Drink and not gain weight: calorie content of drinks and their effect on our health

Today, most people monitor their health by trying to eat right and, of course, meet the recommended daily calorie intake. Meanwhile, a separate category of healthy lifestyle adherents believes that calorie content is more about food, but drinks can be consumed in almost unlimited quantities during the day. This is fundamentally wrong; it is not for nothing that many are familiar firsthand with such a joyless term as “beer belly.” Endocrinologist, pediatric endocrinologist at the Medsi clinic on Leninsky Prospekt Elena Yurtseva will talk about the calorie content of popular drinks and their effect on figure, beauty and health.

"Liquid rating" of health and beauty

“What should I drink to lose weight?” This question is often asked by lovers of, for example, flour and sweet foods, who seriously suffer from the lack of their favorite buns during the period of restrictive diets. Experts from the International Diabetes Federation analyzed the most popular drinks in the world, and the information received served as the basis for compiling the so-called “liquid rating”, in which six levels were identified. The most optimal and low-calorie drink takes honorable first place, followed by something that is high in calories and not at all healthy.

Come up with your own recipe!

It's easy to make your own protein shake to gain weight, even if you don't have a recipe at hand. The portal hudeem-bez-problem.ru invites you to dream up and invent it yourself!

Take protein as a basis, which can be bought at any sports store. Add no more than 2 tablespoons of this powder per glass. And then - any components at your discretion:

• eggs,
• bananas,
• dried apricots and other dried fruits,
• milk and low-fat dairy products,
• chocolate and cocoa,
• nuts.

"Tea, coffee, let's dance..."

Next in the hierarchy of drinks are any types of teas that have virtually no calories. In addition, with antioxidants, they protect our body from heart disease and cancer, and also strengthen the immune system. Another low-calorie drink is coffee.

“However, you should remember that different types of tea and coffee contain caffeine in varying concentrations. Therefore, we recommend consuming these drinks before 18.00,” the expert reminds.

Prt Scr /

Which cocktail is better for muscle growth - homemade or ready-made?

The advantage of homemade cocktails for weight gain is that it’s easy to choose your favorite flavor and prepare it with a new filling every day. But if you drink a cocktail immediately after training, you will have to carry the ready-made mixture in a shaker, which is inconvenient. In addition, “from the refrigerator” protein shakes are not so easy to prepare; they require all the necessary ingredients. And not everyone can drink half a liter of such a cocktail at a time, no matter how tasty it may be. And only under this condition will you be able to get the required amount of protein at once.

Ready-made protein shakes in powder form are free of these disadvantages. These protein powders contain the same protein, only dry and purified of all excess. This is a real find for those who need to quickly, tasty and simply fill the lack of protein. By mixing such a drink, you can accurately measure the required amount of nutrients. The concentration of proteins in the finished product is much higher and without excess fats and carbohydrates. To get the required portion of protein, as a rule, it is enough to drink 200-300 ml of a delicious cocktail, with water or milk, without fat and excess carbohydrates. And all you need to have on hand is the mixture, water (or milk) and a shaker.

In addition, sports cocktails for weight gain differ from each other in composition. Milk contains two different types of protein, each of which is absorbed at a specific time. In the finished powder drink they are separated and can be consumed separately at the right time, depending on the type:

• Whey is processed by the body almost immediately and is relevant in the first hour and a half after training.
• Casein is digested in about seven hours, and is drunk either at night or during periods between workouts when gradual muscle recovery is needed.

Such proteins are drunk to make up for the lack of proteins, mixed with the right amount of sugar to achieve an increase in muscle mass, or a ready-made mixture is used - a gainer. This again increases the accuracy of calculations of daily consumption of CBJU.

Sports protein shakes are available in different flavors and aromas - sweets, fruits, coffee, even Coca-Cola. They are mixed with water, low-fat milk or kefir, and juices.

Drink milk, children.

Level 3 on the calorie table is skim milk. It contains fewer calories due to its low fat content, making it a great choice for overweight people. In addition, this product is the main source of vitamin D and calcium for children and adults.

Prt Scr /

Tips for choosing healthy drinks

Some drinks are less healthy than they seem. The following strategies can help you make drink choices that help you lose weight:

• Read the ingredients on the packages to see exactly how many calories are in each serving.
• Check serving sizes as some small containers contain multiple servings.
• At a coffee shop, ask for smaller portions and skim milk.
• Avoid flavored syrups and whipped cream.
• At the bar, alternate alcoholic drinks with water or low-calorie drinks.

