It’s probably an area that few people pay attention to, but they really should: what to drink is an often-overlooked part of an effective fitness or weight loss program. Many people tend to focus a lot of their efforts on what they need to eat in order to lose weight. The fact is that absolutely everything you consume plays a role in the ease or challenges you face in reaching your goals.
What to Drink to Give Yourself a Hand
Knowing what to drink is a critical but often neglected step in choosing the nutrition that will help you to reach your fitness and weight goals. If your aim is to get in shape, then those daily specialty coffees, full-sugar pop and even alcoholic beverages will only work against you. Remember that both what you should and shouldn’t consume are important considerations.
Your food is, of course, very important, but in the end the beverages that you choose can make or break you as well. If you don’t think about this carefully, then you may end up with a lot of extra and unwanted calories. Even worse, they’re calories that are easily absorbed but don’t help you to feel any fuller, so you’re still likely to eat just as much. To get the best start on losing weight and keeping it off, you want to be sure to choose drinks that help you instead of hurting you.
Think About What You Drink
When you think about what to drink to help you get in shape and lose weight, the first and foremost choice is very clear. For a variety of reasons, you want to turn to water in your weight loss quest. Water will help you to stay hydrated, which is important during strenuous workouts. Water is a necessity to flush toxins out of the body and even to aid digestion.
When you drink water on a regular basis, you will also find that it helps you to feel full for longer. You will ultimately not eat as much if you drink plenty of water before and after meals. This is a great reason for water consumption to be high and to place this at the top of the list of the best drinks for weight loss.
Water is Best but There Are Great Alternatives Too
You want to stay away from high-calorie drinks and find healthier alternatives, too. When you think about what to drink to help you to get in shape and lose weight, it’s about going for the most natural alternatives.
Green tea is an excellent choice and should be near the top of your list. Green tea can help you to burn fat through its natural antioxidants. Try drinking a cup or two of green tea per day, and even make iced green tea a regular rotation on your beverage list. You may find that sparkling water gives you a nice alternative to pop, too. There are no calories or fat in seltzer water, and you get the same sort of benefits by drinking it as you would from regular water. Still too bland? Add a wedge of lemon, lime, or grapefruit, or a slice of cucumber!
Beverages Best Left Out
Get rid of the sports drinks, juices and flavored and sugary drinks as much as you possibly can. If you’re comfortable eliminating them, go for it, because they’re not benefiting you, but they are holding you back.
Go ahead and enjoy that coffee or tea in the morning but keep them black without any sweeteners. If you genuinely loathe black coffee, try sprinkling a bit of cinnamon on top. If black tea makes you cringe, float a slice of lemon on top. You can enjoy lemon or other citrus water, of course, but resist the urge to add sugar.
When you are deciding what to drink to lose weight and help you get in shape, remember that it’s all about the most natural alternatives. You can enjoy a (small!) glass of red wine but stay away from mixed drinks or those that may contain a lot of sugar or other calorie-packed ingredients. Making healthier choices in what to drink will really help you with your weight loss, ensure that you stay hydrated and make for much better health in the long run.
