If you’re trying to lose weight this summer, you’re probably paying close attention to the foods you’re eating. You may be making efforts to cut back on fattening, processed snacks, stay away from fast food, and limit your dessert consumption. However, it’s important to remember that the beverages you drink can also make a major difference in your weight loss progress. As it turns out, many of our favorite drinks are loaded with sugar, which we all know can lead to a number of health issues when consumed in excess—including weight gain. For this reason, being conscious of what you choose to sip on is a crucial part of reaching your weight loss goals.
To discover a few of the worst sugary beverages out there that you should avoid as you work towards a smaller waistline, we spoke to health experts Beth Hawkes, MSN, RN-BC and Jesse Feder, a registered dietitian and personal trainer at My Crohn’s and Colitis Team. They told us that fruit juice, soda, and energy drinks are among the worst offenders when it comes to weight gain. Read on to learn more about the risks of each of these drinks.
1. Processed fruit juice
The fact that drinking fruit juice is nearly a sure-fire recipe for weight gain may come as a surprise to some. After all, how can fruit be bad for you? Unfortunately, while fruit itself is certainly packed with health benefits (and many fruits out there can help you lose weight), the bottled fruit juice you find on store shelves isn't only typically highly processed, offering virtually no nutritional value, but it's also oftentimes loaded with sugar.
As Hawkes points out, "There are about 31 grams of sugar in a 12-ounce serving of orange juice, which is more than the 22 grams found in the same amount of cola." Wow!
"When you consume such a quantity of the sweet stuff, your levels of blood glucose soar into the stratosphere. This tells our metabolism to slow down and thus burn fewer calories which leads us towards gaining weight instead," she warns.
Try making your own green juice at home as a healthy alternative.
2. Soda
It's no secret that soda (diet or not) comes with a wide array of health risks. This includes weight gain. Many of the same issues as fruit juice are at hand: lots of calories, low nutritional value, and a serious serving of sugar.
"Sugar-sweetened sodas are typically very high in sugar and calories," Feder warns. "They do not offer any real nutritional value and can be quite addictive due to their appealing taste. The high amount of sugar and calories can easily add on stomach fat and prevent weight loss."
Unfortunately, even diet soda comes with its own downsides, so your best bet is sticking to naturally sweetened options (in moderation), or going with some good old seltzer water.
3. Energy drinks
Red Bull addiction? If weight loss is your goal, it's time to get serious about kicking this bad habit. Like fruit juice and soda, these caffeine-packed beverages are also typically packed with inflammatory sugar—an average of 54 grams. What's more, the caffeine content may pose other risks to your health.
"Sugar-sweetened energy drinks are high in sugar, calories, and caffeine," Feder says, echoing that the lack of nutritional value can cause weight gain over time.
"Additionally," he notes, "They have high amounts of caffeine that can actually disrupt sleep, increase stress, and increase cortisol levels. This can contribute to weight gain as well as fat accumulation throughout your body and stomach."
If you really can't give up caffeine, we don't blame you, but you're better off sticking to coffee to get your fix. Just be sure not to load that with sugar and other fattening ingredients.
The bottom line
Of course, the main thing to keep in mind is moderation. Which is to say that if you find yourself craving a can of Coke every now and then, it's okay to treat yourself. However, the sugar content of all of these beverages can pose a serious risk to your waistline—and, more importantly, your overall health—when consumed on a regular basis. Limiting your intake of them as much as possible and making smart swaps for low-sugar beverages is the best way to go as you work towards the body of your dreams.
