Calories In Drinks May Be Slowing Down Your Weight Loss
By the time that 2015 is upon us – an all too short 7 years from now – three quarters of adults in the US are projected to be overweight or obese. It is not just an issue of outward looks, being overweight brings risks of many health related dangers, issues that will only get bigger as an increasing amount of us do.
This fattening epidemic is to be expected when you consider that we Americans take in from 150-300 more calories per day than we did 25 years ago. There are a variety of reasons for this – Fast foods, processed and prepared meals, ever increasing meal sizes, too few good fats and too many bad ones, as well as an impressive and regularly expanding choice of calorie laden drinks.
Our tastes these days have become accustomed to liquid calories, like coffee drinks, smoothies, energy drinks and flavored waters. The problem is that calories in liquid form are difficult to keep track of. Calories in liquid form just aren’t as satisfying as solid food, and many of the liquids we drink without really thinking have little, if any, nutritional value.
Experts have discovered that the mechanism of drinking calories, and not having to prepare or chew them as you ordinarily would do with a solid food meal, allow these calories slide under your calorie counting radar with ease.
Removing those calories that offer minimal nutrition will greatly assist you in your efforts to lose weight. Cut out the least satisfying, and least nutritious, calories initially, then move on.
On reading drinks labels, the most important thing to look at is the amount of calories contained – forget the list of ingredients for the time being. Even drinks labelled ‘healthy’ can bring along additional calories too. In the end, it’s the total number of calories that really counts.
Therefore, if your objective is to lose weight, your best drink choice is to move more towards calorie free, all natural water. If you don’t feel ready to make the switch to less sugared drinks right away, try sugared water until you get used to a less sweet taste.
