Drinking calories without guilt

In April my appetite dropped for almost two weeks. A nightly mango200 kcal lassi often let me meet my calorie needs for the day when I otherwise would not have. I did not write about it then because I had decided that calories I drank counted less. If I did not chew it, it was not a real meal, and relying on a glass meant I was failing at eating.

I know where that idea came from. Diet culture treats liquid calories as something that sneaks past you. When you are trying to gain weight, the same idea becomes a rule that you should stick to solid food at a table, like everyone else.

What changed it was handing a smoothie to a friend last month while she recovered from dental surgery. I felt no judgment toward her. Of course she should drink her meals while her mouth healed. I had been treating the same choice as a failure for myself, and noticing that made the rule look wrong.

Where a drink fits

• A drink goes down more easily on days when a full plate is too much.
• Blending breaks the food down first, which makes it easier to take in.
• Whole milk149 kcal, nut butter102 kcal, oats150 kcal, and fruit are the same groceries I would be praised for eating with a fork.

I have also worked out where smoothies belong for me and where they do not. On writing days a smoothie is my mid-afternoon snack, because stopping to cook breaks my concentration. On mornings when toast does not work, a smoothie stands in for breakfast. They do not work as dinner. An evening drink leaves me hungry again at ten, so dinner stays solid.

I added five smoothie and drink recipes to the library this week. Some days I drink my afternoon snack at my desk while I work, and the day still meets my calorie needs. I stop treating that as a problem when a smoothie covers the gap and the day goes fine.