YOUR LIQUID DIET MAKES YOU FAT

What you drink adds more to your weight than what you eat, says a new study. Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar sets some common quaffing mistakes right

 Bad news for liquid diet fadists. What you drink may add more to your weight than what you eat, says a new study by the researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. They found that weight loss was positively associated with a reduction in liquid calorie consumption. Conversely, this kind of intake had a stronger impact on weight than solid calorie intake.
    Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar busts the myths of some common liquid diet scenarios:
SCENARIO 1
I begin my mornings with a wholesome breakfast — waffles with maple syrup, toast-jam and tea. Lunch is heavy too. But I feel guilty by dinner and settle for a tall glass of watermelon juice. RUJUTA SAYS: This breakfast is a sugar loaded and not wholesome. No wonder you feel like having a heavy lunch. Your guilt-ridden glass of watermelon juice will only make sure that you wake up with a sugar craving. Dinners are not the time for fruits and definitely not for juices. Going to bed on a glass of watermelon juice reinforces this fasting and feasting pattern which is a fool proof way of getting fat. Break down your meals into five to six small portions. And please eat dinner, don't drink it!
SCENARIO 2
I start my day with a large glass of chikoo milkshake, which is both my breakfast and lunch. By five o'clock I get hungry again, so I munch on vada pav or a packet of potato chips. Dinner is at 10 o'clock. RUJUTA SAYS: So the saint turns sinner by dusk. Why do you insist on starving yourself in the morning and loading junk food later in the day? Chickoo milkshake is nutritious but only if you are eating proper meals through out the day. Do you really need a nutritionist to tell you that vada pav and potato chips daily are not healthy? Sacrificing a traditional breakfast is what's leading to the binge in the evening.
SCENARIO 3
I am a 25-year-old professional. Having no time for exercise, I try to control my diet. For lunch I eat two chapattis, a bowl of subji and dal. Dinner is rice with dal. In between meals, I have three to four glasses of orange juice. RUJUTA SAYS: You are only fooling yourself into believing that you are eating healthy. One glass orange juice is understandable, but as a replacement to proper food is a glamorised version of starvation. You are better off eating three to four small meals.
SCENARIO 4
I am a working mother of a three-yearold. He hates milk, so I give him a large glass of apple juice. Since arranging for freshly squeezed juice is not possible, I settle for tetra packs. RUJUTA SAYS: Some children are lactose intolerant. To make sure that he gets the essential nutrients, try giving him interesting raitas or home-made fruit yoghurt or butter milk. Apple juice can't provide the nutrients found in milk or milk products. A tetra pack is best left for long travels or emergencies.
SCENARIO 5
My wedding is scheduled within the next four months and I am 10 kilos overweight. I want to look my best, so I have decided to stick to a liquid diet. I have vegetable broth for lunch and dinner with a piece of brown bread. In between meals, I have six to seven glasses of fruit juice or lassi. RUJUTA SAYS: You are going to look wiped out in no time with this liquid diet. Girl, it's your big day. Start eating! Liquid diets are the worst amongst all the diet fads. This is only going to drown the lustre from your hair and glow from your face. You might lose weight (muscle weight that is), but you can do that just by falling sick too. Start eating five to six small meals throughout the day and eat your last meal 2 hours prior to bedtime. This will not just make you look slimmer and toned up, but will help you glow and keep you calm.
SCENARIO 6
I am a 25-year-old marketing professional. I usually have to be on field every day. Due to the heat, I skip my lunch. Instead, I have gallons of nimbu pani and chaas. RUJUTA SAYS: Have a light lunch that you can carry while on the move. You will be able to deal with the heat better if you have eaten something. The body can not hold on to any fluids in the absence of carbohydrates. So please have roti-subzi or rice-daal.
(RUJUTA DIWEKAR IS A SPORTS NUTRITIONIST)