How many calories do you drink?

March 23rd, 2009 at 03:36pm Mike DeDoncker

We pretty much know the conventional healthy eating advice — cut down on the fatty meats and cheeses, consume more fruits and vegetables, switch to whole-grain breads and pastas and be mindful of realistic portion sizes.

The main idea is to take in high-grade fuel and leave out the excess calories that will weigh down performance.

Well, don’t forget to count the calories in what you drink. While it probably doesn’t make a significant difference that you order the diet soda to go along with your double cheeseburger with bacon and extra sauce, it is a saving of 140 to 150 calories.

In fact, sugared soda is the number one source of refined sugar in the American diet at 10 to 12 teaspoons in a 12-ounce can. That’s enough to earn it the nickname of liquid candy.

Here, according to a chart I found in ”Take Charge of Your Health” by Aileen Ludington and Hans Diehl, are some other drinks and their calorie counts:

1 cup of coffee with cream and sugar — 75, 1 cup of orange juice — 110, 12 ounces of diet soft drink — 0, 12 ounces of fruit punch — 140, 1 cup of nonfat milk — 90, 1 cup of whole milk — 160, 12-ounce milk shake — 425, 12-ounce beer — 150, 1 cocktail — 150, 12 ounces of mineral water — 0.

Plain water also has no calories and doesn’t irritate your system — but it is PLAIN.

So, if you can’t stick to water, drink what you want but remember to count your liquid calories in the total. 

Entry Filed under: Uncategorized