Staying hydrated can be great for your body. Drink enough of the right liquids and your mood will improve, your focus will sharpen, your heart will beat stronger, and you’ll be less likely to suffer from headaches and fatigue. All that, plus if you pick the right potions, you’ll receive beneficial nutrients, antioxidants and protein as a chaser.

Bottoms up, right? Not so fast. Some bottles are better than others, as you’re about to learn. Too many Americans are problem drinkers — and I’m not talking about bourbon for breakfast. As a nation, we love high-sugar, high-calorie drinks like sodas and smoothies; a whopping 21 percent of American’s calorie intake comes from drinks, and that’s an increase of 150 calories since 1977. The big-bottom line: Half of that caloric payload comes from sweetened beverages such as soft drinks, fruit punch, and other sweet drinks.

The sad part is: Nobody actually needs any of those calories. Water — by the glass and in the foods you eat — should be plenty to top your tank. But if you find it kind of bland, we hear you. That’s why we’re slapping warning labels on the big-calorie guzzlers, and pointing you toward the thirst-quenchers that won’t make you fat.

Cheers.

Iced Coffee

Drink This
Dunkin’ Donuts Caramel Crème Iced Latte (16 oz)
260 calories
9 g fat
40 g sugars

Not That
Starbucks 2% Iced Dulce de Leche Latte (16 oz)
420 calories
16 g fat
52 g sugars

In the hierarchy of espresso drinks, lattes sit squarely at the bottom. That’s because they’re more milk than java, and are susceptible to huge pumps of sugar syrup from eager-to-please baristas. A macchiato gives the same caffeine kick for a tiny fraction of the caloric cost by swapping out the excess steamed milk for a crown of frothed milk. It’s a simple but meaningful switch for caffeine junkies looking for a healthier fix. For other easy foods swaps for effortless weight loss — without ever having to diet again — try these fabulous fifteen.

Protein Shakes

Drink This
Slim Fast High Protein Extra Creamy Strawberry (11.5 oz can)
190 calories
5g fat
13 g sugars

Not That!
Boost Plus High Protein Strawberry (8 oz bottle)
240 calories
6 g fat
16 g sugars

Besides having fewer calories and sugar than the smaller Boost shake, the Slim Fast drink also has more protein and five extra grams of fiber, which means it will work harder at keeping your belly full in the hours after you sip it.
Yogurt Smoothie

Drink This
Dannon Light & Fit Strawberry Banana Smoothie
70 calories
12 g sugars

Not That!
Stonyfield Farm Organic Wild Berry Smoothie
150 calories
25 g sugars

The Stonyfield smoothie is smaller but more than doubles up on the calories and sugar in the Dannon Light. Don’t be fooled by the “organic” name — this yogurt smoothie is thick with added sugars, which spikes your blood sugar and tells your body to start storing fat — not the best way to start your day.

The Dannon Light shake jumpstarts your morning metabolism with a nice protein kick, but spares you the sickly Stonyfield sweetness. Watch out wherever, whenever for added sugars by avoiding this great list of the most sugar-packed foods in America!
Functional Beverage

Drink This
Dasani Plus Orange Tangerine Vitamin Enhanced Water (20-oz bottle)
0 calories
0 g sugars

Not That!
Snapple Agave Melon Antioxidant Water (20-oz bottle)
140 calories
33 g sugars

If you were fooled by the words “agave” and “antioxidant,” don’t be embarrassed — for a product that’s supposedly water, it’s totally shocking how many calories and grams of sugar are packed into this fraudulent “health” beverage. But that doesn’t mean you should run the other way when you see an enhanced water; in fact, adding a little flavor (such as the orange tangerine in the Dasani water) can make staying hydrated easier and more pleasant — without adding calories or sugar.

