So easy to drink excess calories

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iowalinda
iowalinda Posts: 354 Member
in Food and Nutrition
This is something I got a wake-up call on recently. A person can consume a whole lot of calories in smoothies and other drinks. Just because it's liquid doesn't mean it's low calorie ;)

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  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    yeah....stupid alcohol was a gut punch for that. Used to drink a 1.5 L bottle of wine and then dive into whiskey. I never ate that much to gain as much weight as i had lol. Was id say 75% alcohol xD
  • evilpoptart63
    evilpoptart63 Posts: 397 Member
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    For sure!!! My husband lost a ton of weight when he decided to just cut back on soda, didn't even change his diet for the first 40lbs. When he does decide to have soda and energy drinks it always blows my mind how fast it adds up when we count his calories at the end of the day.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    That got me when I first started. I was making a smoothie as a snack then figured out it was around 700 calories
  • dsboohead
    dsboohead Posts: 1,900 Member
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    I would like smoothies with all the fruits...veggies....protein powders but it all adds up to some whopping calories and I would rather eat may calories!
    Same goes for alcohol!!! Just cause it's liquid does not mean it changes to calorie free ;)
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,987 Member
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    I use to drink 4-6 cans of Coke and 2-3 cans of Bud a day!

    That was about 900-1200 cals/day. My weight quickly dropped when I stopped doing that. Duh! :astonished:

    I still drink some scotch, draft beer and wine but only with great w/o moderation and I continue log everything I eat and drink to stay on track.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,493 Member
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    I never drank any of my calories when I was losing, such a waste of calories.
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
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    Many of my calories when I was overweight were from Coke...3 or 4 a day or more. Avoided it while I lost and now I can add them back in as long as I track. But it can annoy me that I feel later that I'd rather have a little more food instead of that last pop.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    dsboohead wrote: »
    I would like smoothies with all the fruits...veggies....protein powders but it all adds up to some whopping calories and I would rather eat may calories!
    Same goes for alcohol!!! Just cause it's liquid does not mean it changes to calorie free ;)

    Unless its christmas. No calories on christmas. :D
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    Yup, I cut way back on wine and BOOM. Luckily, I’ve never really liked juice, soda, smoothies, etc
  • GemstoneofHeart
    GemstoneofHeart Posts: 865 Member
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    Yup! I’m not a soda drinker but in my heavy days I was a latte and mocha drinker. Jeeeeez it was a ton of calories. Like 500 a day just from a caramel latte.
    I gave it up a little over a year ago other than the very seldom treat (had a holiday one today!)
  • Styggian
    Styggian Posts: 465 Member
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    Agree, Cherry cola was my big weakness, so hard to walk past them in the supermarket even now :)
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    Yup. I use at least 8 oz of water ice in my smoothie. Still, it's over 500 calories and worth it because of lots of protein, fat, and nutrients.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    Yep, when I was losing weight over 12 months I didn't have soda for the first 6 months. Then I decided I felt like a coke, and managed to fit in one 200 ml can in my calories one day.

    Even now in maintenance, I only drink one or two 200 ml cokes or sodas a week. I basically never have enough calories for a regular size can.

    Gotta save calories for chocolate and alcohol! :wink:

    As for smoothies, they're not something I ever thought I needed or were worth the calories.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
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    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    yeah....stupid alcohol was a gut punch for that. Used to drink a 1.5 L bottle of wine and then dive into whiskey. I never ate that much to gain as much weight as i had lol. Was id say 75% alcohol xD

    I'd use that same 1.5Lt bottle to serve a whole family!!
  • NoxeemaJackson
    NoxeemaJackson Posts: 102 Member
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    My coffee with 2 creams is 70 calories. Thats an egg! So two coffees = breakfast!!
    I feel the ssme way about fats.
    2 tbl of oil = 1 avocado.
    Id rather have the avocado!
  • Slasher09
    Slasher09 Posts: 316 Member
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    Guilty! When I notice the weight creeping up if I go back to measuring and portion controlling my coffee (I use milk and creamer) I usually lose about 2-4lbs within 4 weeks or so with that being my only change.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
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    NoxeemaJackson wrote: »
    My coffee with 2 creams is 70 calories. Thats an egg! So two coffees = breakfast!!
    I feel the ssme way about fats.
    2 tbl of oil = 1 avocado.
    Id rather have the avocado!

    That's why I started drinking my coffee black.
  • AudreyJDuke
    AudreyJDuke Posts: 1,092 Member
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    So true!!!
  • blambo61
    blambo61 Posts: 4,372 Member
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    I lost drinking a lot of smoothies. They were probably about 600-cals but they really filled me up compared to eating 600-cals. It all probably matters how full you get on them and what you would eat if you didn't drink them.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    Generally, yes- liquid calories are a waste. But not all smoothies are created equally. I have about a 300 calorie breakfast smoothie made with frozen bananas, skim milk, and protein powder that has plenty of protein & gets me through the morning easily. I also make a smoothie as the veggie/fruit component of a meal (like burgers & "shakes") with lots of spinach, skim milk, 80 calorie greek yogurt, and frozen berries. We split it as a family and it runs about 100/serving.

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