Healthy Living

with Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom

Watch Out for Liquid Calories

With the holiday season approaching, we'll all be adding an even greater variety of beverages to our daily fluid intake. While fluids are great for keeping the body hydrated, what are they doing to your waistline? Have you fallen into the diet sabotage of liquid calories?

What has happened to the beverage industry? The choices are endless and label reading is a must. Most beverages now come in gigantic sizes, feature multiple colors - Beware: All clear drinks are not calorie-free! - and range from zero calories per serving to several hundred. What's more, some healthy, lower-calorie drinks have morphed into calorie sinkholes thanks to supersizing. Alcoholic beverage "mixes" come prepackaged and are loaded with calories, and many restaurants offer fruit-based mixed drinks in gigantic souvenir glasses. Can we guzzle down as much as we want without paying the price of extra pounds?

Here's a biological fact: Our bodies do not sense liquid calories very well. We do much better with solid foods. Translated into calories, 500 extra calories consumed in liquids is not "counted" by our bodies, and we tend to eat just as much during the day as if we hadn't had those fluids. Simply put: Those calories we drink will add to the total food consumption and not replace them. So, just 500 extra calories a day from liquids can pack on one extra pound in a week!

Here are five basic rules to help you navigate through the sea of liquids:

1. When it comes to soda and juice, downsize your drink and skip the free refill.
2. Choose low-calorie sodas, juices and flavored waters; dilute 100 percent juice with water or seltzer or just add a slice of lemon or lime.
3. Stick with low-fat or no-fat dairy products; order a "small" for coffeehouse drinks such as lattes.
4. Limit alcohol intake: Measure, don't eyeball your serving.
5. Read labels: "Clear" and "healthy" don't always mean calorie-free.

You can make some smart choices to support good health and not loosen your belt!

If you have a health question for Dr. Fernstrom, e-mail her at fernstrom@wqed.org.

Dr. Madelyn H. Fernstrom, Ph.D., C.N.S., is the founder and director of UPMC's Weight Management Center. She is the diet and nutrition editor for NBC's "Today Show" and is the author of The Runner's Diet. Also visit "Health Journal with Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom," a health and wellness blog at iVillage.com.