Today’s weight loss tip for boomers is…….

Avoid drinking too many calories

This is actually the very first tip I give to my personal training clients in San Jose when I begin to work with them. I saved it for tip #5 here on my blog, as I wanted it to appear as we approach all the holiday parties. This tip is really timely for these next few weeks.

I won’t begrudge anyone the occasional glass of wine, juice, a non-fat latte or mocha–or whatever drink floats your boat. However, many of us drink waaaaaayyyyy too many calories. I will put out this challenge to anyone reading this blog post: If you currently struggle with your weight, write down everything you eat and drink for the next 4-5 days. Everything. Extract out the liquid calories. You might be surprised. Research shows that some folks drink more than 800 calories a day in the form of liquid beverages. Yikes. Not good for a boomer waistline. How does this happen? The juice smoothies, the full fat mochas, the tall glass of orange juice, the mixed drinks or wine here and there. They add up.

The tricky part with liquid calories is that they don’t really “register” in our brain. We don’t eat less to compensate for the higher calorie beverages we drink. Therefore, those of us who drink a lot of calories are probably battling excess weight.

The good news is, this is a pretty easy fix. Stop drinking so many calorie filled beverages!

It’s a lot easier to drink fewer calories than it is to eat fewer calories. It’s a challenge at this time of year with lots of holiday gatherings and festivities. Some traditional holiday drinks (eggnog, hot buttered rum) can really pack on the calories. If you’re going to enjoy extra liquid calories this month, it’s best to accommodate somewhere else in the energy balance equation. Just remember that if you accommodate too much, you’ll wind up with lots of empty calories from non-nutritious beverages, and your overall nutrition will suffer. I guarantee you’ll feel worse and have lower energy levels, too! This will affect your exercise efforts.

The moral of this weight loss tip: Always be mindful, especially at this time of the year, of the calories you drink. They often sabotage the best laid weight loss plans.

Yours in health,

Becky

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