Losing Weight? Avoid Drinking Excessive Calories

You may not notice it, but when trying to lose weight, people are only focusing on the food they eat. They don't pay attention to what they are drinking. In other words, drinks or beverages that they, too, contain a lot of calories that could make or break your weight loss attempt.

That means if you are trying to lose weight, don't just pay attention to the food you eat. Watch over the drinks you guzzle down, because they may contain the same amount of calories as some of the meals you eat.

Here are some of the guidelines to remember when choosing the beverages to drink. For sake of clarification, 4 ounces are equivalent to a regular coffee cup, 8 ounces are equivalent to a drinking glass and 16 ounces are equivalent to a tumbler.

I. Iced Tea
Never mind if you drink iced tea made from scratch. But iced tea with a teaspoon of sugar has 15 calories. Now imagine those bottomless iced tea being offered at fastfood chains and restaurants. Because they are added with commercial sweeteners, people are mindlessly drinking a lot of calories.

II. Specialty Coffee
Coffee and other specialties from Starbucks are getting popular around the world, and sadly, for weight watchers who mindlessly drink these fancy concoctions, they are ignoringly adding more calories than they should. A 16-ounce cup of Chocolate Brownie Frappuccino has 490 calories which is like eating 2 slices of chocolate cake.
Instead of opting for this, choose a non-fat milk rather than whole milk or cream and forego the whipped cream or the chocolate syrup. A tall glass of capuccinno, latte, mocha with non-fat milk have 60, 110 and 140 calories, respectively.

III. Smoothies
The average fruit-based smoothie has 180 calories. But add other artificial sweeteners like honey, fruit nectar, peanuts, cream and syrup and you'll have 400-950 calories added to your weight, which is like eating a Quarter Pounder with fries at McDonald's.

IV. Sports Drinks
Sports drinks like Gatorade are only good if you are doing intense exercises in a very hot environment for more than 90 minutes because they are a good source of electrolytes and carbohydrates.
But if you are doing moderate exercises, you are better off drinking water instead. That's because a bottle of Gatorade contains 96 calories. If you read the label closely, it says it has 24 calories, when it actually has 24 calories per 100 ml. Gatorade has 400 ml per bottle, by the way.

V. Fruit juices
It's better to eat the whole fruit than drinking it in juice form. That's because a medium-sized orange has only 50 calories, while the juice has double the amount. Besides, the fiber in the fruit will keep you feeling full.

Commercial fruit drinks are only made of water and flavorings and sugar, so little nutrition is left there. So stick to the real thing if you are after the nutrients.

A 176-ounce tumbler of lemonade mix has 200 calories, so watch out for bottomless lemonades.

VI. Diet Soda
Most soda has 150 calories for every 12 ounces. But diet soft drinks have zero calories, which can be a good alternative if you want to drink soft drinks.
But be sure to drink moderately, because you might be thinking just because they have no calories that you can eat a whole lot more, or your body might react to the artificial sweeteners used so it feels hungrier.

VII. Alcohol
Hard alcoholic beverages like gin, whisky, rum, brandy, tequila and vodka have about 115 to 125 calories per jigger, while mixed drinks have between 150 to 250 calories depending on the mixers used.

Red or white wine contain 85 to 100 calories for every four-ounce glass. A 12-ounce bottle of beer has about 150 calories.

Conclusion
It is always better to measure the amount of calories you will be adding to your weight if you drink without knowing. Think about it. When losing weight, don't just focus on the food alone; pay attention to the drinks you are guzzling down.