The easiest way to cut your daily calorie intake is to cut out the consumption of calories in liquid form. Juices, non-diet sodas, and most popular coffee shop beverages are all loaded with non-essential calories that can easily be removed from your diet.
Take a look at the follow examples of popular beverages and their calorie counts:
Can of Coca-Cola: 140 Calories
Grande Starbucks Frappuccino: 230 Calories
Can of Monster Energy: 220 Calories
8 ounces of Tropicana Fruit Punch: 130 Calories
Bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale: 175 Calories
As you can see - there are many popular drinks loaded with non-necessary calories. A person who starts with a glass of fruit punch in the morning and a frappuccino from Starbucks in the afternoon alone is adding 370 calories to their diet. Adding a bottle of Pale Ale with dinner brings the daily intake even higher - up to around 545 calories!
So what are good alternatives are out there? The best replacement, with the most health benefits, is water! While this probably doesn’t suprise many people, the benefits to drinking water cannot be understated. Not only is water zero calories, it helps to prevent headaches and kidney stones, keeps your digestive system clean, and is great for your skin.
If you are looking to expand your non-water intake beyond drinking water alone, there are other zero-calorie drinks that can be enjoyed as well. Sparkling water is a good alternative for people craving the fizziness of soda. Green tea offers antioxidants and increases your metabolism. Finally, other beverages zero-calorie beverages, such as diet soda and black tea, are also viable options as well.