The hidden calories that wreck your diet!
Thursday 21 June 2012
When we’re trying to lose weight many of us become obsessed with calorie counting – religiously adding up the calories in every morsel that passes our lips. But what many of us don’t consider is the nutritional content of our drinks.
We buy supposedly healthy smoothies and energy drinks to substitute the food we’re depriving ourselves of – but in fact these can be a lot worse for us than we realise.
Research from the World Cancer Research fund has revealed that some iced coffees are essentially a meal in a cup, while the average Brit guzzles 200 litres of soft drinks a year, meaning we may unwittingly be consuming more than our daily recommended calorie limit.
Liquid calories can also cause more problems as they don’t often make us feel full.
Catherine Collins, from the British Dietetic Association said: “A lot of people don’t consider drinks part of their normal diet. They forget they drink calories as well as eating them.
“Lots of people would rather eat the calories instead of drinking them, and would rather have a biscuit than a drink.”
We’ve tracked down some of the worst offending drinks and meals you could have instead!
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Burger King Large Chocolate Milkshake = Fish and Chips
There are 617 calories and a massive 26 spoonfuls of sugar in one of these shakes - the equivalent to a portion of cod in batter and half a portion of chips.
If you fancied being a bit healthier then try these.
For breakfast: Cereal with a piece of fruit (300 cals)
For lunch: Jacket potato with beans (350 cals)
Innocent Yoghurt Thickie Smoothie = Small portion of Fries
An Innocent Probiotic yoghurt, vanilla bean and honey thickie (250ml), has 242.5 calories which is the same as a small portion of McDonald’s fries.
While this is a reasonably healthy drink, providing useful calcium and no added sugars, you could get the same amount of calcium from 325ml of skimmed milk which has only 104 calories and still have enough spare for a two-finger Kit Kat (107 cals)!
Red Bull = A packet of Quavers
A 250ml can of this energy drink has 112 calories and almost seven teaspoons of sugar. This is more than a packet of Quavers which will fill you up for much longer.
If you’re looking for a similar caffeine boost, try a tall skinny cappuccino (100 cals). It has fewer calories and much less sugar.
Lucozade Energy = Nearly a whole Mars bar
A bottle of Lucozade Energy (380ml) contains 266 calories - just 30 calories less than a Mars bar (294 cals).
It’s a good drink to have for a burst of energy, but not if you’re just trying to stay hydrated. Alternatively you could get an energy boost and fill yourself up for a few more calories by eating protein-rich scrambled eggs on granary toast (300 cals).
Coca Cola = Four Jaffa Cakes
A 500ml bottle of Coca Cola contains 210 calories, for which you could eat four Jaffa Cakes.
Each serving gives you more than 13 teaspoons of sugar – much more than you’d have in a couple of cups of tea or coffee!
Nutritionists also warn women to limit their cola intake to two 500ml servings a week as they contain phosphorous which may be bad for our bones.
By Chloe Best