CHANGE #23
Rethink What You Drink
SIMPLY PUT… Before you drink anything that isn’t water, check how many calories it contains, then ask yourself two questions:
• “Do I want to drink these liquid calories or would I rather save them and eat something filling instead?”
• “What am I really craving right now?”
I promised you I wouldn’t have you counting calories, but that doesn’t mean I want you to ignore that they exist.
A lot of people feel that if they aren’t chewing their calories, then they’re not ingesting calories. Well, I hate to break it to you, but calories are calories, whether they come from the foods we eat or the beverages we drink.
When you start adding up what you quenched your thirst with over the course of the day—that glass of orange juice with breakfast, a whole milk latte for the car ride to work, a soda with lunch, a glass of wine at night—these are all calories that you could’ve avoided. Or at least saved and used to eat more nutrient-rich foods.
Even worse, most liquid calories tend to be empty and nutrition-less, particularly alcohol, coffee, and soda. Even beverages you may assume are healthy for you—like energy drinks or fruit juice, for example—are not as rich in nutrients as their whole-food counterparts and are oftentimes packed with sugar. All that sugar triggers the release of insulin, which causes your body to store more excess calories as fat.
But the biggest reason to watch what you’re drinking is because you can drink faster than you can eat. You can’t chew what you’re drinking twenty times until your stomach catches up, so it’s easy to throw back a lot of calories without even realizing it. And when people drink beverages with a lot of liquid calories, they also tend to eat a lot more calories with them.
What makes this Change so powerful is that by cutting back on your “liquid calories,” your body will never notice the difference. Since liquid calories don’t satiate hunger (only thirst), by trimming them back rather than cutting back on your calories by eating less food, you don’t experience the same feelings of deprivation. If you’re already hydrated, craving liquid calories is usually nothing more than a need for taste—but it’s usually not anything you can’t satisfy in other, less caloric ways.
Your Plan
I’m not expecting you to go cold turkey on what you drink, but instead to keep liquid calories from making your journey more difficult. Try doing the following things before you take that first sip:
1. Look at the calorie amount of what you’re about to drink, then ask yourself if you could benefit more by spending those calories eating something. Would I prefer to see you trade in the 200-calorie caffè latte you usually throw back to wake up in the morning for a four-egg-white omelet, a piece of fruit, and a big cup of black coffee? Let’s all say yes at the same time.
2. Ask yourself, “What am I really craving?” Whenever we reach for something to drink, there’s a reason for it. Are you just thirsty, or are you craving something sweet? Is it the carbonation that you’re looking for, or is it just having something warm to sip? You may be surprised that what you crave is something that could just as easily be found in other, non-caloric options like a cup of hot tea, some seltzer water (with a hint of lime), or plain old water.
3. If all else fails, pick the smallest size possible. Everyone loves a bargain, but whenever you bump a drink up from small to supersize to get more for your buck, your body is paying for it later. Going with the smallest size possible is usually enough to satisfy your taste buds without having to disappoint your waistline.
Need an idea of what you might be adding to your day? This general list of the most commonly reached-for drinks will give you a ballpark tally on how many calories you’re tacking onto your daily total without realizing it:
Beverage: Alcohol (80-proof gin, rum, vodka, whiskey), minus any mixers
Serving Size (ounces): 1.5
Calories (on average): 100
Beverage: Apple juice (unsweetened)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 170
Beverage: Beer (regular)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 150
Beverage: Beer (light)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 100
Beverage: Carrot juice
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 150
Beverage: Chocolate milk (whole)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 300 to 320
Beverage: Chocolate milk (2%)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 285
Beverage: Chocolate milk (1%)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 230 to 240
Beverage: Coconut water
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 60 to 70
Beverage: Cranberry-apple juice
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 225
Beverage: Cranberry juice cocktail
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 200
Beverage: Cranberry juice (unsweetened)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 165
Beverage: Caffè latte (with skim milk)
Serving Size (ounces): 12 (tall)
Calories (on average): 100
Beverage: Caffè latte (with whole milk)
Serving Size (ounces): 12 (tall)
Calories (on average): 205
Beverage: Cappuccino (with whole milk)
Serving Size (ounces): 12 (tall)
Calories (on average): 110
Beverage: Coffee (black)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 0 to 5
Beverage: Coffee (with two Tbsp. of 1% milk or skim milk)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 25
Beverage: Coffee (with two Tbsp. of half-and-half)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 60
Beverage: Cosmopolitan
Serving Size (ounces): 2.75
Calories (on average): 150
Beverage: Grape juice (unsweetened)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 225
Beverage: Grapefruit juice (either pink or white)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 130 to 145
Beverage: Green tea (either bagged or loose)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 0
Beverage: Milk (whole)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 220
Beverage: Milk (2%)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 180
Beverage: Milk (1%)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 155
Beverage: Milk (skim)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 120
Beverage: Mineral water
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 0
Beverage: Orange juice
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 160 to 180
Beverage: Piña colada
Serving Size (ounces): 9
Calories (on average): 490
Beverage: Pineapple juice
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 200
Beverage: Pomegranate juice
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 200
Beverage: Seltzer or sparkling water
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 0
Beverage: Soda (diet)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 0 to 10
Beverage: Soda (regular)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 120 to 190 (depending on the brand)
Beverage: Tea (unsweetened)
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 0 to 5
Beverage: Tomato juice
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 60 to 70
Beverage: V8 vegetable juice
Serving Size (ounces): 12
Calories (on average): 75
Beverage: Wine (red)
Serving Size (ounces): 5
Calories (on average): 125
Beverage: Wine (white)
Serving Size (ounces): 5
Calories (on average): 120
Tips and Tricks
For those times when nothing will do but a hot cup of this or a cool glass of that, considering a few clever switches before you swig could make those liquid calories feel a little less shameful.
