Think Before You Drink
Maintainable Weight Loss – Think Before You Drink
Watching what you eat is a critical part of living a healthy lifestyle, but are you also watching what you drink? What you drink other than water and how much of it is just as important and does count towards your daily calorie intake. Some of the beverages that we may consider to be healthy alternatives are often loaded with sugar and carbs and will sabotage your efforts lose weight and keep it off. In the following examples, I am going to address some of the most commonly consumed beverages and how they affect you. I will also present you with a potential “swap” but keep in mind that any and all of these beverages should be consumed sparingly and in small amounts.
Diet soda,it has the word “Diet” built into the title so it must be ok, right? This is a go-to drink for many who would assume that since it’s zero calories and zero sugar, it’s an acceptable choice. However, studies have shown that the sugar substitute used in diet soda actually triggers insulin production which leads to fat storage and weight gain. SWAP: Sparkling water is not an alternative to water, but can be consumed from time to time to satisfy cravings.
*Keep in mind, these sparkling beverages are infused with carbon dioxide gas to produce the bubbly, fizzy effect. The carbon dioxide added to these beverages causes your kidneys and lungs to work harder to process and remove the excess CO2 gas. Another common side effect of consuming these drinks is a bloated stomach.*
Who doesn’t love a cup of coffee, or maybe 3? It’s the sugar and cream that we add to the coffee that causes the most damage to our diets. Let’s be honest, we all know that the sweet, sugary frappuccinos and lattes from Starbucks and Dutch Bros are not good for us. If whipped cream is an option, it’s dessert not coffee!
But what about creamer? Creamer in small amounts may not be detrimental to your diet, but adding creamer to your coffee 7 days a week over the course of a month can cause more harm than we may realize. To put this in perspective, your average non-dairy creamer contains 19 calories, 1g of fat and 1g of carbs per 1oz. Consuming at least one cup of coffee per day with standard creamer is adding an extra 399 calories per week to your intake. I won’t even start in on specialty creamers. Sure, you can reach for the sugar-free, fat-free creamer options, however, those options are highly processed and full of chemicals. As already stated sugar alternatives lead to weight gain. SWAP: Your best option in this scenario would be the classic black coffee. I realize that may be hard to stomach for some, try a few drops of Stevia sweetener to supplement for creamer and sugar.
The purpose of this blog post is to bring a conscious awareness to a subtle decision that some may be making everyday without realizing the adverse effects these beverage choices could be having on your healthy efforts. None of the above beverages will count towards your daily water intake and the minimum recommended consumption of water (preferably spring or alkaline) is 1 gallon per day. Stay educated and think before you drink.
