If you are the kind of person who has to have a drink with
your meal or quench your thirst with a glass of juice, start your day with your
morning lattes and got to have your afternoon tea, you will need to watch those
liquid calories.
They can easily pile up with the extra kilos around your
waist as much as extra food intake does.
You should always bear in mind that sweetened drinks such as
processed juices, shakes, teas with sugar, coffees with creams and carbonated
beverages are high in simple sugars and rich in calories and when consumed
regularly can lead to weight gain and obesity, and can even put you at a high
risk of type II diabetes.
The table below will allow you to
compare the energy content of highly-consumed beverages:
|
Beverage
|
Description
|
Size
|
Calorie
Content
|
|
Hot Chocolate
|
Regular
|
250 ml
|
210
|
|
Café Mocha
|
Full-fat milk, + whip
|
450 ml
|
400
|
|
Café Mocha
|
Non-fat, no whip
|
450 ml
|
220
|
|
Café Latte
|
Full-fat
|
366 ml
|
220
|
|
Cappuccino
|
Full-fat without sugar
|
244 ml
|
140
|
|
Bottled tea
|
Sweetened
|
336 ml
|
116
|
|
Milkshake
|
Ready-made large, full-fat
|
460 ml
|
600
|
|
Milkshakes (all flavours)
|
Low-fat
|
295 ml
|
360
|
|
Carbonated beverages
|
Regular
|
336 ml
|
160
|
|
Orange juice
|
Commercial
|
250 ml
|
125
|
|
Pineapple juice
|
Unsweetened
|
250 ml
|
140
|
Sugary drinks should not be consumed as part of a healthy lifestyle as they are loaded with excess calories and have little nutritional value. Replacing these drinks with calorie-free or low-calorie options such as water, low-fat milk, unsweetened herbal tea, an occasional diet soft drink or lemonade, and moderate amounts of natural fruit juices, can significantly reduce the caloric intake and weight gain.
Be careful!
A single can of soda contains 160 calories and around 50
grams of high-fructose corn syrup, or the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of table
sugar!
Research says…
Research showed in one study that women who increased their
soft-drink consumption to 1 or more per day for 8 year, gained 7.65 kilos in 8
years.
Good to know
If you cut down your daily intake by 1 can of carbonated
beverage, you can lose around 0.64 kg a month.
What you should know about Liquid
Calories
o Liquid Calories are not a wise
investment for your daily calorie intake. Instead, food calories make you feel full for a longer
time.
o Watch the high-fructose corn syrup
to avoid weight gain,
which are usually found in many soft drinks, fruit juices and sports drinks.
o Limit carbonated beverages to a
minimum which may contribute to obesity in
the long run.
o Eat your carbohydrates rather than
drink them as it’s always better to eat an
orange full of fibre and vitamins than to drink the sweetened orange commercial
juice. This way, you would save almost 75 calories and have more health
benefits.
o Switch to alternative sweeteners if you really want a soda; opt for the diet variety
instead.
o Make wise decisions in choosing your
coffee in coffee shops.
Keep in mind that the more whipped cream you add, full-fat milk and sugar, the
more calories you are adding.
o
Drink Water;
it’s always the best option. It is not only calorie-free, but will also help
you lose weight!