Tipping the Scales
By Jan Adams-Kaplan, MS, RD, CDE,
Nutrition
Portland Downtown Office
Portland South Office
THE OTHER DRINKING PROBLEM
America has a drinking problem, and it's not all about alcohol. it's about soda pop, smoothies, milkshakes, "candy coffee," sports drinks, sugary tea drinks, juice drinks and artificially flavored fruit drinks, energy drinks, and yes, alcoholic drinks, too. the problem is that we're drinking too many calories, and it's making us fat.
Getting fat on fluids
Humans evolved to drink water, which meets 100 percent of the body's need for fluids while providing no calories. Today, our high-calorie beverage choices are supplying more than 20 percent of our daily calories.
Liquid calories don't register in the brain's appetite control center the way that solid foods do. Studies show that when you get your calories from solid food, your brain dampens your appetite for more food. But when you drink liquid calories, your appetite is not satisfied, so you still feel the need to eat food.
Seemed like a good idea at the time
This control mechanism developed over the millennia so that we wouldn't fill up on water and starve to death. But today, with many drinks weighing in at 400 calories or more, that protective control function works against us. We can drink hundreds of extra calories a day, with no dampening effect on our appetite. So, instead of compensating for those extra liquid calories by eating less, we're just adding them to the bottom line.
Compare Calories
Water ............................................................ 0
Unsweetened tea or coffee ............................... 0
Medium soda (22 ounces) ................................ 300
Starbuck's White Chocolate
Mocha (grande) .............................................. 440
Jamba Juice Peanut butter
Moo'd Smoothie ............................................. 840
Baskin-Robbins Chocolate
Milkshake (24 ounces) ................................... 1000
Bottom line: Get your calories from food, not from drinks
One of the easiest ways to control weight is to eliminate liquid calories.
Stay out of the beverage aisle in the grocery store. Instead, buy a lemon, a lime, an orange or a cucumber and throw a few slices into your water glass - it tastes great!
And the next time someone asks you, "Can I bring you something to drink?" just smile and ask for a tall glass of water. Not only will you save money, you'll also save inches from your waistline.
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