A common goal of Neville and Entwistle’s clients is weight loss through body fat reduction. Subsequently clients would complete a food diary recording their food and liquid intake, with a view on reducing calorie intake. However, a common mistake arose in the form of many clients unknowingly drinking their calories. For example, clients on a 1250 calorie per day programme would frequently consume high percentages of there calorie allowance through varied drinks.

It is true that beer, wine, sweet carbonated beverages, sweet teas, sodas, flavoured waters, etc are high in calories, in the form of alcohol or sugar and low in nutritional value and should be avoided or moderated. However, an unlikely contributor to liquid calories is fruit juices and smoothies. A large glass of orange juice can provide 300 calories, and when using the same example of a 1250 calorie per day programme, that’s almost 25% of the allowance in one drink!

A recent phenomenon is the growth of juice/smoothie bars on the high street and an increase in the variety of carton juices and smoothies at the supermarket. Caution must be taken in serving size and making sure the words 100% fruit juice appear on the label to ensure they don’t contain added sugar. Many manufactures are enthusiastic about how many portions of fruit a single glass of there product contains, what must be remembered is that you are also consuming the combined sugars of all these portions.

When dieting for body fat reduction, try sticking to tea, water and use non-added sugar cordial for flavour. Eat whole fruits, vegetables and use the 5-a-day guidelines. But in terms of fruit juice remember the suggested serving size, a small ¾  cup (6 ounces) equates to one of your 5-a-day.

Author: Steven Neville, Bsc, ACSM