I've seen people mention empty calories, what are empty calories?

Empty calories are ones that don't give you good nutrition. I can eat a healthy meal of chicken and vegetables, for instance, and get all kinds of nutrients for the 400-500 calories, or I can eat 2 candy bars and get mostly sugar and fat for the 500+ calories.

Thank you Olivia!

Drinks are another example of empty calories. Like Olivia mentioned, they can be calories that are void of nutritional value, but they are also considered "empty" when they don't fill you up -- as is the case with sodas, juice, etc. If you consume a lot of calories but are still hungry afterwards, like when you drink a Coke or a glass of juice, you're said to be consuming empty calories.

Yes I always think of drinks when I hear empty calories. Things like fizzy pop and alcohol that give you a lot of calories but no fullness or nutrition.

I've never thought of drinks as empty calories in general, but that does make sense. I certainly avoid caloric drinks most of the time since I'll just get hungry again shortly after drinking.