Avoid Sweetened Beverages

  • Sweetened beverages are empty calories – they may taste good but have nothing to offer nutritionally, and have a negative impact on your health.
  • Check IN whenever you a) consciously avoid a sweetened drink by making a check mark on the check-in screen, or b) drink a sweetened drink by using a slip (aka free pass) on the check-in screen. If you realize you’ve made it the entire day without any sweetened drinks, check-in by making a check mark at the end of the day.

What’s Inside

What’s IN

  • Water is the best go-to. If you need flavor, squirt in a bit of lemon or lime juice.
  • Flavored seltzer (labeled no sugar, no artificial sweeteners) are a great option, and come in dozens of flavors.
  • Try hot or iced fruit flavored herbal teas, chai or yerba mate tea, and chicory coffee.
  • If you must sweeten your beverage, a stevia-based sweetener is your best option.

What’s OUT

  • Avoid soda, fruit juice, sweet tea, sweetened coffee, sports drinks, and fruit drinks.
  • “Naturally sweetened” beverages are still sweetened.
  • Diet soda is better than sugary soda, but it’s best avoided; the sweet flavor still activates your metabolism to expect a sugar load, which can wreak havoc.
  • Beware vegetable juice blends – often these have fruit juice and/or added sugar. Check ingredient labels and added sugar values.

Why This Is A Good Idea

The number one source of added sugar in the American diet, sweetened beverages are empty calories – they may taste good but have nothing to offer nutritionally, and have a negative impact on your health. Sugary foods are bad enough, but sweet drinks may be even more harmful because they deliver an unnaturally concentrated load of sugar to your body (10 or more teaspoons per 12-fluid-ounce serving), forcing it to switch into metabolic overdrive. Your blood gets flooded with sugar, and then your pancreas pumps out insulin to shuttle all that sugar out of your blood and into the liver and cells, promoting storage of body fat. Consumed habitually, sweetened beverages increase your risk of obesity (some experts say that sweetened beverages are the largest contributor of obesity),, type 2 diabetes, gout, cavities, heart disease, some kinds of cancer, and premature death. Too much sugar has also been linked to acne, increased risk of depression, and accelerated aging of your skin and organs.

Trying to manage your weight? Cutting out sweet drinks is often the best first step. Research has shown that people who drink sugary beverages do not feel as full as if they had eaten the same calories from solid food. Furthermore, they don’t compensate for all those extra liquid calories by eating less food – they just take in more calories! If you were to drink just one sugary beverage a day for a year (and not cut calories otherwise), you would gain about 5 pounds in just a year! Cutting our sweetened beverage will help you meet the World Health Organization’s 2015 guidelines to consume less than 10% of your calories from added sugars. On a 2000 calorie diet, that’s a maximum of 200 calories, (about 12 teaspoons) of added sugar a day.

Basic Tips

  • Check IN whenever you a) consciously avoid a sweetened drink by making a check mark on the check-in screen, or b) drink a sweetened drink by using a slip (aka free pass) on the check-in screen. If you realize you’ve made it the entire day without any sweetened drinks, check-in by making a check mark at the end of the day.
  • Hang tight, you’re probably going to crave sugar for the first few days. But once you get through that first stretch, it will get easier.
  • Keep a water bottle with you at all times, and stay well hydrated. (Like an icy cold drink? Try keeping your water in a Yeti, RTIC, Thermos, or other insulated cooler.) You might think you need a sugar fix, when really you’re just thirsty.
  • Add chopped fruit and/or mint to sparkling water. A minty, cold, fizzy drink with pieces of cantaloupe and watermelon, fresh berries, grapes or orange slices at the bottom is sweet, hydrating and refreshing—without the sugar rush.
  • Clean out your fridge and stock it with sparkling water and unsweetened iced tea instead. If you’re craving a sugary drink and one is staring you in the face, you’re much more likely to slip.
  • Stock up on fresh or frozen fruit and veggies. Simply putting something in your mouth will help take your mind off of your sugar craving.
  • Eat protein and healthy fats which help keep you full and regulate blood sugar levels; beans, nuts, organic soy products, eggs, hummus, lentils, yogurt, cheese, fish and avocado are all great sources.
  • Eat solid, nutritious meals to help regulate blood sugar levels, and keep cravings at bay.
  • If you think you might cry without a quick sugar fix, grab a piece of fruit or a date to satisfy your craving.
  • Read the label! Sugar is often hidden in beverages that are marketed as being healthy.

Shopping List

  • Sparkling water or seltzer – try all natural flavored seltzers!
  • Try an in-home seltzer maker to save money and get your bubbly fix.
  • Teas are all okay – try fruit teas, spice teas, chia teas, herba mate, even chocolate tea.
  • Spike your water with lemon juice, lime juice, or a drop of vanilla or other extract.
  • Need something sweet to drink? Use stevia sweetened water enhancers.
  • Fresh whole fruit often hits the spot when you’re craving a sugary beverage. Try a fresh orange, a wedge of cantaloupe, or a few chunks of pineapple.
  • Buy frozen fruit and unsweetened plant milk to have on hand for a quick, sweet but health-supporting smoothie

Recipes

Fruit-Infused Sparkling Water Fruit-Infused Sparkling Water

Fun Water by JenniferEmilson Fun Water

Smart Things To Read And Watch

Note: Diet ID is not focused on the number on the scale. Weight loss can be a byproduct of developing healthier eating habits, but if you have questions about your weight, please contact your physician.

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