Beverages can also lead to weight gain!

If you are the kind of person who has to have a drink with your meal or quench your thirst with a glass of juice, start your day with your morning lattes, and get to have your afternoon tea, you will need to watch those liquid calories.

They can easily pile up with the extra kilos around your waist as much as extra food intake does.

You should always bear in mind that sweetened drinks such as processed juices, shakes, teas with sugar, coffees with creams and carbonated beverages are high in simple sugars and rich in calories and when consumed regularly can lead to weight gain and obesity, and can even put you at a high risk of type II diabetes.

The table below will allow you to compare the energy content of highly-consumed beverages: 

Beverage	Description	Size	Calorie Content
Hot Chocolate	Regular	250 ml	210
Café Mocha	Full-fat milk, + whip	450 ml	400
Café Mocha	Non-fat, no whip	450 ml	220
Café Latte	Full-fat	366 ml	220
Cappuccino	Full-fat without sugar	244 ml	140
Bottled tea	Sweetened	336 ml	116
Milkshake	Ready-made large, full-fat	460 ml	600
Milkshakes (all flavours)	Low-fat	295 ml	360
Carbonated beverages	Regular	336 ml	160
Orange juice	Commercial	250 ml	125
Pineapple juice	Unsweetened	250 ml	140

Sugary drinks should not be consumed as part of a healthy lifestyle as they are loaded with excess calories and have little nutritional value. Replacing these drinks with calorie-free or low-calorie options such as water, low-fat milk, unsweetened herbal tea, an occasional diet soft drink or lemonade, and moderate amounts of natural fruit juices, can significantly reduce the caloric intake and weight gain. 

Be careful!

A single can of soda contains 160 calories and around 50 grams of high-fructose corn syrup, or the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of table sugar! 

Research says…

Research showed in one study that women who increased their soft-drink consumption to 1 or more per day for 8 years gained 7.65 kilos in 8 years.

Good to know

If you cut down your daily intake by 1 can of carbonated beverage, you can lose around 0.64 kg a month. 

What you should know about Liquid Calories

• Liquid Calories are not a wise investment for your daily calorie intake. Instead, food calories make you feel full for a longer time.
• Watch the high-fructose corn syrup to avoid weight gain, which are usually found in many soft drinks, fruit juices and sports drinks.
• Limit carbonated beverages to a minimum which may contribute to obesity in the long run.
• Eat your carbohydrates rather than drink them as it’s always better to eat an orange full of fibre and vitamins than to drink the sweetened orange commercial juice. This way, you would save almost 75 calories and have more health benefits.
• Switch to alternative sweeteners if you really want a soda; opt for the diet variety instead.
• Make wise decisions in choosing your coffee in coffee shops. Keep in mind that the more whipped cream you add, full-fat milk and sugar, the more calories you are adding.
• Drink Water; it’s always the best option. It is not only calorie-free, but will also help you lose weight!