Liquids can be a huge source of calories in a diet. I know I have had many occasions sitting down in a restaurant and having multiple refills of a high calorie soda. A thirsty man can easily gulp down 40 ounces of soda at a meal. I was also a bad one about getting one more refill “for the road”. Just with the soda I would absorb 800 calories in one meal. That is equivalent to one hour of intense boot-camp style workout just to wash down my 10000 calorie burger and fries. No wonder I was fat.

If you are trying to loose weight, calories from beverages can be sneaky. Even in some “healthy” drinks they will add up.

Gatorade 20oz — 130
Coke 12oz — 170
Vitamin Water 20oz — 120
G2 20oz — 70
Milk 2% 8oz — 149
Apple Juice 8oz — 110
Orange Juice 8oz — 110
Carrot Juice 8oz — 72
Monster Energy 8oz — 100

Beverages are a good place to underestimate calorie intake.

Especially when we have a soda fountain and our “big gulp” cups, we often take in way more than we think.

The human body did not really have this many types of high-calorie beverage until the last hundred years. Beer, wine and alcohol have been around forever, but soda is relatively new to the population. Sports drinks did not hit the scene until the 70s and now we have our energy drinks. No wonder we are an obese nation.

The best thing to do is stick with water, tea and coffee. Try them without adding sugar. A soda drinker can stick to bags of green tea into a quart pitcher and consume that, adding the benefits of green tea, without any additional calories.