Both benefit and harm

For many, it may seem strange that milk with natural fat content, as well as fruit juices, which contain a large amount of minerals, vitamins and other nutrients, are located on the same level of rating as alcoholic beverages. However, both contain a large number of calories.

“In addition to this, natural milk, due to its saturated fatty acids, is harmful to blood vessels, and any alcohol, in addition to its benefits in minimal quantities, increases appetite, which can lead to excessive food consumption. Therefore, monitor your condition and snack on vegetable dishes,” advises Elena Yurtseva.

Prt Scr /

What you need to gain weight

To grow muscle, you need a caloric surplus: more energy than the body consumes. This excess should primarily consist of those substances from which muscles are built, that is, amino acids obtained from proteins. These are meat, fish, legumes, nuts, mushrooms.

But pure protein is difficult to digest in the body. That’s why it needs carbohydrates and unsaturated fats. And enough fiber to ensure good digestion.

Getting the required amount of proteins and the right carbohydrates from daily food is difficult and requires painstaking calculation of KBJU. This is where sports nutrition comes to the rescue - special protein shakes for gaining weight.

In any case, you should avoid fast food, sugar, and other foods with a high glycemic index. If they are abused, body weight will increase, including due to the fat layer. In addition, there will be problems with bad cholesterol in the blood and uncontrolled insulin surges.

“I need ten spoons and don’t stir!”

Rounding out our “liquid rating” are sodas and drinks with a small juice content, which are extremely rich in calories.

“For 100 ml of such a drink there are at least 3.5-4 pieces of regular instant sugar,” says our expert. - Look at the label, which shows the nutritional value per 100 grams: proteins - 0, fats - 0, and carbohydrates - as much as 18-20 grams! It turns out that 250 ml of drink contains 45-50 grams, or 9-10 pieces, of sugar! Now remember: have you ever drunk tea like this?”

Consumption of sugar in such huge quantities provokes not only obesity, but also caries, periodontal disease, type 2 diabetes, and diseases of the cardiovascular system. I can’t help but remember a famous joke: “How much sugar should you put in your tea? “I need 10 spoons and don’t stir, I don’t like sweets.”

Ginger for weight loss

Many women and men are interested in whether ginger helps burn fat. The pungently bitter root really promotes weight loss: it reduces body weight and waist size. The specific taste is explained by the presence of gingerol and shogaol - components that speed up metabolism and suppress appetite.

To prepare a ginger drink for burning fat, you need to boil 1 liter of water, add 100 g of grated ginger root, a little cinnamon, and vanillin. Place the pan on the fire (the water should not boil). After 3 minutes, pour one and a half liters of milk into the water, 4 tbsp. black tea. Boil the drink for 7 minutes and then turn off. Leave for 15 minutes.

To prepare ginger water for burning fat, there is a simple recipe: you need to add 20 g of grated ginger root, sliced ​​lemon and cucumber, and a bunch of mint to 2 liters of non-carbonated mineral water. Place the container in the refrigerator overnight and drink throughout the day.

Are there any drinks that you should never drink under any circumstances?

Life, as we know, is unpredictable and full of surprises - both pleasant and not so pleasant. A wedding or birthday, dismissal from work or the loss of a loved one - in our minds, many of these events are inextricably linked with certain drinks. Therefore, according to Elena Yurtseva, it would be reasonable, if not to completely abandon the popular drink, which is replete with extra calories, then at least to use it only as a last resort. As for low-calorie drinks that are harmless to the body, you can enjoy them without restrictions - of course, within reason.

Prologue

Why are these wonderful calorie-free drinks so cheap and produced mainly by service stations? And the answer is very simple. Sweeteners are much cheaper than sugar.

The same aspartame is 400 times sweeter than sugar, that is, only a few milligrams will be needed for one bottle. The same bottle of sugar will take 5-6 spoons. So consider what is more profitable.

I don’t presume to judge the safety and harmfulness: I have no expertise in this matter. But if they were allowed to reach the counter, then let’s hope that at least in theory it’s not harmful.

Thank you for your attention! Likes and subscriptions are not prohibited.

• Previous: Oleg Menshikov and Yulia Peresild played leading roles at a charity brunch.
• Next: Delicious pancakes with apricots in dough

Calorie content of beer per 100 grams