Rethink Your Drinks

Hot weather is here, which means it is very important to stay hydrated! However, it is even more important to stay hydrated with better-for-you drink options. It can be very easy to opt for a sugar filled lemonade or high calorie iced coffee drink when you’re thirsty and temperatures are high. 

Water is the best drink choice. Water is essential for so many of your body functions: maintaining body fluids, regulating body temperature, improving brain function, aiding with weight loss, and helps relieve constipation. 

Aim for half your body weight in ounces. For example, if you are 160 pounds, aim for 80 ounces of water each day (unless otherwise specified by your doctor). I highly recommend getting a large reusable water bottle!

Think about what drinks you consume each day. It is important to see where you’re getting your calories from (try not to drink your calories).  Many people who wonder why they aren’t losing weight or are gaining weight is because they forget to track their liquid calories. Drinks can be loaded with calories, mostly coming from the form of carbohydrates (sugar). These are empty calories with no or little nutrients. 

Too much consumption of sugar can really damage and affect our health. Too much sugar can lead to weight gain and obesity, and also increase your risk of getting heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. 

Sugar can also affect your skin by increasing acne and can even worsen wrinkles. Many studies have also shown an increase in depression among those who consume large amounts of sugar.

Added sugar (and therefore extra calories) can be found in many processed drinks (and liquor). 

International Delight Vanilla Coffee Creamer has 5 grams of added sugars for only a one tablespoon serving (who adds only one tablespoon to your coffee?). If you add three tablespoons of creamer to your coffee and have two cups of coffee each day, that is 30g of sugar and over 200g of sugar each week! 

Minute Maid Lemonade has 27 grams of added sugar for an 8 ounce serving. 

A 16 oz. Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino has 54g of added sugar. 

A 20 oz. bottle of orange Gatorade has 34g of added sugar. 

A can of A & W Root Beer has 46g of sugar. Many alcohol drinks contain added sugars, especially those made with fruit juices and soda. A cranberry and vodka drink, for example, contains on average 18g of sugar. Sweet wine also contains many added sugars.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests aiming for getting less than 10% of your daily calories from added sugars (if you eat 2,000 calories a day that means no more than 200 calories coming from added sugars). 

On average, adults consume 17 teaspoons of sugar daily compared, much higher than the recommendation. Make sure to look at the nutrition labels under ‘Total Carbohydrates’ and ‘Includes ___g added sugars’. It is best to consume foods and drinks that have little or no added sugars and to stay within the nutrition recommendations. 

The good news is that there are a lot of better-for-you drink options! Many of the popular drinks (and alcoholic drinks) are being made with less or no added sugar. Look for “no added sugars” or “unsweetened” on the packaging. 

Be careful to consume too many artificial sugars often found in diet drinks (aspartame, sucralose, etc.), these can also be bad for your health. 

Some of my favorite drinks are Bubbly, Spindrift, La Croix, and AHA sparkling water, these come in many different flavors. 

If you aren’t a fan of plain water, try adding different fruit (lemons and limes for example) for flavor change. 

You can find many unsweetened or low sugar coffee creamers in grocery stores (also, check with your local coffee shop to find a better-for-you option). 

There are also many alcoholic drink options with little or no added sugars such as White Claw, Bud Light Seltzers and Lemonade, Corona Seltzer, Mike Hard Lemonade Seltzer, and many different low carb beer options. For mixers, opt away from soda or juice. 

Cheers!

Dana Boler is a mom of two boys and a wife on a mission to help others become their best self. She is a Certified Health Coach with a Bachelor’s Degree in Dietetics. Her practice, B Your Best Wellness Coaching is personalized Health Coaching with mental health, physical activity, and nutrition in mind. Follow her for more health related posts on Instagram and Facebook at B Your Best Wellness Coaching and to inquire about Health Coaching.