Bottled Beverage

Drink This
Sobe Lean Blackberry Currant (20-oz bottle)
15 calories
2 g sugars

Not That!
Sobe Lizard Lava (20-oz bottle)
310 calories
77 g sugars

To glance at these two mysterious containers, you might think they contained exactly the same liquid — they’re both pink, they both come in a chunky glass bottle, they’ve both got some kind of creature on the label — but once you take a closer look at the nutrition facts, an entirely different story becomes clear. The Lizard Lava bottle contains about half a meal’s worth of calories and as much sugar as 11 popsicles.

That doesn’t exactly spell refreshment, does it? Instead try the other pink bottle, with Sobe’s Lean Blackberry Currant. With only 15 calories and 2 grams of sugar in a bottle, it just goes to show you that you can’t judge a drink by its bottle. In fact, make sure you’re always on the lookout for things like these sneaky “health” foods that aren’t! You’ll be shocked.
Energy Drink

Drink This
Monster Lo-Ball Java Monster Coffee + Energy (16-oz can)
100 calories
8 g sugars

Not That!
Rockstar Original (16-oz can)
280 calories
62 g sugars

I’ll put it all out on the table here: I’m not a big fan of energy drinks. It’s much healthier to boost energy by exercising, eating healthy foods, and getting enough sleep. But let’s face it — sometimes you’re desperate for a pick-me-up, and it’s easy to reach for one of those shiny cans of liquid fuel.

However, if you guzzle down a can of Rockstar Original, I’m pretty sure you’re just going to end up with a jittery buzz instead of the boost you’re seeking — with 62 grams of sugars, you’re looking at a major sugar crash not too far down the road. Better to stick with a low-sugar, low-calorie option like Java Monster Coffee + Energy.

Juice Imposter

Drink This
Fuze Slenderize Strawberry Melon (18.5-oz bottle)
23 calories
4.5 g sugars

Not That!
Arizona Kiwi Strawberry (23.5-oz can)
360 calories
84 g sugars

Unfortunately, most of the drinks that come in flashy containers and purport themselves to be juice quite simply aren’t. That goes for both our “Drink This” and our “Not That” option here — even the healthier Fuze drink is only about 5 percent juice. That said, it’s also a low-carb, low-sugar drink that provides nutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins, so it’s not all bad — unlike Arizona’s “juice.” Bottom line: These days, if you want juice, you probably need to squeeze it yourself.

Kids’ Juice

Drink This
Minute Maid Kids Multi-Vitamin Orange Juice
120 calories
24 g sugars

Not That!
Welch’s Grape Juice
170 calories
40 g sugars

Kids love grape juice for one reason: It’s loaded with sugar. That also means it’s loaded with calories. Grape just ain’t so great. On the other extreme, Minute Maid’s enhanced orange juice is mother nature’s multi-vitamin, providing your kids with monster doses of calcium and vitamin D for bone growth and protection, plus a host of powerful antioxidants. To make the best choices for your kids when eating out.
Kids’ Drink

Drink This
Capri Sun Tropical Fruit Roarin’ Waters (6.8-oz pouch)
35 calories
9 g sugars

Not That!
Sunny D with Calcium (8-oz serving)
140 calories
31 g sugars

If you believe the commercials, stocking your fridge with Sunny D will make you the coolest mom (or dad) in the neighborhood, and your kids will be smiling and thanking you, and you’ll be wearing a cashmere sweater, and your whole house will be bathed in soft, buttery sunlight. Right. Well, believe it or not, if you’re interested in giving your kids a fun drink that’s actually reasonably healthy, hand them one of those silver Capri Sun pouches — OK, so they’re not exactly a health drink, but they’re better than Sunny D — cashmere or no cashmere

If you want to lose weight, it may seem like a good idea to trade candy bars for granola bars or to swap bacon and eggs at breakfast for the classic bagel (it’s shaped like a zero; how bad could it be?).

