Liquid Calories

Liquid Calories
America’s weight gain is clearly attributable to the quantity and quality of food. In the last 100 years, our diet has changed more than it did in the previous 10,000 years combined. As I pointed out in a previous article, physical activity hasn’t changed much since the 1900s. Sure, more people were in agriculture and factory jobs, but nobody belonged to gyms, and nobody ran or did any kind of sustained exercise for long periods of time. People didn’t have the wealth, means, or inclination to do voluntary exercise.

What has changed is the standard American diet, whose acronym, SAD, fittingly describes what our diet is: poor in nutrients, high in processed foods, poor in fruits and vegetables, a lot of high-glycemic carbohydrates, fast food, snacks, and worst, liquid calories.

While many people will count or estimate the calories that they’re eating, they fail to calculate the calories they're drinking in liquid form. It never occurs to them that what they're drinking could be sabotaging their weight loss efforts. But they still count. Calories not only come in food, but every year Americans consume more and more of them in the form of liquids.

Until the early 20th century, there was almost no such thing as liquid calories. Coca-Cola was the first manufacturer of soft drinks in 18. The English drank coffee with sweetened tea. But most people drank plain old water and got their calories from solid food.

There are a number of reasons why solid food is a better way to maintain a healthy weight. The very act of chewing actually uses energy, but for most people it is more satisfying to chew food. Several studies have also shown a link between the number of times people chew and the amount of food they eat. The more they chew, the less they eat. A recent study in the Netherlands showed that people who chewed three times more ate 52% less food. Chewing sends signals to the brain that calories have been consumed.

As David Kessler points out in his new book The End of Overeating, shows how food manufacturers have actually made overeating so easy with foods that dissolve quickly in the mouth and are easy to chew. These concoctions of high-fat and high-sugar foods encourage people to eat fast before their bodies can send a signal of fullness. In other words, food manufacturers want to make food more like liquid calories.

Liquid calories do not send the same signal of fullness as real food, at least for most people. Some researchers propose that we are evolutionary not designed to interpret liquids for food. If our bodies did recognize liquids as food, then drinking a lot of water would decrease our appetite to the point that we would never want food, and thus we would starve.

Liquid calories are ubiquitous these days. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that the average portion of sodas and beverages has increased 6 ounces between1976-1996. Americans are now drinking ¼ of all calories in liquid form. Here are the various beverages that contain hidden calories.

Soda is the most obvious form of liquid nutrition. America's obesity rates have increased in direct proportion to soda consumption, which usually contains high fructose corn syrup. One 8-oz can contains up to 40 grams of sugar and anywhere between 120-200 calories. If you want to drink soda, limit yourself to one or two cans of diet soda. The portions of soda have also exploded. You can now buy 64 oz (half a gallon!) at convenience stores. That would be almost 1,000 calories. Bottles of soda usually have 20 oz, but the serving size lists the calories per 8 oz. In other words, if one 8-ounce serving of soda contains 120 calories, but the bottle is 20 oz, there are 2.5 servings, and 280 calories in the bottle. Read labels carefully.

Tea- In the last 10 years Americans have become enamored of tea. Tea has antioxidants and anti-cancer properties, but manufacturers have added sugar to a lot of these beverages. One can of Arizona Green Tea, for example, contains 140 calories. Tea’s bitter taste can also induce people to add sugar to their drinks.

Coffee- Starbucks is quickly becoming known as liquid McDonald’s. We can't solely blame fast food for America's weight problem. Starbucks is part of the problem too. Look at a sample of some of their drinks and you’ll understand why. One tall Caramel Frappucino Light Blended Coffee with no whipped cream has 170 calories. A White Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream has 470 calories. Many other drinks contain 100-300 calories. These drinks provide little nutrition, raise your blood sugar, and are not satiating. The key is to avoid an item with long names, and avoid extra toppings such as whipped cream, ice cream, and caramel.

Juice- This is a food that’s easy to consider healthy, but is really just a load of sugar. Many juices aren’t 100% juice, and even those that are, contain concentrated sources of sugar. It’s always better to eat the whole fruit than to drink it. Whole fruit contains fiber and nutrients, while many fruit juices have a dearth of vitamins that were originally in the drink. Naked, Odwalla, and Bolthouse Farms produce juices with vitamins and minerals, but they still contain a lot of calories. Eight ounces of liquid is unlikely to make you feel full. Orange juice is usually fortified with vitamin D, calcium, and vitamin C, but still has 24 grams of sugar per cup. Tropicana now makes Trop 50, with only 13 grams of carbohydrate per serving.

Beer and alcohol- One can of beer usually contains about 120 calories. These calories come in the form of carbohydrates and alcohol. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram, compared to 4 for carbohydrates. The problem with alcohol is that it completely shuts down fat burning until the liver processes all the alcohol. Light beer contains about 80-90 calories. Red wine contains about 80 calories per serving, but one serving is five ounces.

Energy drinks- First it was Red Bull. Now it’s Amp, Energy Rush, Sobe, and many others. Most contain 100-200 calories per can, and have questionable value. The energy rush they provide usually comes from caffeine, not he added sugar. If you want caffeine, drink black coffee. If you want energy, focus your diet on wholesome foods, physical activity, and plenty of sleep.

Sports drinks- More and more Americans are engaging in exercise, which is good, but manufacturers have responded with more and more options. While sports drinks have their purpose of replenishing glycogen and increasing endurance, most people don’t work out long enough to warrant a sports drink. One bottle of Gatorade contains 120 calories, and is unlikely going to enhance your performance. Water will serve just fine for any exercise under an hour, even high-intensity exercise. Working out longer than 75 minutes could deplete your glycogen stores. In that case, a sports drink might help so you don’t “bonk.” If you must drink something sweet or flavorful, try Vitamin 10, with 25 calories per bottle, or Sobe Life Water with zero calories. Power Ade also has a zero-calorie version, but is artificially sweetened.

There you go. Your first step to weight loss is not what you eat, but what your drink. Be wary of those liquid calories. They can easily add up. Remember, they don’t call it a beer gut for nothing.

Kevin