Drinks Increase Waistline

My post yesterday was on holiday beverages and how quickly the calories can add up. I thought I would expand on that information and include information on how beverages at all times of the year can contribute to weight gain.

A study out recently in the journal Obesity Research found that part of the reason we are gaining weight is because we are drinking our calories. The percentage of calories that we get from beverages has almost doubled in the past 37 years, going from 12% of our calories back in the 60's to 21% of our calories today. The average person gets 222 calories from beverages alone.

When you look at the trends, alcohol, fruit juice, and soda all went up in consumption and milk has gone down. I definitely hear that when I am talking with clients. I grew up drinking milk at meals, and now very few people have a glass of milk with dinner. They drink water, soda, or alcohol instead.

The problem with getting our calories from beverages is that they do not fill you up. When researchers study reported hunger and fullness in people, they find that when people drink their calories, they do not report as much fullness as when they eat them. For example, drinking 250 calories from a soft drink will not fill you up as much as eating a 250 calorie sandwich or frozen meal.

I sort of have a rule for beverages. Do not drink anything with calories unless it is milk or 100% fruit juice. Occasional alcohol can fit, but avoid getting calories from sweet drinks. Coffee drinks with pumps of sugary syrup are also contributing a large amount of calories. Use sugar free syrup and nonfat milk and you will have a much lower calorie drink. Even fruit juice I limit to 6 oz per day. You can get 100% of your Vitamin C in that amount. Eat whole, fresh fruit instead of juice and it will keep you satisfied for a longer time.

Drink water as the majority of your beverage intake. If you get tired of plain water, add sugar free flavor packets or use sugar free (diet) soft drinks to get hydration, too.

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Labels: beverages, Tara Gidus, weight gain

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Holiday Drinks

We are in full swing of holiday cheer now with just under two weeks until Christmas! I have gone to several parties so far and have a few more before we even get to the family gatherings.

I wrote a few posts recently on avoiding the holiday gain and simple strategies to not gain even one pound during the holidays. One important part of our diet that we need to pay special attention to, especially at holiday time, is beverages. Liquid calories add up quickly and they don't really fill you up as much as solid food does.

Check out the calorie count of some common holiday drinks:
8 oz eggnog: 340 calories
8 oz light eggnog: 190 calories
12 oz (tall) Starbucks Gingerbread Latte: 260 calories
5 fl oz white wine: 120 calories
5 fl oz red wine: 120 calories
12 oz (tall) Starbucks Hot Chocolate: 320 calories
8 oz hot cider: 160 calories
8 oz alcoholic punch: 220 calories
12 oz regular beer: 150 calories

Once you add the calories you are getting from your drinks to the calories you are eating, it is no wonder we gain weight over the holidays! I am not going to be a complete scrooge, though!

Try this instead for fun drinks without all the calories:

• Make a spritzer with your wine. Add calorie free club soda to the wine and you will cut your calories in half! Use equal parts soda and wine. It works great with white wine!
• Use club soda instead of tonic or Sprite in your punch bowl.
• Make your hot chocolate with packets of sugar free hot chocolate and low fat milk
• Choose a sugar free syrup and low fat milk in your favorite coffee drink
• Make sure you get the light eggnog and limit yourself to 6 oz. It is still very thick and rich and sip it slowly to enjoy every swallow!
• Drink light beer instead of regular
• Choose champagne instead of wine. The calories are less and most people drink smaller glasses and less of it.
  
• Limit yourself to one drink with calories. Drink diet soda or sparkling water the rest of the night.
  

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Labels: beverages, holiday, Tara Gidus, weight gain

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