Sadly, it’s just not that simple. Customers’ nutrition knowledge is rising, so food marketers are desperate to attract the right kind of attention from the eating public. So they’re twisting nutritional buzzwords to trick us into eating the kinds of foods that can actually help make us fat. We need to be more careful than ever to make sure we’re feeding ourselves and our families the very best real health foods — not sugar-infused calorie bombs disguised as weight-loss foods.

Read up for our latest batch of dietary phonies. They may look good on the front label, but they’ll get you in the end if you’re not careful.

Granola Bar
200 calories
15 g sugars

Eat this instead!
1 oz cheddar cheese with Triscuits
150 calories
5 g sugars

Ever wonder what keeps a granola bar together? The answer: high-fructose corn syrup, which quickly raises blood sugar and cancels out most of the potential benefits the granola almonds and oats might give you. Switch over to good old-fashioned cheese and crackers, and you trade sugar and calories for protein and fiber. It’s a big deal that will make you smaller, as will steering clear of the sugar bombs. By the way, these are the most sugar-packed foods in America.

Yogurt with Fruit on the Bottom
190 calories
30 g sugars

Eat this instead!
Plain yogurt with fresh fruit mixed in
110 calories
15 g sugars

Pass on these over-sweetened yogurt cups; they contain as much sugar as a soft drink. Almost all of that comes directly from the “fruit,” which is swimming in high-fructose corn syrup. Yogurt and fruit can be a great way to start your day, but do it yourself by mixing a cup of nonfat plain yogurt with a half cup of mixed berries.

Bagel with Cream Cheese
700 calories
40 g fat
13 g saturated

Eat this instead!
Cheese omelet
425 calories
18 g
6 g saturated

Bagels are bogus. The bread is bad enough, containing 300 calories and 60 grams of carbohydrates, but tack on the liberal cream cheese schmear (by our survey of popular breakfast chains, up to 4 ounces for a single bagel!) and your “harmless” breakfast sandwich weighs in as worse than a Whopper. The omelet swap will save you nearly 300 calories, plus provide a surge of metabolism-boosting protein. And a recent study from the University of Connecticut found that eating eggs can help raise HDL (good) cholesterol. And while you’re being vigilant.

Dried Fruit
175 calories
45 g sugars

Eat this instead!
Fresh fruit, like an apple or a peach
70 calories
15 g sugars

OK, so dried fruit won’t totally derail a day of good eating (unless you down the whole bag of banana chips), but it’s far from being a harmless snack. First, because the dehydrating process sucks most of the volume from the fruit, you can eat cups of the stuff, and 600 calories later, still not feel any fuller. More troubling, though, is the fact that Sun-Maid and Ocean Spray add sugar to the fruit, making Craisins closer to candy than Mother Nature’s original intention. The choice is clear: Stick to the original, straight from the tree.

Fish Sandwich
600 calories
30 g fat
11 g saturated

Eat this instead!
Grilled chicken sandwich
300 calories
13 g fat
4 g saturated

Fish is good for you, except when it’s battered, fried, robed in cheese, and bathed in tartar sauce. The lesson? Even the biggest star can be sabotaged by the supporting cast. To this end, avoid any menu item with the word “crispy,” the restaurant industry’s favorite euphemism for “fried.” Make sure your next fish or chicken sandwich is grilled, dressed with fresh produce, and topped with a low-cal barbecue sauce, or even ketchup and mustard. And watch the salt; these 20 foods are the saltiest in America!

Stick margarine (1 Tbsp)
100 calories
11 g fat
2.5 g saturated
2.5 g trans fat

Eat this instead!
Whipped butter (1 Tbsp)
50 calories
6 g fat
1.5 g saturated

In their haste to remove saturated fat from butter, margarine makers created the margarine monster — a dangerous lipid called trans fat, with more dangerous links to heart disease than saturated fat. Pick up whipped butter instead; by whipping air into the spread, manufacturers decrease the caloric density of a tablespoon of butter, and they make it easier to top your toast. If you buy margarine, make sure it’s the type found in the tub, hopefully with an added bonus like omega-3s folded into the mix