Exercising more, managing your stress and watching what you eat are all ways to live a healthier lifestyle. But there’s another way maybe you haven’t considered yet – thinking about what you drink.
 
Watching the amount of sugar in your drinks can be an important step on the pathway to a healthier life. People eat about 57 pounds of added sugar a year. And sugary drinks play a big part.
 
The World Health Organization recommends that added and natural sugar be no more than 5-10% of an adult's calories. If you eat a 2,000-calorie diet, that means 25 grams.
 
“A two-liter soda can cause an 88 pound weight gain in a year if you drink one a day,” said Antonia Knudsen from Community Medical Centers’ Diabetes Education. Weight gain can cause many health problems like diabetes, heart disease, strokes, fatty liver disease, certain types of cancer and more.
 

 5 Ways to Rethink your Sugary Drink

You may not realize just how many calories sugary beverages can contribute to your daily intake, so here are five ways to cut down on the sugar in your drinks.
 

1. Choose water, diet, or low-calorie beverages instead of sugar-sweetened ones. Replacing high-calorie drinks with water is an easy way to reduce the amount of sugar you’re consuming in a day.

2. Keep your water cold. It’s easy to reach for a cold glass of water when it’s already waiting for you in the refrigerator.

3. Enhance your water. A tasty way to make your water more inviting is to add different fruits like strawberries, lemons, limes or even a vegetable like cucumber to it.

4. Add a splash. Adding a little 100% juice to sparkling water may make it more fun without packing on the extra calories.

5. If you absolutely need that sugary drink, size down. If you need to get that sugary drink, order a small instead of a large. Depending on your usual order, you can cut calories and sugars in half!