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Thursday, September 10, 2009,3:50 PM
Take note: Think Before You Drink
Do you know that around 37 percent of our total daily liquid calories come from sugar-sweetened drinks? And here's the really crazy part: Gulping up those liquid-sugar has a bigger impact on our waistlines than anything else we eat.
But drink these freely:Tea
And for good reason: Hot or cold, it's calorie-free, and studies have found that compounds in green tea known as catechins rev your metabolism for up to 24 hours—meaning it actually helps you burn more calories.
Coffee
Like tea, unsweetened coffee is filled with healthy compounds and almost no calories. But if you're a fan of sugary coffee, remind yourself that you are actually drinking down 206 more calories a day. If you can't skip sugar or cream, be stingy with them or use low-cal or fat-free versions.
Avoid these;
Those sweetened can drinks in supermarket.
Go easier on :
Milk
Study of overweight women at Northern Illinois University found that soy milk was just as effective as non-fat cow's milk in helping them shed pounds. But stick to skim or low-fat moo juice and light soy milk; otherwise, the calories add up quickly.
Juice
If it comes from fruit, it must be healthy, right? Not so much.
Many juices have added sugars. And in terms of health benefits, you're always better off eating whole fruit instead, right ?
Alcohol
Happy hour is good for plenty of things, but weight loss isn't one of them. Savoring a drink every now and then does have perks, including reducing your risk of heart disease, but alcohol packs a lot of calories into a small glass, and it may even stimulate your appetite. As a result, your body stops burning fat until the alcohol is processed—that's roughly an hour for every drink. Most wines ring in between 100 and 120 calories a glass, but you can stretch it out by adding club soda and ice to make a spritzer. If you can't stomach that, have a Bloody Mary—a six-ounce glass delivers around 76 calories. That's reasonable.
