"It's only a drink!"

It's surprising how most people on a diet think a juice is 'safe' calorie-wise. Little do they realise that most drinks are hidden sources of fat calories or just empty calories i.e. only calories and no nutrition. After comparing nutritional notes on rasgullas and gulab jamuns, Get Ahead fitness expert Samreedhi compares the calorie count of the popular Pina Colada and the simple orange juice.

Pina Colada (non-alcoholic) 1 big glass

208 calories (130 fat calories) = cycling for 45 minutes at 8 km/ hour

This drink is made using coconut milk, pineapple juice, fresh cream and plenty of sweetener. Coconut milk itself is a high source of fat calories, while the pineapple juice too is usually made using canned pineapple soaked in sweetener. The cream and added sweetener enhance not only the taste, but also the calories considerably!

Orange juice 1 big glass (made from 6 medium oranges)

160 calories = cycling for 32 minutes at 8 km/hour

Fruit juices are usually not recommended if you are on a diet, as one glass gives you the calories of 6 oranges and the nutrition of none. Most juices are strained before serving and so come minus the fibre. Citrus fruit juices are minus the vitamin C as well, because the vitamin is destroyed when juice is stored for more than a couple of hours. The whole fruit proves to be much more filling and nutritious as compared to just the juice.

So, if you are on a calorie watch and are about to order a drink at a restaurant, ask the waiter to recommend a drink without coconut or fresh cream. A fresh lime soda / water or diet cola is definitely a better option than drinks containing cream. Ask for the sweetener separately, so you can judiciously add it yourself.

-- The author is a certified personal trainer and nutritionist. She runs Size Wise, a training studio, and also conducts fitness workshops. Besides training with the International Sports Science Association, USA, she has a PG Diploma in nutrition and food technology and writes for a number of publications. You can e-mail Samreedhi.

Do you have any interesting recipes of low-cal drinks? Share them with us.