Ways to Reduce Liquid Calories
Have you ever wondered how many calories are in your morning cup of coffee, juice, soda, or evening cocktail? We sometimes forget to look at liquids when evaluating our diets. Liquid calories can add up fast.
All foods and drinks can be consumed in a healthy meal plan but one has to be mindful of how much we are consuming at any given time. The biggest rule of thumb when it comes to reducing liquid calories is to DRINK MORE WATER. Water has zero calories and helps hydrate our bodies. Simply replacing some of the beverages with water and choosing lower-calorie options would drastically reduce the intake of empty calories.
Juice? This may be a surprise for some, but too much of a good thing is possible. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends a maximum of 4-6 oz of juice a day. Usually when a person orders juice it comes in a 16 oz glass (which is over 200 calories). A better option would be to eat the actual fruit and you get the benefits of phytonutrients and fiber.
Another sabotager is coffee drinks. One medium frozen frappuccino can range anywhere from 250-450 calories and 15g of fat. That is equivalent to eating 3 1/2 twinkies! You don’t have to completely give up your coffee, choose options of reduced-fat milk or a smaller size. So the next time you are choosing a beverage, look at the nutrition label, or choose a nice cool glass of water. Enjoy!!
Boring Water? No More!
The biggest complaint is that drinking water every day gets boring. If this is the case for you, try infusing your water with fresh or frozen fruit. Manufacturers are now making water bottles that have infusion compartments within the bottle, but you don’t have to have a special water bottle. You can just place the fruit directly in your bottle and drink up, or make one of our Aguas Frescas recipes and check out our Infused Water Basics.
