This is one of those touchy subjects as we have become a society trained on a preference for sugary sweetened drinks; overlooking just a simple glass of life giving water as a viable drink option. As this image demonstrates, soda causes heroin like reactions in our body. Yes, this is saying and I am agreeing that, quite frankly, soda and sugar-sweetened drinks are a drug and the majority of the U.S. population are addicts.
Do you remember this picture of me?
Well, let me confess something - part of what gave me this fat-figure was my drinking a case of Mt Dew EVERYDAY! Diet or regular it doesn't matter. Soda, Crystal Light, energy & sports drinks, bottled teas, flavored waters and most fruit juices are loaded with "sugar", "sugar substitutes" or "non-caloric sweeteners". These are just plain bad for us in more ways than just their overwhelming fat production in our bodies. These addictive drugs lead to heart disease, severe renal problems, diabetes and obesity just to list some of the bad things these sweet drinks do to us.
If you do the math you find that each 12oz can of soda has 10-12 teaspoons of sugar in it! Get out a glass of water and try and mix in that much sugar. Not even the WATER can concentrate that much sugar. What do you think our bodies can do to process it? Not much. Take a sip of this concoction if you are brave - it is disgusting!
And if you think that choosing the non-caloric sweetened drinks (such as sucralose, aspartame, stevia) is better think again. Science has found (although has not come to full agreement) that consumption of non-caloric sweeteners actually PROMOTES FAT GAIN. Isn't this what we are trying to avoid?
As well, we consider a 12 oz can of soda to be a measly and sadly small serving. Yet a can of soda is already 4oz more than a serving. How many people actually consume their soda in a single, already over a serving, can size? The answer is pretty much no one. On average we all choose a 20oz bottle of soda to drink. This soda size is 12oz over that of a regular serving. It equates to consumption of 25 to 30 teaspoons of sugar per serving as well as 375 calories! And we drink it all!
In consuming 3 times the normal beverage serving size are you ready to -
just to work off the calories? I know I'm not.
Just take a look at how sweet some of our top drink choices are:
Eliminating soda and sweetened drinks from my diet was one of the first things I tried when I began this fat loss journey. In less than a month I had lost just over 10 pounds from doing absolutely nothing else.
It is not an easy task to change such an addictive habit but you CAN do it!
Harvard's School of Public Health's Healthy Drinks website has many informative articles on doing just that. In fact they created a Beverage Plan to help!
Remember it takes 21 days to change a habit. So give yourself time to feel good about this change. Plain water is of course the best choice but, if you need some help here are some great low-to-no-sugar drinks you can substitute with: Six Ideas for Low-Sugar Drinks.
Try getting 8-12 glasses of water a day. As you make this change you may only notice a slight decrease in your fat loss efforts but you will notice a huge increase in your enjoyment of how the things you put in your mouth taste! You will also find yourself feeling full and satisfied throughout the day and when it comes time to make the choice you will actually find you prefer the water over most any other drink choice. Your body will crave the good!
~TigressSky~
Do you remember this picture of me?
Well, let me confess something - part of what gave me this fat-figure was my drinking a case of Mt Dew EVERYDAY! Diet or regular it doesn't matter. Soda, Crystal Light, energy & sports drinks, bottled teas, flavored waters and most fruit juices are loaded with "sugar", "sugar substitutes" or "non-caloric sweeteners". These are just plain bad for us in more ways than just their overwhelming fat production in our bodies. These addictive drugs lead to heart disease, severe renal problems, diabetes and obesity just to list some of the bad things these sweet drinks do to us.
If you do the math you find that each 12oz can of soda has 10-12 teaspoons of sugar in it! Get out a glass of water and try and mix in that much sugar. Not even the WATER can concentrate that much sugar. What do you think our bodies can do to process it? Not much. Take a sip of this concoction if you are brave - it is disgusting!
Each one of these cans is also about 150 calories at the minimum. Do you know how long it takes to burn through 150 calories? Well, get ready to either:
- jump rope for 15 minutes straight,
- run for a mile and a half,
- or swim at high intensity for 10 full laps in the pool
And if you think that choosing the non-caloric sweetened drinks (such as sucralose, aspartame, stevia) is better think again. Science has found (although has not come to full agreement) that consumption of non-caloric sweeteners actually PROMOTES FAT GAIN. Isn't this what we are trying to avoid?
As well, we consider a 12 oz can of soda to be a measly and sadly small serving. Yet a can of soda is already 4oz more than a serving. How many people actually consume their soda in a single, already over a serving, can size? The answer is pretty much no one. On average we all choose a 20oz bottle of soda to drink. This soda size is 12oz over that of a regular serving. It equates to consumption of 25 to 30 teaspoons of sugar per serving as well as 375 calories! And we drink it all!
In consuming 3 times the normal beverage serving size are you ready to -
- jump rope for 37.5 minutes straight,
- run for four and a half miles,
- or swim at high intensity for 30 full laps in the pool
just to work off the calories? I know I'm not.
Just take a look at how sweet some of our top drink choices are:
Eliminating soda and sweetened drinks from my diet was one of the first things I tried when I began this fat loss journey. In less than a month I had lost just over 10 pounds from doing absolutely nothing else.
It is not an easy task to change such an addictive habit but you CAN do it!
Harvard's School of Public Health's Healthy Drinks website has many informative articles on doing just that. In fact they created a Beverage Plan to help!
Remember it takes 21 days to change a habit. So give yourself time to feel good about this change. Plain water is of course the best choice but, if you need some help here are some great low-to-no-sugar drinks you can substitute with: Six Ideas for Low-Sugar Drinks.
Try getting 8-12 glasses of water a day. As you make this change you may only notice a slight decrease in your fat loss efforts but you will notice a huge increase in your enjoyment of how the things you put in your mouth taste! You will also find yourself feeling full and satisfied throughout the day and when it comes time to make the choice you will actually find you prefer the water over most any other drink choice. Your body will crave the good!
~TigressSky~
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