Reverse your java habits. Coffee by itself has zero calories—it’s the stuff you’re mixing into your cup that’s the culprit. So before you pour yourself coffee, take a teaspoon or tablespoon (depending on what you’re pouring into your coffee) and add what you typically put into your cup or mug first. (Milk, cream, sugar, donuts… whatever!) Being able to see what you’re actually adding can help you make smarter choices—or lessen the blow.
Here’s an idea of what you’re adding to your coffee with each and every spoonful:
• Agave nectar: 20 calories per teaspoon
• Granulated sugar: 16 calories per teaspoon
• Half-and-half: 20 calories per tablespoon
• Heavy whipping cream: 52 calories per tablespoon
• Honey: 21 calories per teaspoon
• Liquid concentrate creamers: 25 to 35 calories per tablespoon
• Milk (skim): 5 calories per tablespoon
• Milk (whole): 10 calories per tablespoon
• Whipped cream: 8 calories per tablespoon
Substitute a second cup with something different. Instead of pouring another coffee after you’ve had your first, switch to something else warm but even better for you, such as steeped ginger root or green tea, instead. You’ll start to realize that a second cup of coffee isn’t needed as much as you think.
Pulp it up over plain. If you can’t live without having a glass of fruit juice, then at least burn a few calories grabbing some fresh fruit and using a hand juicer to squeeze out a glass on your own. All the effort could make you appreciate what you’ve poured a little more (so you won’t be as likely to just chug it back), plus it adds more pulp, which leaves you feeling more satiated.
Add a splash of seltzer or water to any juice. Instead of pouring a full glass of juice, leave some room at the top and pour in some seltzer or cold water—preferably filtered so adding it doesn’t change the taste. Diluting your juice a bit won’t ruin your drink, but it will spare you a few calories for the effort. As you get used to the taste, try cutting back a little at a time until you’re fine with drinking a mix of half juice and half seltzer or filtered water.
If you’re dying for a smoothie, roll up your sleeves. Making your own smoothie (instead of having one made for you at your favorite juice bar franchise) will give you control over what’s being whipped up. It may take more time and effort, but you’ll most likely add fewer calories, which will save you time sweating them off later on.
To keep your fruit smoothie under your caloric budget, these low-cal veggie options add plenty of bulk to your blender, have zero to little flavor (so you’ll still taste whatever fruits you’re mixing together), and are fortified with vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
• Bok choy
• Cabbage
• Canned pumpkin
• Cucumber
• Jicama
• Spinach
• Summer squash
• Tomato
• Zucchini
Choose a lighter option, but pretend it’s regular. Going with a lower-calorie version of a drink is always a better choice—but it can also cause you to drink more because you feel less guilty. The problem: Many low-sugar drinks are sweetened artificially, using ingredients such as aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, and stevia. What you may save in calories you might make back by eating more, since some artificial sweeteners may also increase your appetite.1
Have one or two water chasers for every alcoholic beverage. Will you be peeing every few minutes? Probably. But here’s the thing: Alcohol has 7 calories per gram. (That’s more than carbohydrates, which have only 4 calories per gram.) It also triggers the release of insulin to help break down the excess sugars found in most alcoholic beverages, which can lead to any extra calories from alcohol being metabolized and stored as unwanted body fat. Added bonus: Staying hydrated also lessens your chances of experiencing a hangover!
Consider a siesta over a Red Bull. Most energy drinks are not only loaded with calories, they typically contain ingredients I dare you to recognize—let alone pronounce. If a boost of energy is what you need, opt for a plain coffee or tea instead, or give your body what it really needs—a quick nap.