What are the five basic steps of weight loss – Beverages: No sugar added

STEP 1: REDUCE YOUR CONSUMPTION OF ADDED SUGARS

BEVERAGES: NO SUGAR ADDED
The sugar-sweetened drink is one of the leading sources of added sugars. This includes soda pop, sugar-sweetened teas, fruit juice, fruit punch, vitamin water, smoothies, shakes, lemonade, chocolate or flavored milk, iced coffee drinks and energy drinks.
Hot drinks such as hot chocolate, mochaccino, cafe mocha and sweetened coffee and tea can also be included. Trendy alcoholic drinks add significant amounts of sugar to your diet, including such drinks as ‘hard’ lemonade, flavored wine coolers, cider beers as well as more traditional drinks such as Baileys Irish Cream, margaritas, daiquiris, pina coladas, dessert wines, ice wines, sweet sherries and liqueurs.

What about alcohol itself?

Alcohol is made from the fermentation of sugars and starches from various sources. Yeast eat the sugars and convert them to alcohol. Residual sugars result in a sweeter beverage. Sweetened dessert wines are obviously full of sugar and not recommended.

However, moderate consumption of red wine does not raise insulin or impair insulin sensitivity, and therefore may be enjoyed. Up to two glasses a day is not associated with major weight gain and may improve insulin sensitivity.

The alcohol itself, even from beer seems to have minimal effects on insulin secretion or insulin resistance. It is sometimes said that you get fat from the foods you eat when you drink alcohol, rather than the alcohol itself. There may be some truth to that although the evidence is sparse.