"Too easy! Lose Weight by Eliminating......

H

honeybunch

Guest
...soda! If you're gaining weight and you can't figure out why, it may be all those sugary sodas you drink. HealthScoutNews reports that scientists from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Copenhagen conducted a study with 41 overweight, middle-aged people for 10 weeks, asking them to add one liter of sweet drinks every day to their regular diet. Half were given drinks that were sweetened with calorie-laden sucrose; the other half were given drinks sweetened artificially with no additional calories. The participants were not told which drinks they were given. The stunning results: Those who drank the sugary sodas gained an average of three pounds in just 10 weeks, but those who drank the diet drinks actually lost just over two pounds.

"We were astounded that these soft drinks could change weight that much. We didn't expect soft drinks to have this fattening effect," study author Dr. Arne Astrup told HealthScoutNews. Typically when we consume more calories from one food source, we automatically cut back on another. It's the body's way of internally regulating caloric intake. But this didn't happen when people drank the sweet sodas. "If you asked me two years ago about the problems of losing weight, I would've said that sugar isn't the bad guy, that you should concentrate on fat reduction alone. But now I've totally changed my mind. I'm convinced that soft drinks are a major issue," Astrup said. The study findings appear in the October issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
 
Wow HB, we're on the same wavelength today! I have never drank sodas with sugar. Not because of the sugar, but because they just don't quench my thirst. I convinced DH to switch to diet soda and he lost 20 lbs. in a year, altering nothing else in his diet. Simple stuff, huh?:D
Sherry
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Sep-25-02 AT 02:52PM (Est)[/font][p]I had been drinking soda (diet Big Red) for the last several months with only minimal water intake, and I've noticed I had gained about 7-10 pounds, even though I kept my food intake the same. Now this is diet soda, not even regular sweetened like the article speaks of.

I've cut out the soda completely over the last couple of weeks without changing my diet and have already lost 4 lbs, and I can now fit into my jeans once again. :) This may have been water weight, but it sure felt and looked like fat to me. Not only have I felt SO much better, I have more energy and my salt/fat/sugar cravings seem to have lessened. I don't know how much this has to do with eliminating the soda, but I know now I won't ever go back to drinking it exclusively again.

So I tend to believe that soda in general can be bad for you (or at least me!)
 
Maybe it has something to do with the sodium content in soda. There's 35mg of sodium in a 12 oz can. Just a thought.

Sherry
 
A DR girlfriend of mine tells me any foods with "red dye" in them or drinks are likely to add pounds.

I always thought she was a goofball on that one, but, maybe not.


Edith
 
I wish analyzing my diet was this easy for me. When you don't have the obvious "junk" it is alot harder to figure out where you are going wrong, you know?? I do agree though that regular soda drinkers can lose alot of weight just by cutting it out. Oh...those were the days...right???:):) Now we are all cutting out flax seeds!!LOL!!

Janice
 
Hi Janice,

Just wondering why everyone is cutting out flax seeds ? And what are the health benefits of flax ?
It is interesting about the diet soda drinks, I wonder why they put pounds on when they are supposed to be literally cal-free ?

Anna
 
Back to the original post, I don't understand why it's such a surprise to the good doctor that drinking sugared water makes you gain weight. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie -- whether it's a fat, carb, protein or liquid. Do people think that just because they have their sugar in liquid form that it's just gonna flow out out the body? Why people choose their calories in a liquid has always been beyond me. I want my calories in food, gosh-darn it!

Besides, I'm already floating in the required 8 glasses of water a day.

Patricia
 
Patricia, I'm with you!.................

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Sep-26-02 AT 03:00PM (Est)[/font][p]Since the beginning of my weight loss journey, with logging my calories at each meal, I realized early on that I'd rather "spend" my calories on food! I use to drink fruit juices until I started having to log them, and 110 calories for a glass of grapefruit juice was just too costly, especially when I could have the entire grapefruit for fewer calories! So other than the 8 oz. of skim milk w/cereal and my morning green tea, my only beverage is water! You can't beat 0 calories! And it just does so much for your body from head to toe. My skin (facial) has never been clearer, my hair is healthier, and I use to suffer from dry skin but now that water is my primary beverage source, my skin is so soft I can skip lotion on any given day and my skin is still soft and supple. Water is truly the answer to a calorie counters prayers! :)



Donna
 
RE: Patricia, I'm with you!.................

Anna..

I was trying to be funny. All I meant was that for those of us who already have good diets, well, we have to find "good" things to cut out in order to lose weight... I take flax seeds for the added fiber and essential fatty acids. I did research long time ago on health benefits and I remember one being a raised HDL and lower LDL cholesterol. Mostly I am just trying to increase my intake of "good" fats.

Janice

PS...And I loved what Patricia said about the Dr. being suprised about soda. You are right, DUH!!!!
 
RE: Patricia, I'm with you!.................

Thanks Janice !

I shall check out my local health food store for the flax seed !

Anna
 
RE: Hey Donna

And let's not forget the natural fibre that's in the fruit! Like Bonus, man!

Plus you're saving money. I used to have a juicer and it took 2 or 3 oranges to make one decent-sized glass of juice. (That phase didn't last long).

Have a great weekend,

Patricia, The Anti-Juicer

P.S. I've been drinking diet sodas since I was a child (over 40 years ago). My Mom and Dad always minded their weight and the weights of their children so sugared drinks, candy, and chips, etc. were always a no-no in our house, as well as outside of it. We were allowed a "Treat Night" on Friday nights(greasy burnt popcorn and diet soda floats (well, the icecream in them didn't make them too diet!!!) Anyways, that's why I'm so flabbergasted over that nincompoop Dr.
 
I believe it! 15 years ago I was trying to lose weight(30 pounds)and someone very wise(my Mom;-))told me to stop drinking soda and drink more water. I did and along with healthier eating and exercise the weight came off within 3 months. I often give this advice to others. I only drink 1-2 cans of diet a week if that. I just love my water!! Susan
 
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