How to put your drinks on a diet

Most of us would prefer to eat our calories than drink them — even a high-calorie drink will never be as satisfying as something you bite into. Here's the skinny on how to keep your beverages from pushing an otherwise healthy meal into the caloric "red zone."

• These days, water isn't just water. Sometimes it comes in colours and has added vitamins, herbs or caffeine. These designer waters are being positioned as healthy alternatives to regular bottled water or soft drinks.
• But are they worth the hefty price? Probably not. And many of these waters are not calorie free, as plain water is, so read the labels.

In coffee-shop lingo, "skinny" means, "made with skim milk", so you'll be cutting calories if you use this trick.

Fancy coffee is a treat

• The more flavours and toppings you add to a specialty coffee drink, the higher its calorie count climbs.
• Always bear in mind that these drinks aren't refreshments — they're desserts — and should be consumed sparingly, on special occasions.

• If there's a fancy water or other drink you like that's a bit high in calories, go ahead and quaff it — after you dilute with an equal part regular water.
• Getting plenty of fluids into your body is important, especially for people with diabetes. It improves blood flow and helps the kidneys do their job of flushing toxins from the body. It could even lower your risk of diabetes-related kidney damage.
• So if you really dislike plain water and "flavouring" your water a bit with one of these drinks helps you drink more, then do it.

You'll not only save yourself the calories of regular soft drinks by buying unsweetened iced tea, you'll also infuse your body with disease-fighting antioxidants.

• Given the myriad flavours, fillers and toppings you can add to coffee these days, black coffee may sound kind of plain — but it's calorie-free!
• A small black coffee has zero calories and zero carbs, but making the same size coffee a "double double" bumps it up to 86 calories and 16 grams of carbs.