The FastDay Forum

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... g-fat.html


Many people follow a healthy diet and try to watch what they eat, but when it comes to what they drink, they aren't so careful. Yet the fluids you consume can have as much impact on your health — and your waistline.

They don't.
That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

Thank you for sharing this article.

Many of us don't have a real gauge how our daily drinking habits mess with our overall intake of calories.

Last year when I chose to lose weight instead of the recommended surgery I only became aware of my REAL calories in-take in food and drinks when I began keeping a diary through FoodFocus.co.uk

After maintaining my food diary for only two weeks, it was obvious to me that it was not just what I ate but also what I drank both in daily beverages like coffee, teas, fruit juices etc as well as some evening wine and whisky etc. These contributed some significant number of calories in my total in-take.

I happily confess that I still enjoy all kinds of drinks in my Feast days but I have ZERO sugar added to my hot drinks, I do not consume any bottled fruit juices and am aware of my wine and/or whisky etc.

It has been helpful to me and maybe it is of some help to others to be aware of these as part of their healthy living on 5:2.

Wooo feeling smug that I don't take sugar in tea. Long may my tea habit continue

I have totally reduced my drink calorie intake after starting 5:2 diet. I only have black coffee/tea and water on my fast days now and generally refuse fruit juice etc on other days.
I am lucky that I have never enjoyed sugar in coffee/tea. My friend uses 40 cals a cuppa on these on her fasting days.
I will admit that alcohol is my downfall but I have at least three nights a week without it so reducing all the time!

Luckily I only have soda 2/3 times a year. Don't get me wrong I like it but I raised six children and there was not enough $ in the budget to buy soda. I loved milky/creamy coffee and very sweet. I also prefer to eat my fruit and not drink it. When I started 5:2 I had to force myself to drink 8 waters so there wasn't any room for many coffee's. I also cut sugar and use just a slash of fat free milk. I am happy now to drink water, and iced tea sans sugar!

I only drink calorie free red wine ;>)

I'm fine for non alcoholic drinks - water and tea (no sugar). Always go the actual fruit rather than juice. Occasionally I'll make a smoothie, but that will be instead of a meal, I realise that even if it's healthy fruit/yoghurt/egg/milk/cacao, it's still "food" and loads of calories.

Alcohol - well, I do love a neat scotch, but my main drink by far is beer, followed by cider, both far too easy to drink in quantities that add up to a lot of calories. I have got to a really good place now though, where I drink maybe a few evenings a month (rather than a couple of drinks virtually every evening like I did until the end of last year.) Importantly, this isn't a "no I can't have it" deprivation, but more of a realisation that those drinks were just habit, and a few changes to my late arvo/evening routines helped me drop the habit without it being painful.