Stop Drinking Your Calories

A new patient - let’s call her Beth, came to the Hickory office last week and said to me, “I am hoping you can help me. I don’t know why I can’t lose weight on my own – I have cut way back on what I eat. It must be because my metabolism has slowed down from not eating enough.” I said to her, “Let’s take a look at what you are eating.” Sure enough, she was eating right around the amount she should be in order to be losing at least one to two pounds a week.

So I dug deeper. “Tell me about what you are drinking.” After much probing, she finally admitted that a typical day includes two cups of coffee with cream and sugar, a 24 ounce sweet tea with lunch, a regular soda in the afternoon and two to three glasses of wine a night.

Well, let’s add that up:

• (2) coffees with cream & sugar = 94 calories
• 2. 24 ounces of sweet tea = 220 calories
• 3. One can of regular soda = 154 calories
• 4. Two large glasses of wine = 250 calories
• 5. Total calories from liquid = 718 calories!

Although our patient Beth, is on the extreme side, drinking our calories is a typical American problem. In the late 1970s the average American consumed about 70 calories a day in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages. By 2010 we were guzzling an average of 230 calories. Many research studies have shown a connection between increased consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and the soaring rates of weight gain and obesity that have occurred in the last 40 years.

The problem with drinking our calories is that we don't get the same sense of fullness as when we eat solid foods. Calories from beverages tend to add to the diet rather than replace those from food.  Fruit juice is not a good way to get your fruit servings nor is it a good replacement for soda. It might have a few vitamins and minerals, but it's just as damaging to your waistline. If you drink 300 calories of apple juice, you'll feel less full than if you ate 300 calories of apples. And, you would have to eat 3 medium apples for that many calories! Parents who give their children fruit juice in their sippy cups beware! You may be negating the benefit of vitamins with extra calories!

Almost everyone knows that regular soda is full of calories and sugar – but how much? One can of soda has 150 calories and the equivalent of 10 packets or cubes of sugar! So what? What if you only drink one a day? Well, the extra sugar will put you at an increased risk for diabetes and the extra 150 calories a day adds up to 15 extra pounds over one year! What about replacing your regular soda with a diet version? The jury is out. Some studies suggest that though diet sodas don't add calories, they still activate your sweet tooth. But other studies show no such effect. If you battle those dreaded sweet tooth cravings, it can’t hurt to cut out the diet sodas as a combat strategy.

As for alcohol, that deserves a whole other blog post. But suffice it to say that in addition to being high in calories and sugar, alcohol can affect your judgment when it comes to how much you eat while enjoying that drink. Research has shown that people eat 20% more calories when drinking alcohol before or during their meal.

So what can I drink? Is water my only option? No. Water is certainly the best for quenching your thirst though, so try to squeeze a lemon, lime or orange slice into your water to give you a bit of variety. Mineral water, seltzer water and sparkling water can give your taste buds something to celebrate without adding on extra calories. And be sure to experiment with brewing your own tea. Regular tea and green tea are rich in antioxidants and even if you need to add a little honey or agave nectar it won’t even come close to the 10 packets of sugar in that soda.