Hidden Calories Part 1: Drinks and Beverages

Some people only count calories in consumed food, but forget about the calories in their drinks. Have you ever checked a nutrient table on a can of soda? Or do you maybe only drink water? How many spoons of sugar do you put in your tea or coffee?

Many people don't know that many times what usually brings taste to the food is fat and sugar. And the same is true for drinks. For example, 2 glasses of champagne is the same as half a bar of chocolate. And a can of the most popular soda drink in the world has 53 grams of sugar. So, let's learn which hidden calories in drinks and beverages are, and how to avoid them.

Find Your Fluid Calorie Boosters

Sweetened drinks increase sugar in the blood very quickly. This consequently causes a rapid drop, which creates the feeling of hunger, reaching for unhealthy snacks and bad mood when stepping on a scale. Commonly known drinks with a lot of calories are "commercial" ice tea, energy drinks, fruit syrups, carbonated sweetened drinks, fruit nectars …

Do you often find yourself drinking such things? Even if you don't, you should pay attention also to other drinks that include lots of sugar, although we wouldn't think so. For example flavored water is actually un-colored juice. And do you maybe like a big cup of sweet coffee in the morning? Keep the coffee, get rid of the sugar! Other drinks that contain lots of calories are alcoholic drinks. A pint of lager for example could easily replace a ring doughnut.

How to Eliminate Sugars in Your Drinks

Now that we know where in drinks we can find hidden calories, it will be easier to avoid them. But if you stop or reduce sweetened drinks and beverages, that shouldn't mean you'll stop consuming fluids at all. You just have to replace them with unsweetened healthy drinks, such as tea (unsweetened) or water.

Especially, if you are dieting, it's recommended to increase the intake of water, the best drink for quenching thirst and rehydration of the body, because it helps with weight loss. Are you worried if you'll be able to give up sweetened drinks? Good news is that getting used to a less sweet taste takes less than a week regardless whether you eat sweets or drink soft drinks.