Empty Calories: Get Rid Of Them!
We have become a calorie focused society.
This is evident in the number of food and beverage products we purchase which have visible wordings that advertise how it is a reduced calorie product per servings. Heck, to take this phenomena future, some beer companies have come out with reduced calorie beer. 
And for those that are concerned with their weight, we have been increasingly educated via various mediums on how fluid intake, over time, in how this can have an effect on pounds gained and pounds lost.
Drinks such as soda/pop and fruit juices (orange juice, apple juice, etc.) and other beverages are considered ‘empty calories’….calories that you can do without, and have little to no nutritional advantages. These drinks are loaded with sugars which directly add up the calories and carbs(carbohydrates) over time. In a can of pop, there are roughly 10 packs of sugar. Yikes. Many high schools have taken soda vending machines out of the schools because of the weight gain caused by consuming many calories from soft drinks and fruit juices. If you drink a can of pop each day for a year, you’ll gain roughly 16 pounds. That’s a lot of pounds just from drinking pop! I rarely buy cartoons of orange juice and jars of apple juice because I’ve discovered that I can live without those unproductive calories the majority of the times. If it’s vitamin C that you want, get yourself a fresh orange.
I’m not a fish! I want to drink more than just water daily!
I’d be lying if I said I only drink water on a daily basis. There’s more to life than just water. There are many beverages that can be consumed on a daily basis that are of nutritional value, such as green tea. I list green tea in another one of my blogs [here] as one thing that we all can do to help in weight maintenance because it serves to help increase your metabolism over time, if you’re drinking at least 3 cups/day.
Myself, I also like Glaceau Vitamin Water and low calorie brands of Gatorade. I rarely drink Gatorade, and I tend to like the Vitamin Waters. Triple X and Energy are my favorite Vitamin Waters. If you’re not keen on reading labels and actually understanding how important this is, I’d suggest you do some research on how to read labels on the foods and drinks we buy. I say this because once you compare a bottle of Vitamin Water to a can of Coca-Cola, the Vitamin Water only has slightly less calories and sugar. This doesn’t bother me as much because if you’re working out at least 2 to 3 times a week, you’ll be able to burn those calories off. As said, I drink these beverages sparingly, maybe 1 or 2 times every two weeks. I’ve read elsewhere that these drinks only provide energy to the body, and nothing much else. That’s fine by me as well. Fyi, Vitamin Water has now come out with a line of reduced calories/bottle. I haven’t quite gotten used to the change in taste, but for those that want to be extra careful with their calorie intake, these new low cal drinks can be an option for you.
There are some people who try to live and eat healthy, but simply cannot drink plain water. As a suggestion here, try to add fruit pieces to your glass of water. I slice of lime or lemons are the more popular additives to spruce up a glass of water.
Caffeine is a must to start my day off, and that won’t change!
I’d say, not a problem if the above statement sounds like you. I’d only hope that you’re not as stubborn when it comes to soft drinks! If it’s caffeine you’re looking for, go with coffee instead of the cola or diet soft drinks, in my opinion. Your kidneys may thank you later on. The artificial sugars that are put in those diet pops are well documented as not being good for the body. You can cut off a TON OF CALORIES by simply cutting out all of these types of ‘empty’ calories. Just remember to be patient, but consistent as this process should be viewed over a long period of time to see its effectiveness. Trust me, ya can do without these drinks! With coffee, a cup of black coffee with no added sugar is easily less than 10 calories. Not bad at all. Try to limit or abstain from adding creamers and regular milk(use skim milk). Always look for fat-free creamer and milk. One teaspoon of regular creamer is equal to 10 calories, fyi. Some people use about 2-3 scoops of creamer per a cup of coffee. If just drinking 1 cup of coffee/day, that’s about 210 calories/week. It’ll take you 1.5 hours of brisk walking to burn that many calories off. But don’t look at it that way. You’d rather want to walk to have a focus on increasing your metabolism as opposed to burning off calories. Better to be productive rather than making up for lost time.
Lastly, I think that cutting these empty calories such be one of the most obtainable weight loss and weight maintenance goals that we can shoot to achieve! I wouldn’t suggest going cold turkey from drinking soda/pops. If these types of drinks have been a mainstay for you, going cold turkey can cause some physical withdrawals with a headache being one of the main symptoms. You should taper off over a short period of time. I’m not saying to totally reframe from drinking anything but water, especially if you’re consistent with a exercise routine and/or you’re an active person each day.
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