My Recent Addiction to Sugary Drinks
(that needs to be throttled back)
I noticed this past week was the week of sugary drinks. You could say it was because I was on vacation mode, but either way I had wayyy to many.
I try to make it a habit not to drink sugar-filled drinks…it’s more of a treat every once in a while. Even when I do get, say, a pumpkin latte, I would normally get half of the syrup.
For whatever reason, I packed about a month’s worth of sugary drinks into a week. No bueno.
The pictures were quite pretty (I wonder if that’s why I bought them?), but I fear that putting them all up on Instagram almost says that this type of drink is frequent in my diet. And it definitely is not.
I try to reserve my sweet tooth for things like homemade cookies and the amazing chocolate chip cookie dough s’mores bar recipe I have coming your way. 
So I thought I would share some reminders for myself and for you why we probably shouldn’t drink too many sugary beverages.
Why Are Sugary Drinks so Bad?
–Sugar is addicting.
–Major contributor to the obesity epidemic according to Harvard Health.
-Sugary drinks are strongly linked to diabetes (and even health problems in normal people!!).
-Sugar spike.
-Sugar crash.
-Like anything, in moderation they are fine, but sugary drinks aren’t generally guzzled in moderation. If you buy a case, then you can move onto the next drink. And the next and the next until you’ve fulfilled half of your calorie quota for the day without even thinking about it. (<-hint: you should be thinking about what you’re putting into your body)
Things to Consider When Choosing Your Sugary Drinks
-Does it have fruit juice? Fruit at least has some vitamins, so that’s a plus.
-How much sugar?
-Is there sugar in anything else I’m eating with my sugary drink?
-Am I drinking this on an empty stomach? (I would recommend pairing your sugary drink treat with a no sugar protein. If you’re on the road, maybe some nuts or a string cheese.)
-Can I lower the sugar in the drink? (at a coffee shop ask for half the syrup)
Sugary drinks are basically liquid candy. Plain and simple. We need to treat them as such. I consider a sugary beverage a treat, not a substitute for water, coffee or tea.
Treats are, of course, fine and dandy, but this means I shouldn’t have 5 of them in one week (along with my regular treats!!)!
[Tweet “I have a sugary drink addiction, but this is why it needs to stop! #imasemihealthnut”]
Okay, I feel a little better now that I’ve addressed this issue. Carry on! 
Tell me…
Do you have a sugary drink addiction? Be honest!
PS I would LOVE IT if you could pin one (or two!) of these images! You should also check out my pumpkin board…because it’s almost pumpkin season!!
Follow Diary of a Semi-Health Nut’s board Food [ Pumpkin ] on Pinterest.
Linking up to: (All of the lovely link-ups I participate in here.)
Photo Editing Using Lightroom + Picmonkey and Photography with Nikon D5300 and Tasty Food Photography
Moderation is SO important. I have a terrible sweet tooth, but not really for drinks. More like…baked goods and ice cream, ha!
I am right there with ya girlie!! I would eat cookies all day if I could haha.
I am not really into sugary drinks (I just started to like pressed juice)…but baked goods are my weakness. I really try to plan a treat (or 2…) later in the week so it’s like I am working for it!
That’s a good idea! I tend to have one a day..whether it be sprinkles on my morning toast, a chocolate after dinner or a couple of homemade cookies. Okay I’m drooling now.
Lol this is so funny because when I first started drinking coffee way back, I would order the most sugar-filled Starbucks drinks because I couldn’t handle the coffee flavor yet. Now, the thought of these sugar packed drinks make me cringe! blegh.
I really feel like that’s a thing! Until you get used to the taste of coffee, sugar helps haha.
It seems to be the same with wine…you start at the crazy sweet whites and work your way towards the reds.
(I feel like I just made a really remarkable discovery, but I bet I’m just late to the party of realizing these things.. 😉 )
I just order coffee with nonfat milk and then add syrup. It not only saves the calories and sugar but it is actually almost a dollar cheaper.
That’s a great idea! It’s good to find what works for you for sure! 🙂
Sugary drinks are one of my biggest downfalls. I am currently working on trying to lower my consumption but it’s been harder than cutting out bad foods for me personally!
It really is tough when they become routine! You can do it though..slow and steady always wins the race. 🙂 #cheesysayingFTW
I struggle with keeping my sweet tooth under check.. it’s a continous battle always..
I definitely have a sweet tooth and I’m okay with that. I find that if I let myself have dessert a few times a week, I don’t go crazy when I do have dessert if that makes sense. It doesn’t turn into this thing that I’m constantly pining for.
Sugary drinks on the other hand aren’t quite as satisfying to me, so I’m trying to cut back! 🙂
I don’t drink sugary drinks at all. Not much of a sweets person in general and the sugary drinks are way too sweet.
Oh man you’re so lucky!! I think it gets better once you stop drinking them..THEN they start to taste super sweet!
Oooh I like the coffee shop cappuccinos or lattes 🙂 Like you said, the sugar isn’t good for our bodies and actually the COST of those drinks isn’t so good on the wallet either! Drinking black coffee with half n’ half or cream has been a great substitute for me.
But chocolate chip cookies… nothing can replace those. Cookies in moderation!
Oh gosh yes they are so expensive! Great for a treat every now and then, but not on the regular!
And yess…cookies will never disappear from my diet!