When it comes to finding simple things to lose ten pounds in a year, often the answer is easy.  It means changing your tastes – and finding something that is a lower calorie alternative or substitution for what you normally drink.

Soda pop is nothing but pure liquid calories – and often I see people walk around with a huge container filled with soda from some convenience store.  Did you know that a can of soda is about 100 calories for 8 ounces? There it is– a simple way to save ten pounds in a year.

I don’t think that even diet soda is a great thing for the health-conscious consumer- but it is a step to better health.

Still, be on the look out for liquid calories that add up quickly for your weight gain.

The 20 ounces bottle of Sunkist soda is 325 calories! That isn’t “natural goodness” in there– that is the same amount of calories as over a dozen chocolate chip cookies.

Snapple 20 ounces is 250 calories. Drink one of those a day above what you burn for calories and at the end of the year you will have gained 25 pounds!

And don’t forget that cup of latte you get – well, the Starbucks Frappuccino (13.7 ounce bottle) is 290 calories! A simple cup of coffee with a teaspoon of sugar and creamer is 25 calories (add ice in the summer to make a cold coffee drink).

So, when it comes to liquid calories- water is best, calorie free, and will quench your thirst. If you “must” drink soda– don’t drink the kind with sugar or high fructose corn syrup – instead, drink zero calorie soda.

Other healthy alternatives include Propel Fit Lemon, only 25 calories, or Desani Plus Pomegranate Blackberry, zero calories. Sobe Lean Mango Melon is 12.5 calories.  And for your water you can always purchase packages of Crystal Lite to place in the water– zero calories!

Remember, changing 100 calories a day is 10 pounds in a year. So think about those liquid calories – and try some new ones.