 12:39:44 PM