Want to Lose Weight? Don’t Drink Your Calories

Karen Buzby, RD, LDN, member of the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery team, provides tips for lowering calorie intake from beverages.

Looking for ways to cut your calorie intake? An easy place to start is with your beverages. Drinks like juice, soda and coffee are often high-calorie and can sabotage your weight loss efforts -- or even contribute to weight gain! Always read the nutrition facts to determine the calories per serving and servings per container before drinking a beverage.

Follow these tips to reduce your liquid calorie intake:

Drink plenty of water – Whether you drink regular or flavored water made from natural fruit essence, it is hydrating, refreshing and calorie-free.

Keep your coffee low-calorie – Black coffee is calorie-free but adding creamer, sugar or flavored syrups can make coffee as caloric as an entire meal! For a healthy but tasty coffee beverage, use nonfat, 1 percent or light soy milk and sweeten it with a teaspoon or single packet of sugar, calorie-free artificial sweetener or sugar-free flavored syrup.

Drink regular or iced tea instead of fruit juice – Fruit juice is high in fructose, a naturally occurring sugar, but home-brewed or diet tea is calorie-free. You can flavor tea without adding a lot of calories by adding a slice of lemon, a splash of fruit juice or fresh mint leaves.

Avoid sodas and sports drinks – These beverages often come in supersized portions and contain large amounts of sugar and empty calories. If you are craving a soda or sports drink, try a diet version to limit your sugar and caloric intake.

Stick to low-fat or nonfat milk - Milk is an excellent source of protein and calcium and a healthy, low-calorie choice. Make sure to select nonfat or 1 percent milk to reduce the fat content.

Try a smoothie – Smoothies made from fruit or low-fat yogurt can be a healthy beverage choice or snack option as long as the ingredients are low-fat and low-sugar.

Cut down on alcohol - Alcoholic beverages are high calorie and dehydrate the body. If you choose to have an alcoholic beverage, make sure you drink in moderation. For women, that means no more than one alcoholic drink a day and for men, it is no more than two alcoholic drinks a day.

- Karen Buzby, RD, LDN