Most of us have heard the phrase “Eat your calories, don’t drink them!” This is one of the many food rules that is so deeply rooted in diet culture. Let’s take a second to break down this concept and learn how to overcome it.
If we look at drinking our calories as “bad”, we would be tying morality to that action. Therefore, if you do drink your calories, even if it’s a drink you enjoy, you will feel guilt or shame for doing so. This concept is very similar to one of the principles of intuitive eating that is discussed in my blog “How To Make Peace With Food”, but in this case we are applying it to beverages.
Beverages that contain calories give us energy. Whether you are drinking orange juice or eating an orange, you are still going to get calories and energy from both of those products. Let’s look at the difference between the two. A glass of orange juice is going to digest and absorb a lot faster compared to an orange because it is liquid and liquid carbohydrates absorb more quickly in the body. If you are a diebetic and have low blood sugar, a glass of orange juice would be a great option for quick energy. Orange juice would also be a good option if you are about to go for a run and you need energy because you haven’t eaten anything that day. An orange is going to fill you up for longer because your body has to work harder to break down the fruit to digest and absorb it. Similarly, if you paired a glass of orange juice with some protein like eggs or a bagel with peanut butter, the food is going to digest slower in the body and keep you fuller for longer compared to drinking orange juice on its own. The same goes for apples vs. apple juice. Apple juice isn’t “bad” for you – it just gets energy into your body quicker.
It’s important to ask yourself a few questions when making food/beverage decisions:
What is your intention behind your food/beverage choice?
Are you looking for something to fill you up? Do you need something to give you quick energy? Or, do you just want something that feels good?
Many sweetened beverages like Gatorade have calories to give us energy. If you were to drink Gatorade instead of water all day long, your hunger might be altered and you may have some spikes and crashes in your blood sugar throughout the day. You can absolutely have some of your favorite calorie-containing beverages, keeping in mind what feels physically pleasant to you. If you simply don’t enjoy beverages like orange juice, apple juice, or milk and you just love drinking water, there is nothing wrong with that either!
What is satisfying to you?
If you are craving lemonade, you have the permission to drink a glass of lemonade. The beverage will taste satisfying to you, and you will simply move on with your day. If you tell yourself that you aren’t allowed to drink your calories, then you will go and try to eat something else. Often none of those other foods are satisfying to us and we end up having the lemonade or whatever we were craving anyways. When we fail to honor what our body wants and needs, it results in more calorie consumption and dissatisfaction to our body.
Calorie containing beverages are absolutely allowed in your diet. It is important to ask yourself “What fills you up? What feels physically pleasant? What is satisfying to you?”. If you have the “eat your calories, don’t drink them” food rule embedded into your head, ask yourself where this rule came from and dig deeper into why this idea exists. Then, we can enjoy our favorite beverages again while feeling physically pleasant and without any guilt or shame. When you unpack your belief systems of these different food rules, it’s going to help you make peace with not only food, but with beverages as well.
Alcohol is another calorie containing beverage that is a part of many people’s lives. If you struggle with alcohol, please check out my WTAF podcast episode titled: Sammy and Jenna’s Relationship With Alcohol where my co-host, Jenna, and I talk all about our relationships with alcohol, where they started, and where they are now. Additionally, if you enjoyed this blog, I know you’ll LOVE my blog titled: My Relationship With Alcohol
