Rethink Your Drink in 2016

By: Donna T.

When we hear “new year,” our bodies are typically the first thought that comes to mind. Americans spend beaucoup money on gym memberships and imagine themselves a completely different person by the time the next new year comes around. I would be lying if I said I haven’t done this and saw my goal self as the next Victoria Secret model. However, the majority of these and similar resolutions go out the window, many by February! This is partially due to creating unrealistic goals that become overwhelming and discouraging. If that happens to you this year, I challenge you to try a tiny daily change instead. It may not seem like much, but if you make this simple change a habit, you can make another tiny change, and so forth. Just as the ocean is made up of droplets of water, serious change is made up of tiny changes. Rather than have the overwhelming goal of being the next Adriana Lima looming over your head, try a goal you will hardly notice, making it so much easier. The example I would like to focus on is switching just one of your less healthy beverages for a healthier one, preferably water. Just one per day! That doesn’t seem so bad for starters and may even save some money!

So why beverages? I would like for you to ponder what comes to mind when anyone mentions nutrition, diet, weight loss or maintenance, etc. Most people will think of mainly food. We tend to forget that beverages are a part of our diet, yet the “majority of Americans consume beverages and discretionary foods … high in sugar, sodium, fats, and cholesterol as part of their daily diets” (An, 2016).

Before I go any further, I would like to clarify some terms, such as discretionary foods. These are the foods that do not fit in the main food groups because they are not essential to a healthy diet and are high in fats, sugar, sodium, and usually too high in calories, while low in good nutrients like fiber. They are referred to as energy-dense foods, which means they contain a high concentration of calories, or energy, per unit (for our purposes, a bite). The danger with energy-dense foods, such as processed items, is that they provide many calories and reach or exceed our daily limit without supplying critical nutrients. Opposite energy density is nutrient density, seen in foods like fruits and vegetables. These foods have a high concentration of health-promoting nutrients per bite and less calories.

The majority of the beverages Americans consume on a daily basis, and usually in excess, are considered energy-dense and are just as threatening as those processed, discretionary foods. A recent study examined the relationship between such beverage consumption, discretionary food intake, and quality of diet among US adults. It found that there was in fact an observable relationship between beverage consumption and overall dietary behavior.

Some of the specifics included that more educated adults had higher intakes of diet beverages, while those with a lower education level and lower socioeconomic status consumed more of the sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). Oddly enough, those consuming higher amounts of diet drinks had higher overall caloric intakes and were typically obese, while more normal-weight individuals were drinking the SSBs.

My theory on the above oddity is that the diet beverage drinkers have the mentality (whether they are aware of this or not) that they have saved calories so they can eat more. They may not make a point of going for unhealthy choices, but because those energy-dense types of foods are already a part of their diet, simply eating more means making unhealthy choices that ultimately far outweigh the potential benefits of drinking diet. Now that I have shared my thought on the matter, I would like to know if you have any other theories or more to add to this one. 

The study’s findings led to the conclusion that more research needs to be done that looks at not just beverage consumption alone, but associated dietary behaviors. So when you go to create your resolutions list and sitting there in the number one position is some form of changing your body, wouldn’t it be worth it to devote some time and energy to look at your every day health and dietary behaviors? While exercise is important, simply signing up for a gym membership will only take you so far. What about all those days you are just too tired to work out? That may be a good indication to look at your diet patterns. Why? Those energy-dense and discretionary foods I mentioned earlier – they can negatively affect energy levels and nutritional status, leading to a lack of energy and strength, two important things for all those awesome workouts you planned ... or found on Pinterest (if you're me, that is).

Before your resolution of getting fit bites the dust, grab some white out, and then simply write “get healthier.” To bring this full circle, the way to get healthier is to be realistic and start small, like with our beverages. Take a look at the images below. Just replacing one of those drinks with water will save your body from all that sugar (several teaspoons, actually). Think about it like this: You wouldn’t eat 20 packets or more of sugar. Why are you drinking it then? Another way I have heard a registered dietitian nutritionist put it is to pretend you own a prized racehorse. Would you give it energy drinks and the like, especially close to race day? Probably not. If you wouldn’t give it to your horse, how much more important do you think your body and your life are to you? Now, I am not saying just one, tiny change should be an ultimate goal, but for someone who has drank 6 sodas per day for the last 10 years, drinking only four per day is a wonderfully huge change for the body, yet gradual enough not to throw it out of whack. Remember, with each minor goal we accomplish, we are that much closer to major change.

(http://i.imgur.com/EgVny.jpg)

(http://bitsandpieces.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/rethink-your-drink.jpg)

I want to know some simple changes that you could make in your daily routine – changes that you could really see yourself succeeding at because they are that simple, especially any related to beverages. Also feel free to make suggestions for others to try.

Additionally, I would like to encourage all of you to do some searching on your own for information on the effects of drinking sodas and energy drinks over a long period of time. If more people were aware of these scary effects, especially those on children, they may be less likely to consume energy drinks. For those of you who do venture out and explore this, please come back and educate the rest of us because, honestly, I’d rather if Red Bull did not give anyone wings … if you get my drift.

To start it off: I chose to transition from sweet tea to unsweetened, and if you are from the south, you know the agony associated with this. It was hard at first, but I began just by mixing half sweetened tea and half unsweetened. After some time of slowly tweaking the ratio to more and more unsweetened tea, I finally reached my goal. Now when I try to drink, say McDonald’s sweet tea, I gag because it is like drinking syrup, which tells me that I have trained my body to not crave as much sugar. Our bodies will change, but we have to do it gradually. Remember: Inch by inch, it's a cinch. Yard by yard, it's too hard. 

Now it is your turn!

Referenced Article: 
An, R. (2016). Beverage consumption in relation to discretionary food intake and diet quality among US adults, 2003 to 2012. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(1), 28-36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2015.08.009