When it comes to consuming our calories on a daily basis, one forgotten area is in the beverage area. The amount of calories that we drink on a daily basis might shock most. In fact, this was a rather hot topic recently in the media after a poll that was done in jolly ol’ England.
In one can of Coke Classic, your looking at 143 calories. 108 calories in a tall non-fat latte at your favorite coffee shop. These are just a couple of examples of modest size drinks.
Now lets talk meal replacement shakes. I just do not get the concept of these. You drink a shake that has 300+ calories in order to skip a meal. Why not just have a proper meal/snack of roughly the same calories. You will feel fuller because you have actual food in your stomach.
Of course there is a time and a place for a well-constructed protein shake made with either water or skim milk. Usually a shake like this will net you 20+ grams of protein, some vitamins and other nutrients, and usually can be kept around 200 calories. A nice shot of aminos in this way, will aid in recovery and help keep excess calories off your mid-section.
Then there is the whole argument that it is far better to get your nutrients from real, whole foods than from a drink. Anything that is in that shake was put there by a person. That is usually a clue that you want to avoid it. On the flip side, the nutrients in a proper meal were put there by Mother Nature. How did that old commercial go? “Don’t fool with Mother Nature.”
So there you go; a few good reasons to try to get your calories in your food, and not so much in your drink. That is unless you’re into blending together multiple fruits and veggies into a whole-foods smoothie. Now there’s a drink I can fully support.
Cheers!
