Your favorite beverage may be just as diet-wrecking as fatty fast food, adding calories, sugar and fat and offering little or no nutritional value. Watch out for these drink shockers that will tip you closer to the F.D.A. and U.S.D.A. recommended daily limits for calories (2,000), fat (65 grams) and added sugar (40 grams) a day. Added sugars means any sugar not found naturally within the food, so look out for ingredients like sugar, maple syrup, honey, corn syrup and molasses, says Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD, CDN, and national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (ADA).
Gatorade
Size: 20 oz bottle Calories: 125 Fat: 0 g Sugars: 35 g
Sure, the bottle says it has 50 calories per serving, but a regular-sized Gatorade includes 2 servings, making it nearly as caloric as a typical soft drink. You don't need a bottle of Gatorade every time you go for a walk, but this drink is a great thirst and energy quencher for longer or more intense workouts.
I usually take Gatorade when I play sports or when I did not have a chance to take in at least 1 liter of water for the day.
If you thought this coffee drink would be better than a soda, think again. It's packed with sugar and has around as many calories as a can of soda.
*Calories per Ounce: About 21
Size: 16 fl oz Calories: 500 Fat: 17 g Sugars: 82 g
If you've got to have a Coolatta, order the Coffee Coolatta with skim milk which has 170 calories, no fat and less than half the sugar that the Vanilla Bean flavor.
*Calories per Ounce: About 31
By adding whipped cream this drink becomes even more shocking with an extra 120 calories and 11 fat grams.
*Calories per Ounce: About 23
Size: 16 oz Calories: 560 Fat: 19 g Sugars: 72 g
Yes, this drink is a little lighter on all counts than a McFlurry, but you'd still be better off ordering a chocolate or vanilla Frosty in the junior or small sizes. You'd save 250 to 410 calories and 11 to 15 grams of fat.
*Calories per Ounce: 35
Size: 12 oz Calories: 620 Fat: 20 g Sugars: 85 g
When it comes to calories, this drink is about the equivalent of one meal. Plus, you better watch your sugar intake for the rest of the day.
*Calories per Ounce: About 52
Size: 1 cup, or 8 fl oz Calories: 270 Fat: 5 g Sugars: 45 g
Just one serving of this milk contains 33 more grams of sugar than regular low-fat milk, or nearly all the added sugar you should have in one day. Make this an occasional treat, not a once or twice-a-day habit.
*Calories per Ounce: 33.75
Size: 8.3 oz can Calories: 110 Fat: 0 g Sugars: 27 g
This drink contains more than half the sugar you should have in one day. Plus, do you really want to use 110 of your 2,000 calories on something you can drink in about 10 seconds?
*Calories per Ounce: About 13