 The
beverages we consume are sometimes forgotten calories. If
you are trying to lose weight, you may want to assess the
calories you are drinking as well as the ones you are
eating.
Even the beverages that are good for you
contain calories and sometimes fat. Five grams of fat would
be equal to eating a teaspoon of butter. Many milk drinkers
think nothing of drinking two or three 16 ounce glasses of
milk per day. Three 16 ounce glasses of 2% milk in a day
would be more than half the fat calories that most people
should consume. If milk drinkers could switch to 1% milk,
they would cut their fat intake in half. Over the course of
a year, this would make a significant impact on their weight
and probably their cholesterol levels (keeping in mind that
they are watching gat and calories in other areas as well).
Pop is another beverage to assess. A 12
ounce can of regular pop contains approximately 150
calories. There are approximately 9 to 12 teaspoons of sugar
in a can of pop. No one would ever think of eating 12
teaspoons of sugar out of their sugar bowl! Many people now
consume carbonated beverages out of 20 ounce bottles,
consuming even more sugar!
Reducing the calories you take in, by 500
calories a day for seven days would equal a one-pound weight
loss per week. Changing the beverages you consume can make a
significant impact on your success at weight loss!
- Rella
Rotondo, RD, LD
Summa Health System
learn more ...
|
