An item on the front page of the August 8 Stuart News proclaims, “Americans pilling on the pounds with sugar drinks”.  We have been urged to watch the number of calories that we EAT, but how about also watching the number of calories we DRINK.  The body does not distinguish one form of calorie from another.  A calorie is a calorie and all calories count.  Keep in mind that it takes 3500 calories to covert to a pound of fat.  It makes no difference if the calorie is ingested in a liquid form or a solid form.  A calorie from soda is the same as a calorie from a beef steak.  It makes no difference how long it takes for you to eat the 3500 calories in total.  Each extra calorie eaten is stored as fat. 

Healthy eating is much more than simply calories.  We need to be mindful of a large number of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, protein, fat, carbohydrates, etc., but for this article, let’s just look at calories alone. Looking at weight management from strictly a calorie viewpoint, we need to balance the number of calories we take in with the number of calories we put out in the form of exercise and staying alive. An extra 100 calories per day will yield a one pound weight gain in about 35 days. 

One hundred calories isn’t much.  It is one 8 oz of classic coke cola.  (To refer back to another of my columns – who buys an 8 oz bottle of coke? – don’t you usually purchase a 10oz or 12 oz coke?)  Increased beverage calories.  Did you supersize it?  Many folks feel that a fruit based drink is good for the lunchbox.  A Sunny Delight Baja Red Punch is 170 calories per 12 ounces and Tropicana Beverages’ Blue Raspberry Rush is 120 calories per 8 oz.  At least you can buy the Tropicana product in a smaller container. 

In today’s society, a pre-dinner cocktail or glass of wine is almost a habit.  While some authorities are saying that a drink or two per day are good for you, the calories still add up.  A 3.5 oz. glass of  a red table wine is about 80 calories.  Do you own a 3.5 ounce glass?  A 12 oz. glass of can of regular beer is 117 calories vs 96 calories for a Miller Lite 12 oz.  Not much difference!  Gin, Rum, Vodka and Whiskey are all 97 calories per 1.5 oz jigger.  Mixed drinks range from a typical whiskey sour at 162 calories per 3.5 oz to a Bacardi at 267 calories per 3.5 oz to a incredible 526 calories for a typical 6.8 oz pina colada.  After dinner, the brandy is about 50 calories per ounce. 

In our practice, when we review food journals, some times the cocktail hour recording is missing.  When we add in the calories from the pre-dinner event, there is a good reason why so little weight has been lost.  Read the labels and count the calories for everything that passes between your lips.  This would include dietary supplements as well as some over the counter medications.