Do Liquid Calories Really Matter?

news you may not know

It's The New

Liquid Diet...

So, what good is a lifetime warranty if they won't even honor it after a measly two weeks? Two weeks!

Here's the scoop. You took your time, learned from past mistakes and false starts, and went into this with your eyes wide open. You picked a date - two weeks ago - and you got organized. This time around you were going to lose weight - no ifs ands or "butts!"

Now, after two weeks of rigorously faithful dieting, your entire plan is being sabotaged by a defective TurboSlim2000 (TS2) bathroom scale. It's unconscionable. According to the plan, and your own oft-repeated calculations, you should be down at least six pounds. If you had a scale with half a brain, probably closer to ten. But, the scale says you've actually gained two pounds!

You huff and puff into your lawyer's office, determined to teach the slackers who manufacture the TS2 a lesson or two about lifetime warranties. Two pounds! You take an angry swig from your 72 oz. cherry-vanilla soda with lime and plop down in a chair. The tears well, but you steady yourself and hit the soda again, relishing the sweet taste of cherry offset by the tart splash of lime. If it weren't for all the sodas you've been drinking the last two weeks you don't know how you would've made it...

Ah, yes, indeed - if it weren't for all the sodas...

A study recently released by the Milk Processor Education Program (MPEP) indicates that Americans pay little attention to the calories of what they drink. But, the report shows that an astounding 22% of the average American's caloric intake comes from liquids. 22%. It's a remarkable figure and may have much to do with the obesity epidemic plaguing the country.

While water is the most consumed beverage, sugar-sweetened beverages run a strong second. Teenagers are especially likely to consume large amounts of sweetened beverages, such as soft drinks, with teenage boys receiving 10% of all their calories from soft drinks. Sadly, it appears the phrase "The Pepsi Generation" may be more than a simple marketing slogan.

The Milk Processor Education Program has developed a website to highlight health and weight issues surrounding beverage choices. The full report referenced here may be downloaded and other resources and recommendations are also available at the site. Not surprisingly, the word M-I-L-K appears roughly 10 cajillion times per page - but, it may simply be coincidence...

To read more, visit the ThinkAboutYourDrink website.