It's not just what you eat that can have an effect on the number of calories you consume every day, yet a lot of people fail to take beverages into account when they're counting down their daily allowance. While the following drinks are unlikely to make you fat by themselves, when they're combined with a sedentary lifestyle, excessive consumption of less-than-nutritious foods, and a lack of careful portioning, you might find that you struggle to earn the waistline you want.

If you've invested in your waist trimming belt, and you're looking into ways to slim down your stomach, make sure that you avoid chugging the following drinks that are bad for your diet.

1.    Sugar-Packed Sodas

This obvious addition to our list of drinks that are bad for your diet is something that most people know is bad for their weight-loss efforts - yet when you're used to chugging the soda, it can be difficult to break the habit. Your average serving of fizzy drink is usually packed with somewhere in the region of 150 calories, which means that if you drink about three cans a day, that equals 160,200 calories a year - or 40 pounds of fat.

You could always try switching your soda to the diet version, as this can help to reduce the amount of calories you consume each day, but few things are as beneficial as removing soda entirely in favor of a refreshing glass of water.

2.    Fruit Juice

Surprising but true - most people assume that when they buy juice instead of soda from the grocery store, they're making a healthy choice. However, the truth is that they're also investing in drinks that are bad for your diet. Grape, apple, orange, or anything else - they're all packed full of calories and unnecessary sugar. If you really want some extra vitamins, then you'd be far better served simply eating the fruit you're craving.

If you really want juice, you could attempt to make your own with fresh fruit and no-added-sugar, as this could be the best way to get the completely natural option.

3.    Alcohol

Alcoholic drinks are made by distilling and fermenting substances that include natural sugars and starch. In other words, they're bound to be full of calories. While there are plenty of "light" options available in the market today, the truth is that most booze can seriously rev up your caloric intake, with some drinks containing as much as seven calories per gram of liquid.

At the same time, drinking alcohol slows down the processes of your body, and reduces the amount of fat your body burns for energy. While we can store fat in our systems, we cannot store alcohol, which means that getting rid of your last drink takes priority over removing the extra inches from your waistline. In other words, the process of sculpting the perfect body becomes interrupted every time you drink a glass of wine or meet up with your friends for an afternoon beer.