Sodas and Weight Gain Go Hand In Hand

What is the first thing that a nutritionist talks about when a person wants to lose weight? He mentions portion control. Watch what you eat and you will lose weight. Yes, food portions are important but how many times do you hear mention of anything about what you drink?

Here’s the scenario: You go out to a restaurant and order a salad. When the server asks you what you want to drink, you ask for a Pepsi. There were probably more calories in that drink than there is in the entire salad you’re about to enjoy.

Extra calories can hide in the darnedest places. You limit your portions, but not the portion of your drink. In today’s society, everyone wants more for their buck and that includes food and drink.

A large drink is not ten or twelve ounces but a whopping 20 or more ounces. Go to a fast food restaurant and you’ll see the difference. One large drink could fill three eight ounce glasses. It doesn’t matter though, because only you will drink that Pepsi and besides it’s only one.

If you drink sodas you could be consuming over half of your daily caloric intake in your cup. A can of soda contains about 120-180 calories. And, let’s not get started on those 20 ounce bottles of soda you get from the vending machine or convenience store. Did you know that they contain more than one serving? A quick glance at the label and you think that entire soda only has 120 calories. How about 120 calories per serving? That changes things a bit.

Now you’re probably asking about diet sodas. Diet sodas are lower in calories but they contain a lot of sugar which is also not good for you but that’s a story for another time. Suffice it to say, you’d rather spend your calories on food than on drink.

If you have a hard time giving up sodas, try limiting yourself to one soda per day. You can lower your food intake by 120 calories or so to compensate. Even better than that is flavored water. It is a process that takes time, but it is important to take note of what you drink and how it can contribute to your weight gain.

Sodas contain empty calories. If you drink a soda to help fend off hunger, ten minutes later you will still be hungry and also craving more soda. The sugar in soda makes you want more and more. Those empty calories go straight to the hips if they are not taken into account and strategically placed in, or better yet removed from, your diet.

If you aren’t seeing results on the scale, examine what you are drinking as much as what you are eating. There could be some soda sabotage going on.