Stop Drinking Soda

Current Weight: 223 lbs.
Change 8: Stop Drinking Soda

Every serving (8 oz) of carbonated beverage (soda) can contain over 30 grams of sugar. While there is no recommended daily allowance (RDA) for sugar, official US guidelines advise a maximum of 40 grams of refined sugar for every 2000 calories consumed. So 1 serving of soda for a 200 lb person is well over 50% of their sugar intake for the day. A typical can of soda is 12 oz, so you actually are consuming 150% the serving size of sugar, or over 45 grams.

Sugary beverages also fail to trigger a sense of fullness, which means you can consume a lot of calories without taking the edge off hunger. Drinking water in place of beverages that contain a lot of added sugar can significantly reduce your caloric intake, as well as the other benefits of drinking water.

In addition, soft drinks raise triglycerides, an unhealthy type of fat in the blood, which in turn lower HDL cholesterol (the good kind), he said. Low HDL cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease. It is also believed that high fructose corn syrup, used as a sweetener in most soft drinks, causes a decrease in insulin production increasing the risk of diabetes, as well as affect levels of the hormone leptin, which is involved in appetite suppression.