How to choose the right drinks when dieting

When we are dieting, our attention is often focused on what we drink rather than what we eat. This is an important aspect considering that approximately one-fifth of our daily calories come from beverages. Choosing the right beverages can improve metabolism, curb appetite, and help to reduce calorie intake overall. Let's break down which beverages should be favored while dieting, and which ones are best to refrain from.

Sodas

Every time you drink sweet sodas, you consume hundreds of empty calories. Switching to diet soft drinks is an obvious way to reduce the number of calories you consume, but this is only effective if you are able to burn them off.

Fruit juices

Juice may contain just as many calories as soda, but it's rich in nutrients. For vitamins and antioxidants without added sugar, prefer 100% fruit juice and avoid juice drinks with added sweeteners.

Smoothies

Making your own smoothie from banana, strawberries, blueberries and milk will provide you with a delicious and nutritious shake. This allows you to control the ingredients while avoiding extra calories, which is not the case with smoothies from coffee shops, which may contain ice cream, honey or other additives that increase the calorie content of the drink.

Sports and energy drinks

These drinks are calorie bombs similar to sodas. For those who are serious about weight loss, it is advisable to avoid them and prefer plain water.

Coffee drinks

Adding cream, flavored syrups or whipped cream to a cup of black coffee turns it into a caloric beverage high in fat and sugar. For example, a latte can contain up to 570 calories per cup, so be careful when choosing coffee drinks.