18), making better beverage choices may not only result in a lower number on the scale, but it may help reshape your figure and prevent or reverse the stereotypical middle-age spread.Research shows that your brain doesn’t register liquid calories as well as those from solid food, so you can drink a full meal’s worth of calories and still not feel full. A recent review of studies suggested that substituting water and other calorie-free quenchers (diet soft drinks, coffee, and tea) for soda, juice, and alcohol may help people reach and stay at a healthy weight. And a surprising 2009 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that cutting calories from sugar-sweetened beverages helped participants lose more weight than trimming calories from solid food. Since sugar promotes fat storage around your middle as you get older (18), making better beverage choices may not only result in a lower number on the scale, but it may help reshape your figure and prevent or reverse the stereotypical middle-age spread.
You’ll need to sip selectively to avoid empty calories, but you don’t have to forgo all your favorite drinks. For example, make your latte a lot leaner by switching to nonfat milk, shunning whipped cream, and asking for a smaller amount of flavored syrups. Better yet, ditch the syrup entirely and sprinkle cocoa or cinnamon on top for guilt-free flavor. Alcohol is a sneaky source of extra calories, and cocktail mixers can really tip the scale. If you choose to imbibe, your best bet is a 5 ounce glass of wine, which contains about 110 calories.
If you’re looking for one simple diet tweak to offset your naturally slowing metabolism as you get older, drinking more water could be your golden ticket. A 2005 study in the journal Obesity Research found that people who were regular water drinkers—meaning they drank about 52 ounces (1.53 L) per day, on top of milk, juice, and the occasional soft drink—consumed an average of 193 fewer calories a day than people who didn’t drink any water. Think water is too boring? Add a twist of lemon or lime, or add fresh berries to a pitcher of water and keep it in the fridge to infuse it with calorie-free flavor. If you want to add fizz for extra interest, make your own sparkling water with a seltzer bottle (aka a soda siphon) and carbon dioxide cartridges. Or use your water to make tea, which has other health and weight loss benefits (15).
Starting your meal with a glass of water can also help you eat less, according to a 2008 study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. In the study, a group of sixty-year-old adults who drank 500 ml (a little over 2 cups) of water thirty minutes before breakfast ate 13 percent fewer calories during the meal than those who didn’t drink water. Interestingly, researchers in the same lab published a related study that showed this effect was true for older adults (sixty to eighty years old), but not for adults younger than thirty-five.
If you’re a fan of fruit juice, switch to 100 percent juice varieties that contain pulp to get a little satiating fiber with no added sugar. Of course, whole fruit is still your best bet, but if you’re thirsting for a drink, whip up a fruit smoothie using chunks of frozen fruit and a little juice or milk. For an extra dose of filling fiber, toss in a handful of oats or a tablespoon of wheat germ or ground flaxseed. That simple addition may also help combat your body’s tendency to store fat around your middle as you get older—a 2007 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who ate the most whole grains and cereal fiber had lower BMIs and smaller waistlines (by two-and-a-half inches!) than those who ate the least.
