Dieting, Make Your Beverages Count

Written by Diet Bites

Want to lose weight?

It may take nothing more than eliminating the calorie-loaded beverages from your diet.

Let's look into the normal day of Mr. River Fullofdip. He is 5' 6" and needs to lose about 50 pounds. Why don't we sneak up on him and do a little investigating into his normal 'beverage' routine?

Breakfast Menu, Beverages

1 cup of orange juice

1 glass of whole milk

Oh me, oh my! River is using a 16-oz tumbler there and he's filled it to the rim. This is going to cost him big time.

Mid-Morning Menu, Beverages

1-20 oz cola soda straight from the plastic bottle

Lunch Menu, Beverages

2 glasses of sweetened tea

2 cups of strong coffee heavily creamed and sweetened

(His boss, Mr. Moneysaddles, is with him so River finds need of caffeine.)

Mid-Afternoon Menu, Beverages

1-20 oz 'un-cola' soda straight from the plastic bottle

Dinner Menu, Beverages

2 glasses of sweetened tea

1 Brandy Alexander

(River is dining out with his wife, Precious, a nice change from his stressful lunch. He relaxes as he listens to Precious discussing her plans for holiday decorating, wishing for a tall glass of spiked eggnog.)

Mid-Evening Snack

1 light beer

The light beer is a 'must' for River as he watches the Cowboys play the Indians. We will not comment on the 'light' feature at this time.

Bedtime Snacks

1 small glass of whole chocolate milk (And River used a lot of the bunny-mix in the glass.)

Okay, the day is done for River and it's time for us to stop snooping and begin totaling his 'beverage' calorie intake.

Calories in Beverages Consumed Throughout Daily Diet

Whole milk has about 150 calories per cup (8 ounces); orange juice about 100 calories.

Depending on the type of soda, River's calories will vary. For argument's sake, let's calculate 250 calories per soda.

Tea; let's average 75 calories per glass; coffee, 75 calories; and light beer 100 calories.

That Brandy Alexander will cost River dearly; 250 calories.

The chocolate milk will set him back about 300 calories.

Grand Beverage Intake Total: About 1,925 calories. Oh no!  

For a man River's size, a healthy daily calorie intake is about 2,000. River is in dire need of our help, don't you think?

Let's suggest some fantastic substitutions that perhaps all of use can use:

Diet Soda Tips

Tip: If you don't like the diet after taste, try concealing your beverage with a few drops of extract such as vanilla, rum, brandy or chocolate. It takes a bit of time for your taste buds to adjust to the diet flavor, so if you are sincerely interested in losing weight, it's worth the wait.

Diet Lemonade Recipe

Tip: Add a freshly squeezed lemon to a glass of water and a few packs of Equal. If you are at a restaurant, you can request fresh sliced lemons; or if you're eating at a fast food establishment, try some of the packaged lemon juice.

Club Soda Tips

Experiment with this wonderful base using puréed fruit such as peaches and strawberries. Sweeten with a bit of Equal.

Flavored Teas

Talk about selection! Lemon, raspberry, herbal teas, relaxation teas, prevention teas – just to name a few. Or, experiment with plain tea by adding springs of mint, cinnamon or clove.

Flavored Coffees

Again, the coffees mirror the current tea syndrome. Tip: Add a butterscotch-flavored candy to a cup of coffee for a different yum-yum taste. It will only add about 25 calories. What a great deal, eh?

Bouillon

What a great way to relax! Warm chicken or beef bouillon is the cat's meow, especially on a rainy or cold day.

Do take note that bouillon tends to be extreme in sodium values - so beware of such.

Tip: Add cracked pepper to your bouillon.

Fat & Sugar Free Cocoa Recipe

For about 35-50 calories you can get a great chocolate lift! Live a little by adding a few mini marshmallows to the cup.

Veggie Beverages, Recipes

The broth from some vegetables makes a wonderful warm drink.

For example, try pureeing a few chunks of a potato in some of the cooked potato broth. Squash also works very well. Add a little no-calorie refrigerated butter spray for body and a richer flavor.

Shake, Baby, Shake! Recipe for Dieters

For about 100 calories, have a healthy shake. Take ¾ cup of skim milk and add a couple of ice cubes and some fruit, such as frozen strawberries.

Add Equal to sweeten and if desired, some sugar-free, low-fat yogurt (about ¼ cup). Whip this mixture up and serve ice cold. It's filling, healthy and pretty!

Miscellaneous Beverage Tips for Dieters

Substitute water for sugary drinks to save calories. It has so many additional benefits!

Use either the pink stuff, or the blue stuff to sweetened your drinks.

Measure your creamer and use either the fat-free or skim varieties.

Forego alcoholic beverages and save a bunch of calories.

Try some of the great 'almost no-calorie' beverages on the market, such as Crystal Light.

Buy unsweetened Kool-Aid and sweeten with your blue or pink packets.

Now let's all sneak quietly from the room amid River's snoring. We'll leave our tip list on his bedside table. Sweet dreams, River…

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