Liquid Calories

by Traveling Trainers Nutrition Coach Alex Andujar

December 31, 2020 – For a lot of us, beverages are a daily part of our lives. We consume things like coffee, tea, water, soda, juice, and more. Are some of these beverages hurting your health more than helping, though? In this blog post we’re going to dive into the dangers of liquid calories and some alternatives to consider.

Most people don’t even consider liquid calories when they’re taking an overall look at their diet. Unfortunately, these calories add up and add up quick! First off, because they’re liquids they’re much easier and quicker to consume. They don’t take up as much space in your stomach as say, fruit or vegetables. This makes it easy to consume multiple glasses in one sitting.

Before I go any further, I want to give you a snapshot of some of the biggest culprits that can be adding to your waistline:

That daily Starbucks Grande Vanilla Latte? 250 Calories

An 8oz serving of Orange Juice? 110 Calories

A 20oz bottle of Coca-Cola? 240 Calories

Let’s add that up really quick. If you have 1 glass of OJ at breakfast, stop for a Vanilla Latte at Starbucks on the way to work, and get a bottle of Coke as an afternoon pick-me-up, you’re looking at adding 600 Calories to your day in beverages alone! This is on top of any food you eat and assuming you only have one of each beverage.

On top of these, there’s booze which comes with a whole other set of potential issues. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but alcohol is nothing but empty calories. What does this mean? Simply put, there is absolutely no nutritional value to alcohol whatsoever. Bummer, I know. In addition to that, consuming too much alcohol often leads to us making poor food choices. While those couple of drinks may seem innocent enough, they may also be the difference between a healthy dinner or ordering out a large pizza with a dozen wings (and let’s be real – by this time you’re probably going to wash that down with more booze).

As delicious as some of your favorite beverages may be, there’s a real chance they could be the difference between achieving your goals and wondering why you’re not seeing results. How then can you begin to look at cleaning up those liquid calories? Considering some of these alternatives:

Instead of a super sugary coffee drink, try black coffee or the “skinny” version of your favorite drink which more than likely uses sugar-free syrups and skim milk.

Simply switch out your regular soda for a diet soda.

Instead of drinking fruit juice, try swapping it for an actual piece of fruit.

Drinking booze? Try to stick to 1-3 drinks in one sitting and be sure to drink water in between each drink.

If you’ve never given the types of drinks you’re consuming and how they might be affecting your goals any thought, I hope you’ve found this post to be eye-opening. If you’re not sure of good alternatives for your favorite drinks just reach out. The crew at Traveling Trainers would be more than happy to help you figure out how to clean up your beverage consumption!