Should include drinks in my calorie count?

missleaaa
missleaaa Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone,

If I'm on a 1,200 calorie diet - and I drink quite a bit of tea (I love my tea :)) and orange juice for example, would I count this too?

Obviously 1200 is a low intake, so just double checking that a 1,200 calorie diet is based on just foods plus drinks, or if I should eat 1,000 cals for my breakfast, lunch and dinner and leave 200 spare for drinks?

Sounds like a dumb question but I want to make sure I'm eating enough and not putting my body into starvation mode by just having 1,000 calories in food

I know that calories is just another measurement for energy, so I assume I'm ok doing what I'm doing !

Thanks in advance

Replies

  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
    absolutely count everything that goes in your mouth. and oj has a lot of calories :(
  • montoyarenee
    montoyarenee Posts: 15 Member
    Yes, track everything! Drinks can be a hidden source of additional calories. Those calories are treated no different than food calories in the body. Good luck with your weight loss journey!
  • twinsmom03
    twinsmom03 Posts: 90 Member
    Yes. Count everything that has calories :)
  • Lauraplane
    Lauraplane Posts: 63 Member
    Yeah, count everything.
  • missleaaa
    missleaaa Posts: 5
    Ok that's great thanks :) I lost quite a bit of weight a few year ago, and my rule was 1000 calories and then I can drink whatever I want (in moderation of course) so I can have my cups of tea and orange juice. I lost weight, but after researching I heard that 1000 calories is dangerous etc, but it worked for me - maybe because plus drinks I was at around 1200 calories.

    I'm not overweight now, I'm just researching as I over indulged on holiday and while I've been out of work, so just getting back into shape on a short term diet :)

    Does this sound healthy, I've read alsorts of bad stuff about 1000 cal diets and it scared me a little!
  • farway
    farway Posts: 1,253 Member
    absolutely count everything that goes in your mouth. and oj has a lot of calories :(
    [/quote

    This ^^^ and watch out, orange juice is is loaded with calories

    tea is not too bad, but it does depend how you have it, with milk & sugar, beware those hidden calories. black is not a big problem
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
    Why would calories "not count"? :huh:
  • missleaaa
    missleaaa Posts: 5
    Thanks everyone! Feeling motivated :)
  • LeighRaeW
    LeighRaeW Posts: 42 Member
    Anything that goes in your mouth should be added/counted, even if it's not something you swallow (i.e. chewing gum). Drinks are where a lot of calories can sneak in, so measure and record carefully. Good luck!
  • dianevanhandel
    dianevanhandel Posts: 2
    Calories are calories regardless of what form they come in. You're better off and will be better satisfied to consume your 1200 calories in a solid form in order to remain satisfied. Have an orange rather than the juice to benefit from the fiber which will help you feel full longer. I drink a lot of no calorie iced white and green tea from Trader Joe's and add a hint of agave syrup for sweetener.
    Good luck!
  • kristarablue2
    kristarablue2 Posts: 386 Member
    Absolutely, juice or soda can add a ton of calories if you drink too much. The only thing I don't count is plain black coffee and unsweetened tea and water because the calories are so low or non at all. The calories in drinks can really sneak up on you if you are not careful. If you want more calories you can either make your calorie intake higher if you feel it is too low or add exercise and then eat or drink back your calories:)
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
    if your drinking calories then you wouldnt be at a 1000 calorie day diet.
  • jillianbeeee
    jillianbeeee Posts: 345 Member
    yes. Everything that goes in your mouth. :)
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
    I really hope you're 5'0" and 100lbs if you're cutting at 1000kcals.
  • missleaaa
    missleaaa Posts: 5
    Perfect! Thanks guys. I treat myself to sea with semi skimmed milk with my lunch, and then I have camomile and green teas too as they make me feel refreshed. Thank for the tip, I will replace the juice with actual fruit, or even might make some smoothies!
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
    absolutely count everything that goes in your mouth. and oj has a lot of calories :(

    QFT
  • Danni3ll3
    Danni3ll3 Posts: 365 Member
    I drink water or unsweetened green tea because juice, milk, soft drinks and so on can really add up the calories quickly. I rather use the 200 calories for food rather than drink because that will satisfy me a lot more than a drink. Not to say that I don't have the occasional glass of wine or flavoured coffee once or twice a month, but I put those in my calorie count. I think that a lot of people and children are struggling with obesity due to what they are drinking. I was shocked at how many calories I was ingesting by drinking pure fruit juice thinking I was doing my body good.
  • VorJoshigan
    VorJoshigan Posts: 1,106 Member
    Does it have calories? Count it.

    I would count the OJ, but not the tea - unless you added sugar or it's out of a bottle.
  • missleaaa
    missleaaa Posts: 5
    Ok that's good thanks, I just made up my own diet that worked for me a while ago and only just learnt about the dangers of low calorie intake! Scary!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    your calorie goal is for calories...juice and whatnot has calories...very often a lot of them. Tea and such usually doesn't until you start adding stuff...but most beverages we drink have significant calories that have to be counted.
  • UrbanLotus
    UrbanLotus Posts: 1,163 Member
    I don't know why you wouldn't count something that contains calories? You can certainly gain from drinking too much OJ!
  • PriceK01
    PriceK01 Posts: 834 Member
    Count everything. And stop drinking OJ when you're only eating 1200 calories :o
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
    Your body counts every calorie even if you don't. No juice is acceptable - eat the whole fruit. It fills you up more and has fiber.
  • perfect_storm
    perfect_storm Posts: 326 Member
    Anything with calories counts, OJ has calories.
  • thesophierose
    thesophierose Posts: 754 Member
    Id log your drinks, drink calories still count
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    When I want orange juice but don't want to pay the calorie price for it, I'll mix 1 to 2 ounces of OJ with 6-8 (or more) ounces of seltzer water. I started with equal amounts of OJ and seltzer and gradually cut back on the juice. Now straight OJ tastes like almost syrupy to me.
  • babe__
    babe__ Posts: 3
    Yes if it's anything that contains sugar and calories. Diet soda and water does not.
  • Gee_24
    Gee_24 Posts: 359 Member
    I had a Lucozade sport habit. I drank 3 a day at work thinking they were good for me. Guess what? They are about 140 calories per bottles. And its watered down diluting juice ! lol

    That is 420 calories of juice till 3pm. I was still drinking those for the first week of my 1200 MFP journey. I had 780 cals left.

    Uh-huh. Juice counts. Tea, milk, flavoured waters, etc.
  • liv0512
    liv0512 Posts: 31 Member
    I include everything all food and drinks :)

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