What Should You Drink on a Diet to Reduce Tummy Fat?

There are tons of drinks out there that claim to help with weight loss and reduce tummy fat. Just doing a quick Google search will bring up so many products you can both buy and make at home. But it is important to ask yourself certain questions like- is it actually safe? Does it really work? Is it a healthy option? Will it result in sustainable weight loss?

I recommend focusing on drinking enough water, and including low-fat milk and 100% fruit juice as part of a healthy weight loss diet. I do not recommend any “liquid shortcuts” to losing belly fat. In fact, many of the drinks on the market that claim to help with weight loss do not actually work and can cause a multitude of other issues! Not to mention they are a waste of money!

Read on for more information about the best drinks for weight loss, fat-burning drinks, apple cider vinegar, juice cleanses, meal replacement shakes, protein drinks, and more!

What are the Best Drinks for Weight Loss?

Staying hydrated is an important part of overall health as well as reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. Your body is made up of about 60% water. Water is an essential nutrient that we must get from the foods and beverages we consume.

Benefits of drinking water include:

Your body is better able to regulate its temperature
Improved waste removal
Joints are better lubricated and protected from injury and overuse
Important tissues and your spinal cord are better protected
Improved energy levels
Clearer skin
Improved mood

This is why water is my number one recommended drink for weight loss, weight gain, weight maintenance, inflammation, gut issues, and overall health! It is so important for your body to be getting enough water!

There are other beverages that are mostly water that still contain helpful nutrients for your body. 100% fruit juice, when consumed in moderation, can provide your body with fluids, carbohydrates, and vitamins and minerals. Milk is another liquid that can be part of a healthy diet, providing carbohydrates, protein, and vitamins and minerals such as calcium that help to keep your bones healthy and strong.

Not all calorie-containing beverages are “bad,” but whether or not you are trying to reduce belly fat, there are a few things to consider about the beverages you consume:

Is it providing you with nutrients that are benefiting your body? Beverages like milk, and juice not only provide your body with water, but they also have additional vitamins and minerals that play an important role in the body.

Is it satisfying to you? It is interesting how we often eat and drink things that aren’t even really that satisfying to us. Or, we end up over-doing it and eating or drinking past our satisfied point. Be mindful as you put things in your body and pay attention to how your body responds!

Are you balancing the nutrients in your drinks with other foods? Even though 100% juice is not a “bad” beverage, if you were to drink it all day long, you are still going to be missing out on a lot of other nutrients that your body needs, like protein and fat. Your blood sugars will be all out of whack and you will probably not feel super great.

Can I Drink Diet Soda to Lose Weight?

Although diet soda is a zero calorie beverage, it usually still contains other things that aren’t the best for your health. Consuming large amounts of caffeine, artificial sweeteners, sodium, and carbonation can cause issues for some people. Additionally, diet sodas can be very sweet to a point where you might not be as sensitive to the natural sweetness of other foods.

If you enjoy diet soda, try to drink it in moderation and continue to consume plenty of water along with it! Notice how your body feels when you consume diet sodas- do you feel bloated or like you are relying on the caffeine to get you through the day? That might be a sign to decrease the amount you are consuming.

What are the Best Fat Burning Drinks?

If you see something labeled “fat burning,” you can assume it is a scam and a waste of money. In fact, you should be wary of products like this because they might contain dangerous ingredients that can do harm to the body.

To be safe, I recommend staying away from special weight loss and “fat burning” drinks.

Should I Drink Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple Cider Vinegar is another trending weight loss fad. If you have heard that you need to take a swig of vinegar every day to help your body burn fat, you can rest easy knowing there is not enough evidence to support this and it is not recommended for weight loss.

Besides, most people don’t enjoy taking a shot of vinegar every day- it isn’t the most tasty thing ever and it can also cause gastrointestinal distress. The acidity can cause issues for your teeth, stomach, and esophagus. My recommendation: skip the vinegar and just focus on healthy eating and exercise habits.

Should I Use Meal Replacement Shakes?

Many companies make a TON of money off of selling meal replacement shakes for the purpose of weight loss or reducing belly fat. Do they work? Sometimes they do result in weight loss- but usually only short-term and not done in the healthiest way.

The idea with meal replacement shakes is to get all of your calories for the day through shakes (or sometimes through shakes and a few meals). Sometimes by controlling what you are consuming and having your calories provided for you, people do end up losing weight.

The problem is- do you really want to drink meal replacement shakes the rest of your life? I am going to guess the answer is probably no. Most people find that it gets old after a while and they want to go back to eating real food.

One main problem with meal replacement shakes is that they don’t provide you with sustainable habits for a healthy lifestyle. Drinking shakes every day according to someone else’s set plan for you doesn’t actually teach you anything about how to make healthy food choices, how to be mindful of portion sizes, how to listen to your body, how to honor hunger and fullness cues, and so much more!

Even if you were to reduce tummy fat through using meal replacement shakes, it is likely that the weight would come back on once you go back to eating normally. This weight cycling of losing and regaining weight is really unhealthy for your body and avoiding fad diets, and weight loss drinks and supplements helps you stay out of that hurtful cycle.

Do Juice Cleanses Actually Work?

In my opinion, juice cleanses are one of the worst things you can do for your body. While it is possible that they result in some weight loss, it is done in a way that is really harmful to your body.

Doing a “juice cleanse” is often just glorified fasting, plus juices. Your body doesn’t need some special juices to help it cleanse. Thankfully, your body is perfectly capable of cleansing itself all on its own.

The problems with juice cleanses are first, calorie intake is way too low for what people need, and second, juices do not have all of the nutrients that your body requires to function properly and feel good. Just like other fad diets and weight loss schemes, you will ultimately go back to needing real food, so it is best to just skip the fads altogether.

Do Protein Drinks Help With Weight Loss?

Protein drinks, when used properly, can actually be part of a healthy diet and reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. However, it is important to remember that protein drinks are supplements and should therefore be used to supplement your normal diet.

Protein shakes are not meant to be a meal replacement, but they can be an easy and convenient way to get more protein in your diet. I like to make sure I pair protein drinks with a good source of carbohydrates for a good balance of nutrients!

Although protein drinks can be helpful and convenient at times, they are definitely not necessary for a healthy diet or for weight loss. I encourage people to use them if they like the taste and if they need help getting more protein in their diet. They can be especially helpful for people that have higher protein needs and busy schedules.

Summary

Don’t get caught up in all the weight loss fads out there- they really won’t do you much good in the long term, even if they seem attractive now. Even if some of these diet drinks do work, they are only a short-term fix and often cause a lot of other problems that just are not worth it.

Remember that the best way to help your body reach a healthy weight is to focus on nourishing it, rather than restricting calories, cutting out food groups, or drinking special “diet drinks.” In addition to drinking plenty of water, focus on nourishing your body with liquids that are satisfying and that provide nutrients.

Resources

CDC. Water and healthier drinks. Cdc.gov. Reviewed June 6, 2022.

Harvard T.H. Chan. Water. Hsph.harvard.edu.