When it comes to losing weight and slimming down, choosing a go-to everyday beverage is crucial. Suppose you consume a bottled smoothie, sweet iced tea, soda, juice, or another high-calorie drink. In that case, you could be consuming hundreds of calories without realizing it.
Liquid calories are undetectable. According to a study, they go down so quickly because the body doesn't register the calories in them in solid meals. As a result, soft drinks provide more than 100 calories per day to the average American. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average adult consumes more than 100 calories per day from alcoholic beverages alone.
Suppose you want a flatter stomach before the end of the summer. In that case, your beverage of choice is your albatross, because losing belly fat and keeping it off comes down to "creating a calorie deficit," according to dietitian Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD, who was a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for nine years and now runs the nutrition website Better Is the New Perfect.com.
The most surprising weight-loss beverage is low-fat milk.
"It's filling, and it delivers protein to keep you were feeling fuller for longer, something that water or other no-calorie drinks can't do," Ward says of 1 percent low-fat milk as the ideal flat-belly beverage to help produce a calorie deficit.
Milk offsets some of the calories it adds by burning more calories digesting protein than it does digest carbohydrates or fat. Ward, co-author of Expect the Best: Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During, and After Pregnancy, adds that drinking three glasses of low-fat milk each day can offer you a metabolic advantage that helps you burn calories faster. Milk is also fluid, so it's just as good as water when it comes to getting the 64 ounces of water per day that's suggested for weight loss and overall health.
A bonus bones!
Milk is also suitable for you for other reasons: the protein, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D in milk help maintain bone health, which is crucial for both men and women as they become older.
Why is 1 percent milk the most excellent option for fat milk percentage?
Ward advises that if you want fat-free milk, go for it. However, 2 percent reduced-fat and whole milk, which contain more calories and saturated fat, should be avoided. "To achieve a calorie deficit and lose weight, stick to the lower-fat varieties," Ward advises.
Plain unsweetened soymilk fortified with calcium, vitamin D, and other minerals is a decent substitute for cow's milk if you don't consume it. Ward recommends avoiding plant kinds of milk with fewer than 7 grams of protein per cup. Remember that 1 percent milk's 8 grams of protein per cup make it a severe weight-loss beverage.