For me, nothing quenches my thirst more than water. I love the taste and I love how it makes me feel. Unfortunately, not many folks share my love of water. Instead, many opt for sugar-sweetened beverages such as juice, soda, beer, alcohol, coffee or tea. Non-water beverages are tasteful and palatable, however they are empty calories. Sugar-sweetened beverages provide little to no nutritional value. In fact, surgery beverages are harmful to your health. Sugar-sweetened beverages contribute to illnesses such as diabetes, obesity and inflammation. Also, drinking too many sugar-sweetened beverages daily are enough to derail your weight loss efforts.
A recent study published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics provides more evidence that choosing water over sweetened beverages is one way to control your weight. The researchers in the study found that the group that drank more water, consumed less total calories per day than the group that drank less water. The study concluded that substituting one to three cups of plain water for sugar-sweetened beverages can decrease total calories consumed by 68 to 205 calories per day! That’s huge! Less calories results in weight loss!
It’s not an all or none effect. By no means am I suggesting that you never drink sugar-sweetened beverages. What I do suggest is that you choose plain water most of the time. Be mindful and pay attention to the sugar content on the nutrition label. If your weight loss has plateaued, reassess what you are drinking, maybe you are taking in too much sugar.
