WATER !!! Water is certainly the best drink to have and it is kilojoule free!
Ladies should aim for 1,5-2,2 litres per day.
Men should drink 2-3liters per day.
If you don’t enjoy water, try to add lemon juice, slices of orange or lemon, cucumber, strawberries or mint leaves to your water to give it a refreshing taste.
You can also add Elvin or Infusion sugar free drops to give the water a nice flavour without adding kilojoules. Alternatively add a SlowMag fizzy to your 750ml jug of water.
Always check labels to make sure your cold drink is not adding extra kilojoules to your meal plan. Make sure to look at the kJ/quantity of the beverage you are going to have. A fruit juice with 200kJ/100ml will provide you with 1000kJ if you drink a bottle of 500ml! Keep in mind that 1 slice of bread = 300-450kJ, it means the juice will provide you with the same kJ as 2-3 slices of bread!
Cold drinks that you can have:
DrinkOPop and Sweeto, Low Cal cold drinks (adding soda water can make it taste like fizzy drinks).
The low kilojoule beverages include Coke light, coke zero or no sugar or Sprite Zero, Fanta no sugar, Pepsi Light, Ice tea lite etc and other sugarfree cold drinks.
Remember sugar free beverages can contain artificial sweeteners and phosphoric acid and should not be consumed in large quantities. Having a glass or can or 440ml bottle now and then is fine, but not daily in large quantities.
Sweetened cold drinks like normal coke and Dry Lemon is high in sugar and should be avoided.
Milk contains protein, carbohydrates and fat and minerals like calsium and phosphorus. Choose low fat or fat free for weight loss. Do not drink milk excessively as the kilojoules might be too much. 1 glass low fat milk can provide about 520kJ! Small flavoured milks like a steristumpie 200ml are lower in kilojoules than the larger drinks – it is suitable as snacks.
Four cups of coffee and tea is fine to have – but remember to cut on the sugar (reduce if you have more than 1 tsp per cup) or if prefer add a non-nutritive sweetener preferably sucralose or stevia.
Use artificial sweeteners in moderation. No more than 8 pills per day and have artificially sweetened beverages also in moderation.
Biozest is an energy management drink that provides electrolytes and vitamins as well as fibre and pro-biotics, but no sugar. It is suitable for diabetics too and can be part of a healthy meal plan.
Beverages drinks that you should avoid:
All cold drinks containing sugar like Coke, Fanta, Sparletta, Cream Soda, Lemon Twist, Dry lemon etc. contains a lot of sugar. Same goes for normal ice teas, flavoured water, vitamin waters (except when it is really low kJ). Check the label of the cold drink you are going to have (5g of sugar = 1 tsp of sugar). A tin of cold drink with 40g of sugar has 8 tsp of sugar!
Sports drinks like Lucozade, Powerade and Energade are also energy dense and made for athletes running Comrades/marathons, needing to replace electrolytes and glucose (sugar). If you are not running for more than 90min there is no need to drink these. Walking or jogging 5 km but drinking a bottle of Powerade on the go, will mean you are going to put back more kilojoules than you are actually burning!!
Stay clear of Energy dinks such as Monster, Play and RedBull.
Milkshakes contain more kilojoules than 2 meals and Milo with milk and sugar is like a meal replacement – not a late night snack! And beware of beverages like Hot chocolate and quick made Cuppachinos with added sugar.
1 x Hug in a mug hot chocolate = 1 slice of bread!
Remember if you BOOZE, you won’t lose
Go slow with alcoholic beverages.
1 tot Vodca, Whisky, Brandy = 280kJ – but remember the mixer can add kilojoules and having doubles means twice the kilojoules!!
1 Beer = 500-600kJ (basically a liquid sandwich)
1 glass of sherry = 600kJ and ciders can contain twice as much = 1 meal!!!!
When you use a mixer, go for a sugar free mixer like TAB or sprite zero
Try a light or extra light white wine or a wine spitzner with ½ wine, ½ soda or add loads of ice to your glass.
Always drink a glass of water after every alcoholic beverage you have as alcohol as a diuretic. And remember – FAKE it TILL you MAKE IT! Nobody knows what is in you glass – you can have Sprite Zero or Coke light, saving on loads of kilojoules.
It is not a diet, it is a lifestyle – Antonette
