Marianne Carter, R.D. of DelawareOnline.com stresses what I repeatedly urge folks to do — cut out liquid sugars in the way of sodas, fruit drinks, Snapple, Gatorade and sweet coffee drinks.
Not only can you lose weight, but you can feel better.
Carter, who is director of Delaware’s Wellness Center, rightly notes that liquid calories are often overlooked:
“For many, calories that are swallowed in liquid form don’t seem to “count” as much as those we consume with a fork and spoon. In a lot of cases, however, calorie-laden beverages are responsible for packing on the pounds.
“If you’re looking for ways to reduce your total calorie intake, take a look at what you drink throughout the day. By simply altering your choice of beverages, you can save lots of calories. The calorie content of beverages such as fruit juices, specialty coffee drinks and regular soda is significant. A 12-ounce regular soda has 150 calories; the same amount of orange juice has 165. A specialty coffee drink can have more than 300 calories.
“Not only do they pack a lot of calories, these innocent-looking beverages provide little in the way of satiety or a feeling of fullness.”
Carter offers some ideas for low- or no-calorie beverages. While I also applaud drinking water, seltzer water and unsweetened herbal iced tea, I’m totally against her recommendation to drink Crystal Light drinks, which contain aspartame and maltodextrin.
If you feel overwhelmed about the idea of stopping sugary drinks, try just cutting back by, say, a third, or half. Do a little bit at a time and eventually you’ll be able to taper off completely. Of course, other people prefer to just cut out these sweet beverages all at once. Just find out what works for you. Need help kicking sugar? Join my free, online, Yahoo KickSugar group.