Eliminating sugary soft drinks can cause weight loss.
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Soft drinks, packed with sugar and calories and devoid of essential nutrients, are the ultimate 'junk food'. Unfortunately, they are also a staple of the average American diet, with more than half of the American population drinking at least one soda per day.Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
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If you're trying to lose weight, a soda-free diet is a good start. But the amount of weight you lose by kicking your soda habit depends on how much you drink.
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Tip
The amount of weight you lose on a soda-free diet depends on how much soda you drink per day to start. If it's a can, you can lose about 15 pounds in a year, everything else staying the same.
Calories and weight loss
When you are on a diet to lose weight, you must consume every dayfewer calories than you burn. This way, your body will tap into your fat stores and use them as an energy source, reducing your body fat levels.
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Even if you only drink one soda a day, eliminating that one drink will save you a significant number of calories. For example, a12-ounce can of co*kehas 152 calories. A can of cream soda contains 189 calories and a can of lemon-lime soda contains 103 calories.
If you drink an average of 150 calories of soda every day, you will save 1,050 calories per week if you don't drink soda. Over a year, that's the equivalent of more than 15 pounds of fat – not including the weight you'd lose through other lifestyle changes, such as exercising more.
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According to a 2011 report byNational Health and Nutrition Examination SurveyFive percent of the American population drinks more than 567 calories from soft drinks every day, the equivalent of about four soft drinks. If you're included in this percentage, your no-soda diet will save you enough calories to lose almost 60 pounds in a year.
Read more: The 10 worst soft drinks for your health
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Also don't drink diet soda
Although diet soda contains fewer calories than non-diet soda, that fact doesn't necessarily mean it's better for weight loss. One of your diet goals should be to adapt to the taste of whole foods.
If you're used to the overwhelming salty and sweet taste of processed foods, healthy foods can feel bland in comparison, but if you follow a healthy diet, you'll come to appreciate the subtler flavors of healthy foods. Drinking diet soda means you'll still experience very sweet flavors, making it harder to "reset" your palette to enjoy healthy foods.
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Artificial sweeteners also disrupt your body's "fullness" signals and affect your metabolism in a way that causes weight gain, according to a July 2013 study published inTrends in endocrinology and metabolism. While it's not clear exactly how much weight you'll lose if you don't drink diet soda, it should help you on your weight loss journey.
Other health benefits you will notice
Do not drink sugary drinks such as sodaalso offers other benefits. You reduce the risk of heart attack, type 2 diabetes and arthritisHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Not drinking soda can also benefit your bone health, because people who drink soda are less likely to get enough calcium from their diet and the phosphate in soda can affect bone health.
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Replacing sugary drinks and processed foods with water and a healthy diet can also control your appetite. Sugary drinks are digested quickly, causing your blood sugar levels to rise shortly after drinking them.
Not long after, your blood sugar levels drop, increasing your hunger levels. Avoiding sugary foods — including soda — can prevent these spikes and crashes, making it easier to stick to your diet.
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Limit juice and juice co*cktails
While drinking soda is bad for weight loss — in addition to your overall health — drinking juice isn't much better. Juice contains some essential nutrients, but it is still high in calories, which can hinder your weight loss.
In some cases, juice can contain more calories than soda. For example, a12-ounce serving of unsweetened grape juicegives you 228 calories, which is significantly more than the 152 calories you'll find in the same size serving of co*ke. Juice co*cktails are also high in calories (one cup of cranberry juice co*cktail contains 141 calories) and often contain added sugar, making them similar to soda in that respect.
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Although juice co*cktails may contain actual juice, they are not helpful for weight loss or overall health.
Read more: Is Club Soda good for you?
Alternatives to soft drinks
If you are on a diet, it is best to drink plain water. It is cheap, widely available and contains no calories. But if you're craving sparkling water, try sparkling water as a treat
Add flavor to sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon juice, a few crushed raspberries or sliced strawberries, or even some spirally sliced cucumber slices for a delicious drink with a subtle flavor. Or use herbs and spices – such as mint, basil, cilantro, cinnamon sticks or slices of fresh ginger – to make flavored water, minus the sugar.
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