Invisible Calories

When people overeat, one of the first roadblocks they face is consuming what I call “invisible calories.” There's more than one category, but we'll focus on just one for now.

Beverages🍺

I focus more on food quality rather than simply counting calories. That being said, no matter how nutritious your food is, it does actually matter if your caloric intake gets out of control.

A typical number of calories that many people aim to reduce daily is at least 500. This is due to the popular idea that by reducing your calories by roughly 3,500 per week (that's 7 days times 500 calories), overweight people “should” lose a pound a week. 

In my experience, this idea is oversimplified.

There are many other factors to consider in the weight loss equation.

For example, the actual quality of the food you eat, the stress levels you experience throughout the day, and the amount of sleep you get, etc. 

But taking all of that into consideration, the fact remains that for most overweight people, cutting 500 liquid calories per day is a very logical place to start.

Say, for example, your day starts out with a blended coffee drink in the morning that can easily equal over 500 calories.

That soda with lunch, is 150 more calories. Plus, you'll likely add at least 10 teaspoons of sugar, too. A similar drink with dinner could be at least double that!

Finally, if you unwind with a glass of wine in the late evening, each will be 100 calories, and each mixed drink about another 300.

You can see how quickly it all adds up!

Water is the body's principal chemical component.

Every cell, tissue, and organ in the body requires this element to function correctly.

In terms of working out, water lubricates and cushions your joints, protecting all tissues throughout your body. 

The conclusion is simple:

To the best of your ability, replace your “invisible calories” with the proper amount of water each day, adjusted for your body composition and activity levels!